Teaching styles vary
Ihave found that there several different ways to teach the same topic. Depending on the students backgrounds i will use different teaching styles to best suit the students learning style.
Sounds like a great way to reach all learners. Since it is well known that everybody learns in different ways, it almost seems crazy not to present the material in ways to reach all styles of learners. Not always an easy thing to do but every attempt should be made.
You are obviously a very talented instructor Dennis - congratulations on doing all you can to ensure your students'success!
I also agree with your decision to vary teaching styles to match your students' learning styles, but I don,t always have the luxury of being able to get to know my students very well prior to the presentation phase due to large class sizes,heavy scheduling,and short training sessions(3 week periods).Due to these reasons,I automatically use all four sensory types of teaching to try and reach everyone.I lead off with a powerpoint presentation with many colorful illustrations along with my lecture.I follow up with a group activity that allows both individual and group participation with instructor interaction.I then lead them through a personal demonstration of a procedure using their new skills or information.Next step is to give the students a chance to perform the same task I've previously demonstrated on their own.After they have completed the task,I review the results of their efforts with them individually.Only after using all four steps,do I use any written or performance tests or evaluations to assess the results of my teaching efforts.
I agree George - this is why it's so important to take the time to talk to your students not only about the course material.
being able to listen to the students they will almost always tell you the style they learn by in their converstaion they won't just come out and say it always but they may elude to a fact of how they have learn before or something was easy and understood when they did it a certain way.
varying your teaching styles to cover the learning styles of various students is the best way i've found to get students to retain the information.
