Tonya,
This is a major challenge for instructors. They need to "read" the current group of students and then adapt their instructional approach to gain the attention of the students and help them to acquire the required course content. I teach two sections of the same course back to back and each class is completely different. The good news is that I don't get bored teaching the same content since I have to make it different for each class.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
This can sometimes be a challenge because certain course content lends itself better to certain teaching methods. The trick is to keep trying different methods and vary them whenever possible to reach as many students as possible. What works with one class or group of students may not always work best for another.
I find that asking the class what their goals upon graduation are help me to link class content to their future professional lives.
Jan,
By using your personal experiences in relation to the content being studied you are reinforcing the value of the course to students. Also, these stories motivate students to become engaged and focused on being successful in the course.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
For adult learners, they are motivated by how the new skills and knowledge that they learned in class will benefit them in their personal and professional lives. This is especially important for students in career college. I always like to provide my students with my personal experience on how I applied the knowledge that I am going present to them. I believe when the students see how the knowledge benefited me, they will be able to relate to the relevancy of the content.
Because students have different learning styles, I try to use a combination of lecture, video and demonstrations. Sometimes I use one-on-one tutoring sessions, so that I know that the students are understanding the material needed for a particular lesson or course.
Lindsey,
Learners like variety and change of pace if they are to stay engaged. You are doing just that with the different activities and media that you are providing.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I've found it helpful to have students bring in relevant news articles for discussion. It helps put the subject into the real world and, because it requires them to read outside sources, takes them beyond just the text.
To accommodate the different learning preferences of my students, I incorporate various activities and elements. I often begin each session with a lecture and I lay the foundation for that particular class session. During the lecture portion, I also glaze over the reading assignment for that particular class session. I like to include videos that related to the content. I typically incorporate a group or individual activity that serves as a transition tool from one top to the next. I value the different learning preferences of my students because they prevent me from boring myself with preparing the same type of lecture for each class.
Kari,
I wish you much teaching success. I have been teaching for many years and it is still fun and exciting to step into a class and know I am having an impact on the lives and futures of my students.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I agree. I always try to relate my lectures with what is really going on in the career
I have not taught yet, but I plan to use different delivery methods for my material. In taking this course, I can really start to see that certain methods will be more suitable for certain classes.
Kelly,
You are "connecting the dots" for the students with these methods. I know this increases the value of the content as a result. This in turn increases student retention for a win win situation for everyone.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I teach audio and video technology. I usually conduct lectures then follow them with real-world exercises: a video shoot, music tracking session, etc. This usually helps the students connect fairly boring lecture material to real, hands-on, situations.
I can tell right away how the class learns on the first day.. If a class likes to have a discussion about the topic, I make sure to set aside time to have a round table discussion.. I also like to give pop quizzes at the end of class to see if they really understood what we covered..
Rebecca,
The more connections you can make with the course content and real world applications the more value students will attach to the course. You have a good strategy going. Keep up the good work.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Having spent many years in the workforce I am able to add relevant information regarding what student should expect when they graduate. Rebecca
Michelle,
I have used them as well and they are great as you mention plus fun to use in terms of getting feedback instantly.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
We Tried the Clickers, a ahand eheld device that allows our students to remain interactive and assessingtheir learning levels all along the way of llecture by building in the quizzes that stduents have to answer by hitting a specifc number or letter on their clicker to the desired question. The students love it and so do we as Instructors. We get to see SLO's in action working real time as we progress through our lectures.
I try to incorporate all the different styles you suggested - lecture, visual, small group projects, case studies.
