Lesson Plans: Notecards or a Page Outline?
I find this topic interesting in so many ways. It brings to mind Jungian psychology and aspects of personality preferences, particularly the difference between sensory vs. intuitive types. The difference between sensory vs. intuitive is HUGE because it has everything to do with how we perceive our surrounding world and the impact our surroundings have on us.
In school, I simply could not understand how my classmates found note cards beneficial. I felt like they were a huge waste of time, fragmented, & confusing, but for others they worked. Personally, I would cram as much information as possible on one sheet of paper in small print to study. It really was perplexing to me for quite some time. Later, I discovered the differences between personalities, learning style, and perceptions. Do you prefer to see parts of the whole to make sense of the big picture (sensory), or do you prefer to see the big picture before identifying its parts (intuitive)?
You might ask, what does this have anything to do with learning? Well, knowing that your students have different preferences will help you extend necessary and varying resources to them. For instance, if giving a PowerPoint lecture make it available in two formats: 1. Slides & 2. Outline form. When giving suggestions for studying or reference materials, give options for either study resources available to the sensory types (i.e. note cards or flash cards) or intuitive type (i.e. outlines/summaries). Any additional thoughts or suggestions?
Lesson Plans are great! I would not start a class without one now. It helps me, the student and any instructor that may have to substitute for me.
Alisa,
This format is really a great way to share information while checking for understanding. My students love using the clickers and discussing the results that are revealed after the polling.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
What I have found works for my students are interactive powerpoints. Gives me que for lecture and at the same time Iets the students interact with clickers and smartboard.
I agree with you Lisa, using a one page outline with highlights on what I need/want to address during class provides me with a simple roadmap of where we are going as a class and where I need to direct my class. Of course, I have found that I have to make in-class adaptations to this outline according to the way the class is flowing.
Lisa,
Thanks for this information about another way to have the information you need in front of you. The more ideas that instructors have the more choices they can make about what will work for them in different situations. Your method of using a page outline is a good one that will benefit other instructors.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I prefer to use page outline, this way I can highlight specific key points for my lecture and be sure to draw close attention to these points during lecture so that students don't miss key points needed for exams.
Lisa Johnstone
Robert,
Good plan and good balance to how you are moving the students through the content. The real world connections you are making are critical for the students to have because this information will facilitate their transition to the workplace.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Sarah,
Good analysis of learning preferences and how they impact learning. We all have our own preferences just as you mentioned and as adults have developed ways to support those preferences in our learning efforts. The key for us instructors is to offer variety in our delivery and our students will be able to use their preferences to acquire the content. We need to be creative in our delivery so that we know we are reaching all of them at different times throughout the course.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I prefer to have short notes for hitting key points to ensure students get those. during the rest of the class I use a structured lesson to teach the majority of the lesson. I fall back on experience to relay to the students points that are difficult to express any other way.
