Kamice,
Great variety to your instructional delivery. I know these approaches keep your students engaged and focused throughout the course sessions.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I have found that "experimenting" early on, say in the introductory class or first class, with different modalities can highlight what a particular group of students learning preferences are. This can focus the instructors choices for future classes on the most appropriate methodologies. It does help, if you have the planning and resources to shift "on the fly" so to speak, to be able to mak4 those changes and still address the material.
My course relies on the constant update of newly formed doctrine. This is inherent with constantly updating course material and staying abreast of the latest and greatest lessons learned.
You have to feel out your class, there may be those who learn by trial and error and or visual learners. Once you get the rhythum of the class it gets easier...know your students
be versitle, apply different teaching techniques
Personally I try to vary my lesson to include many different approaches. For example: We may be coving the order of draw, I will first let them watch a short video on YouTube explaining the proper order of draw and demonstrate the techniques. Then I will have a question and answer session about the video. Then I will do my lecture with a PowerPoint presentation and possibly some handouts. Later I would have the students do hands on exercising demonstrating the order or draw with collection tubes. I would follow up with homework that is varied also.
Provide a variety of presentation styles.
I try to take a few different routes on the course subject all leading back to the overall goal of the course. I feel like this helps the different learning preferences of my students as well as helping me with keeping up with different approaches of delivering the material.
In our program, students take an assessment of their learning styles. The instructors have access to this information. It has been helpful to review the results and to utilize the information in planning course delivery. Students have told me during advising how much they retain when their learning styles are considered and incorporated.
Anthony,
What do they do with the results of what they find out in the researching of these different diseases?
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Iris,
Like your approach. You are coming with learning opportunities from several different directions and this will serve your students well.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Amy,
Good way to touch on the different learning preferences your students are bringing to your class. This way they get to work in their comfort zones as well as learn how to learn in other venues.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I have always been both a visual and kinetic learner. Reading and retention is last for me. So I begin with summarizing the chapter we are working on in one or two short sentences, just enough to pique their interest. "In this next chapter we will cover _________, which involves
_________."
I use handouts as examples of what is covered
in chapter.
We cover in detail what the chapter involves,
followed by questions from students and answers
which I provide.
My students are going into healthcare. I set them several assignments concerning the causes, treatments and outcomes of various disease states.
All lessons cannot accomidate all students. However if you vary how you teach regualrly than you help to teach all the students.
As an auditory learner I prefer lectures and videos. I knwo that there are many who are visual learners and they will benefit from notes and reading material to help supplement the lectures. In the end everyone will benefit from performing procedures as it will help the tactile learner and it will help with applying the information they are learning to real life.
It is about varying things so it is interesting and so you can ultimately accomidate everyone.
Sandra,
Good point about student accountability and responsibility. Also, if you give them study strategies they will be mentally and physically involved in the learning process.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Me too! I love the idea of peer observers to see if they really do learn best as the student had answered in the assessment. I find it very hard to meet the kinesthetic learner's needs because of the material I cover is just not easily action oriented. I have to remind myself of the partnership...that it is the student's responsibility to take ownership of learning the material. Studying can be done kinesthetically.
Veronica,
Good variety to your instructional delivery. This way you are keeping your students engaged throughout each class session and moving the class forward.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I accomdadte different learner preferences by implementing various instructional methods. I lecture using powerpoint slides, engaging students by asking questions about the content and then dividing the class into groups for a group discussion. After the group discussion, I then bring the class back together and discuss their findings. I bleieve this gives every student an opportunity to retain and apply the material.
Ted,
You hit on two of my favorite educational words. Relevancy and application. They are the core of what we do.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
