Carlos,
Students retain much more through integrated and interactive learning. Your approach provides them the opportunities to do both as that master the course content.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
Richard,
This is a great approach to bring current real situations and applications into your classes. I know your students like this integrated strategy for them to acquire foundational knowledge with real world applications.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
Also trying to get the class involved, turning the class into a interaractive learning experience.
Divide class into "teams." Assign each team a portion of chapter. Have team "teach" the topic to the class. Each team also is responsible for preparing quiz questions.
Formulate topic as an issue. Divide class into teams and have them argue pro and con.
"Jeopardy" game.--often I bring candy as prizes for winning team. Often used as "study guide" for upcoming test or quiz.
Simulations--example would be investing in "mock" stock portfolio. As term progresses, monitor how stock is doing and discuss issues that have arisen.
I also use computer based modules.
For legal research, I have our Westlaw rep teach virtual class, where all students are on-line and can perform tasks simultaneously with rep.
For a class like Business Law, each student is assigned a week where he or she brings in a recent news article for discussion.
Mathias,
Good strategy for engaging students that might not volunteer when setting. By bringing them up front to help they are not in the spotlight but are helping in a supportive way. This helps to build their confidence and status in the course.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
I have found that if I bring students up with me when I do my demonstrations and they act as a sort of assistant to me, they get very excited about what it is we are doing. An d I will often bring the least connected students with me to do a demonstration together to try to get them excited about what it is we're doing.
Thomas,
Great example of an alternative teaching technique that has a lasting impact. Thank you for sharing it with us. I know it is going to be tried in many classrooms.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
I try to have at least one anecdote to tell them that they can relate to so that they visualize themselves in the role of their chosen profession and see themselves attaining their goal.
I feel by being excited about the material yourself makes the student more engaged and excited to learn. They feel well if she is this excited it must be good, so I want to understand what the big deal is, and then they learn without feeling like they had to study.
During a recent staff meeting we learned a team building technique called the Gravity Pole. There were a total of twelve people standing in line facing each other. Six on each side. The participants were required to hold out their hands and bend their fingers to the shape that resembled a hand gun; just like when we were kids and we ran around the house pretending to shoot each other. Each set of hands were to be parallel with the ones adjacent to them. Next a long PVC pipe was placed above their hands and rested directly on top of the area where their thumbs meet their pointer fingers. The game was simple. All that was required of you was to simply close your eyes...and lower the pole to the ground...as a team. No one was allowed to apply pressure to the pole from above. You would think that it wouldn't be that difficult. It took both teams of twelve about ten minutes to do it successfully.
When all the participants are former Executive Chef's it makes for a situation where we basically have too many Leaders and zero followers. It was quite entertaining and educational.
I have utilized this exercise in my own class rooms and it has been an eye opener for all. It helped to get the message across that teamwork is something that requires work and communication. This activity certainly kept the students engaged and also broke up the redundancy of normal class activities and discussions.
I totally agree! Students need to feel your passion for the subject and they will become engaged by that passion. It will peek their interest in the topic.
A very helpful strategy is to add humor to your class. Students love a good joke. It shows them that you are human. This adds fun to the class and makes you have a little fun too.
When a instructor is passionate about his or her subject matter, this enthusiasm is often infectious. If a instructor is bored, the students will sense it. If the instructor is learning along with the students, exploring and discovering, students will notice this, too.
Effective instructors also experiment with alternative teaching methods to reach students with diverse intelligence. The more a instructor varies his or her methods to get all types of students involved the more engaged the students be in learning.
One of the most important strategy to keep students engaged in learning is by using different teaching styles to present course content. This maintains an element of uncertainty and keeps the students excited about what is going to come next.
Bill,
What types of contests have been most successful for you to use? Thanks for you input on this.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
Getting the students involved instead of just lecturing. Sometimes breaking them up into groups and having contests.
Rick,
This is a very effective way of expanding student engagement. This way your students know you are seeking their input and they in turn feel comfortable asking questions about things they do not understand.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
I also teach a five hour night class. But it is broken up into half classroom/lecture and half lab/shop activity. The students normally are "chomping on the bit" to get out into the lab. I think I will try to plan my classtime to be even more related to the immediate lab work.
I try to ask simple questions of random students about how they are understanding what I am teaching. I'll regularly ask if anyone has questions. If I can get a number of responses it opens up more engaged class discussion.
I also feel that variety in the learning style will help in keeping students engaged in the learning process.
