Harvey,
Good strategy to follow as you conduct Q&A sessions with your students.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Holli,
This helps to connect students with the content being offered. The more of these connections the better. Students like to see the value of what they are studying as it relates to their career goals.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Saneva,
This is where student centered planning takes place. You are getting a read on your students this way and then planning from there. Good way to start a new course.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
During introductions, you can learn from the student what type of learning style they have/prefer. I then make modifications to the lessons accordingly. You don't want to bore the students, they'll learn nothing!
leading by examplea and asking open ended questions of the students to deterime their level of knowleged in the area of learning.
I have included discussions and assignments that are relevant to the students' specific area of interest and chosen career field that incorporate the concepts we learn in class.
Christina,
I agree. Demonstrations show both application and relevancy to the content that has just be covered. Helps to make a connection between the classroom and the real world.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Suzelle,
I like this teaching method because through the sharing of an actual event you are reinforcing the value of the content and helping students to make application of it. This increases the ROI for the student as they move closer to their career goals.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I believe that demonstrations as well as practial use for skills are a great way to make sure that the students are learning what is needed and relevant in a class.
To keep the students focus on the content of the course as a Nursing Instructor I always insert an actual event related to the chapter that I am lecturing.Most of the students by watching TV or by reading the newspapers are aware about the subject.So everybody participates to the discussion and we have fun while learning.
Melissa,
Like the way you approach your instructional planning and delivery. This comprehensive approach sets the stage for a very successful course and a high level of student engagement.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
When I plan out the course and assignments for the term, I ensure that the delivery methods for content and assessments vary and cater to each type of learning style. My students are primarily kinesthetic and visual learners as they are art & design students, however it is beneficial for all students to see, hear, and do everything they can for improved retention of the concept or skill.
I think you need to acknowledge the learning styles of your students so you can tailor athe course to accomodate every student in the classroom.
Jeffrey,
Good plan and one that I know will be effective. Students like variety and change of pace and you are offering both with your methods.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Shawn,
Sounds like a good plan to engage all of your students in their respective learning preference areas.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Dave,
Within the application phase of our class sessions you can address all of the styles via the activities you select. By putting the students into learning groups and having them share with each other and work on problems they will be using all of the styles. As for the mix of students with some being experienced and some not I would suggest the use of case studies. By giving the students case studies and then having them work in small groups or pairs they will be able to learn from and share with others in their group. This will help them to gain additional knowledge while working toward a common goal.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Every class is different and every student learns their own way. With that said, it is best to vary the delivery styles throughout the course, not only to break up the content into shorter "mini-lectures", but also to ensure that all learning preferences are being covered.
I make sure that we workshop calculations together in class, that way I can see immediately which student is struggling and then I can throw out different ways to solve the problems and keep askin the students if that makes sense. When I hit on their learning style I make note of what works for the different indiviuals in my class so I can plan future lesson plans based on the students that I have and their learning curves.
Since there are predominently four learning styles (written, auditory, visual, and tactile); what is the best way to address all of the learning styles without being redundant but also ensuring that the materials are absorbed by all of the styles. At the present time, we are using a course manual reinforced with lectures and accompanied by applicable PowerPoints summarizing the important takeaways. We spend about 80% of the time in the field doing practical exercises utilizing the concepts covered in the classroom. The classes consist of professionals that are seeking certification in their field so the vast majority are already familiar with many of the concepts. We also have some participants that are mixed in that have very little background in some of the concepts.
First, is there anything else that we can do to address all of the styles simultaneously. Second, how do we accomodate the people who have little background and keep the ones with a more extensive background interested and/or engaged (or at least awake when they get bored)?
Dave Wood
Robert,
You make a good point because hands on courses start with the need for learners to be tactile in their learning and then go from there into the auditory, written word, and visual. Sounds like you have developed some strategies for getting on of the learning preferences incorporated into your instructional delivery.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
