Brady,
You make a very good point about how incorporating the life experiences of students into the course has real value. They become more motivated and engaged when they realize that they have experienced some of the things being discussed. They just had never had anyone point that out to them. Stories and examples serve to increase the value of the course content so keep sharing them with your students.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Krista,
You make several very good points about offering instructional variety. I like you like to change my approach in each course so I maintain my interest in the course rather than just teaching through it. I have three sections of the same course and I do something a little bit different in each so I stay fresh and excited.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Tracy,
It will because you will see how you can offer instruction in different ways to engage your students. This will increase their satisfaction with the course and well as increase their rate of retention.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
As a first time instructor I am trying to use variety in my delivery so that I can address the different learning styles and preferences of my students. I am finding that keeping variety in my lesson plan is not only helpful for my students but it is keeping me interested and passionate about teaching.
Having an understanding of the various ways that we humans learn will be quite helpful to me as a new instructor.
I use student experiences and my personal experiences to demonstrate the relevancy of the course material. Many times, students find that they have been involved in many areas of what is taught, but were never formally educated on the processes and were doing it via "the school of hard knocks." In these cases, the relevancy is that I find I fill in the gaps of their experiences with the policies, procedures, and facts that they were missing when faced with the material.
Arlene,
By coordinating all of these various elements you show students what each is contributing to their educational opportunities in class and increases the value of each.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Tom,
Good way to create an understanding about your students and how you can customize your instructional process to tap into their intelligences.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
The strategies needed to implement relevant course content are to engage the students in groups as well as utilizing the book.
I am sensitive to the multiple intelligences of my students. I feel that that is the starting point for all accomadation for learning styles: respecting and accepting each student's differences.
George,
I agree but many students seem to have a hard time transitioning from being high school students to being adult students studying and preparing to their career choice. The stakes are high and they need to realize that.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
That it is their livelyhood they are learning, not just another highschool class.
I'm using a number of these strategies to make course content relevant and applicable and this section has provided additional ideas. That said, I'd like to learn more and improve. Would anyone have any particular books or favorite resources that you could refer me to in order to learn more especially as pertains to teaching Information Technology or any kind of new technology? This would be quite helpful since I often teach courses from 6pm-11pm with many students coming in after working a full day at an office and I'd like to do things in a way that helps keep them alert after the third hour. Thanks in advance!
Richard,
Relevancy and application are two elements needed for student engagement. You are using both through the real world examples you share and the resources you bring into the class. This helps the students to get a realistic picture of where their program can take them if they will put forth the effort.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Thomas,
This is so important. When you know how your students process information you then can build an instructional strategy that will appeal to their different learning preferences and keep them focused on their knowledge acquirement.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Ruth,
Learners like variety and change of pace. By doing both you are helping to touch upon the different learning preferences of the students that are in the course. This way all of them have an opportunity to become engaged in the course.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I think the first thing an instructor must find out with any class is how the students best learn. A class has different styles of learners and if possible all of these should be accommodated. I use audio, video, projects, and presentations to try and hit all of the different learning styles that every class has. I have on a few occasions had small classes where all of the students were of one learning style.
One of the biggest strategies I use in my class is life experiences. Sharing a short story about relevant class material and how I have used it in the field helps the students to feel engaged in the discussion and help to give them a mental picture of what the discussion is about. Pictures and short videos on the subjects at hand also help to drive home the message of the lesson for that day. I have found that students relate better when you show them and tell them that you yourself have done what they are trying to. Sometimes sharing what you've done (and should not have done) can help them to understand that you know the subject matter and help them to learn from your experience.
I try to include activities that will cover several of the learning preferences in order for my students to be more involved. All students have a prefered preference but they may need to expand and grow in learning ways they may not have tried before. Along with their multiple intelligences they can expand their learning preferences.
Lennox,
When all of this is happening it is fun to be a teacher.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
