Learning styles and how to accomidate them
In making my first lesson plans, should I integrate areas within the lecture to stop and do an activity, throw out an idea, etc that would cater to each learning style? How much time should I allot for these types of breaks?
Stanley,
You have learned so much already in terms understanding learning preferences and how to plan for touching upon them. By offering a variety of delivery formats you will be able to appeal to all of the learning preferences of your students while helping them to secure content via other methods. I think they need to learn how to do this because in the workplace all communication will not be formatted in their preferred method.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I have found being organized the point that, when I am giving a lecture, I can quickly access visual aids and models. They are always present in the classroom.
Unfortunately, I think sometimes that students fall back on "visual learner" as a means to avoid conceptualizing a verbal instruction. Sometimes it seems they just want me to show them instead of teaching them how to do it.
I obviously still have a lot to learn.
Jessica,
You have a good start and you will see additional ways to introduce delivery methods as you gain experience in instructional development.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I am still learning myself how to introduce each learning style into my lesson plans. I lecture, assign group activities, homework, and we do hands on depending on the course I am teaching.
I have learned in my short teaching career that I am a visual learner so I need to be a visual teacher.
I have been following this approach of doing mini lecture broken up by activities. It has been working well for me so far.
Lyndsie,
First the time factor depends on how long your class is. My classes run for three hours so I do a mini-lecture (approximately 20 minutes) and then an activity. The activity can be a Q&A, small group, role play, case study. The length depends on how engaged the students become. So I might spend 5-10 minutes in a Q&A session and 20 if I am doing a case study. I gauge this on how the students are responding so I can keep the class moving forward. Once the activity is done I do another mini-lecture and then an activity and so forth. Hope this gives you a general idea of how to organize your class flow.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
