They love when they are able to share their "expertise" about a subject.
Cynthia,
What a powerful presentation this must have been. This is what real life is about and your presenter helped your students to see that through what she said as well as the content you offer. I am a big fan of using guest speakers and field trips to make the content come alive.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Having a guest speaker who lives the problem or solution at hand helps. For a Death and Dying lecture, we had a guest speaker who knew she only had a few months to live, would miss her daughters wedding and told the learners what she felt was therapeutic to say and do, and what was not. Also gave the introspection of someone real going through the process we were learning.
Love your way of thinking.
Rachel,
I think this is a great way to get your students to see the relevancy and application of this course. The more examples you can share the more engaged they will be and the more professional they will become.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Matthew,
Yes, they are. It is fun to sit in on their classes once in a while. Always something to learn from another professional.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I have been sure to stay on track and provide real world scenarios that make the material relevant. This keeps the students interested in learning when they see the relevancy of the content and how it relates to real world scenarios.
I teach a course on professionalism to adult learners. Because many of my students have already encountered much of what I deliver, I salt and pepper my lectures with personal professional stories and then ask students to share their stories. This helps keep students engaged and most of the time adds a bit of humor to what we are speaking about for the day. Plus it brings the ideas home and they become relevant.
I believe other instructors are a great source of knowledge.
Georgina,
Like the learning cycle you are using. The results I am know yield an increased retention of content and greater application by the students.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Discuss the rational of a particular process, view video demonstrations, have student apply the skill through trial and error, revisit the skill for more effective application and understanding.
Joe,
Students like variety and change of pace in their instructional delivery. You are doing both with your approach. This will increase their engagement as well as increase their retention of the content.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I try to develop multiple approaches to delivery of material. I analyze the material and decide which areas lend themselves to hands on instruction such as trial and error or demonstration. I try to include a practical exercise in every lesson. General knowledge and guidance is provided by short lectures (mini lectures). Power point and embedded video is used to facilitate those learners. It takes extra time to prepare and rehearse a multifacided apporach, but it enhances the learning environment.
Kim,
Relevancy and application are two elements that we need to share with our students so they can see the value of what we are teaching them.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Show the students the relevancy of the course topic and how it will relate to a positive working career.
Robert,
This is the format I use and get good results. Sounds like this approach is working well for you. Thank you for sharing this with us because it gives instructors an idea of how to do their own planning for instructional delivery and student engagement.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Change up every 8 to 10 minutes and heavy on demonstrations to keep students involved and help apply the skills and knowledge they have just acquired.
I have noticed that the more relevant the content is to the students, the more interest they show in the course. This is particularly so when they are given the opportunity to relay to the class what thei rprevious experience had been.
Many times in my classes, I lecture briefly, then we have a class discussion (e.g. an ethical dilemma), then we have a short lecture again, then a short break. I do ask students also to discuss their past experience, if any, on the subject matter under discussion.
Damon,
This is a good way to get a "read" on your class. Then you can do your instructional planning in away that more accurately targets their learning needs.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
