Hi James - having your students work together is often the way to go. I agree that most often the advanced students are happy to help their classmates and can be a great resource. Best wishes - Susan
In hot rod as other phases students work in teams.I assess how well they work in teams with each other,how they problem solve and work toward a goal.I give the group tasks to do and solve and they work together and help one another.I can then assess students with learning style problems and work with them one on one or pair them up with a more advanced student.The advanced students about 90% of the time love to help troubled students.
Hi Joseph - Getting input from your students prior to the start of class makes them feel more a part of their learning which makes them more engaged. Best - Susan
On the first day of class I ask them what they would like to learn on top of what they will learn in the syllabus and then we pull the sheets out at the end of class and I pass them out and have them review it and have them write a one page paper about a assessment of the class and usually they are always amazed on how much more they learn in the course that is not in the syllabus.
In our courses we have technical terms and to see if the students are aware of there meaning . I give a list of 50 words use in the transmission field and they define what each word is and what it relates to. Then I can place each students level of expertice.
The basic CAT that I use is questioning of the material being covered. By listening to the student responses I can evaluate how well the material is being understood and either continue with the lesson or go back over the material that is not being understood.
Depending on what course or material I am teaching I try to formulate good questions so I can make a valid evaluation.
Hi Adam - Welcome to ED 103! What courses do you teach? From what you describe it seems that you are doing a good job at assessment. Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career! Susan
The first day is areveiw of what they learned in their web based courses. The next 3 - 4 days is a combination of hands on labs & reveiw of those labs. Each day building on the last day. Gives the students a chance to use what they learned in the web courses & gives me a chance to see if they understand what they are doing. On the last day of the course is a written test which covers the material from the last 3 - 4 days & we also have them do a hands on evaluation of what they did in lab.
Hi Errol - Just having your students DO the lab would be the "quick and easy", but having them think it through and explain the process and their reasoning increases their comprehension and retention - excellent! Susan
At the beginning of the class, the first day, I try to asses the student’s prior knowledge of the material we will be covering and I like to use the minute paper technique. We also use a research paper, specific questions, designed to learn whether or not the student has learned were to go get the information requested and how much information the student retained during lecture and lab. We also use the process analysis in lab by having them do a diagnosis on a vehicle and then answer questions about the process and explain how to perform a relative type problem on a different vehicle type. I also ask student to explain what a lab procedure could do for them by knowing how and what that type of problem does for their future.
Hi Bill- Welcome to ED 103! You are using some interesting CATs that are really appropriate for the discipline that you teach. i really like that you have them work in teams for the assessments as they learn from each other and are way less stressed. Great job! Best wishes - Susan
we use a number of cats during our phase, one good example is oil clearances, a team of students 3 or 4 have to measure thre oil clearances and get my signed approval for all team members before i will allow them to lay the crank. this is also a good way for them to check each other for accuracy or closeness to each other in using precision tools.
another one is after teaching compression ratio calculations, i give them a 3 problem homework assignment to verify my teaching and their ability to comprhend, and is due on monday after the weekend.
another onre is adjusting valves they must share 8 cylinders between the 4 of them so they are all responsible for the project and the engine running in the next class.
Class is general for and assessment. Who passes who may nothave. I think of it in more terms of assessment to each student not the classroom. This is done with quesitons and later hands on.
As for the latter questons it is a matter of fine tuning this process.
Also on the "questionaire", I ask students which learning style best suits them: visual, auditory or kinesthetic. I've wanted to also ask, in their opinion, what makes a good teacher. But honestly, I've been too chicken.
Wow Michaelle- you are definitely dealing with diversity in your classroom!. They will still also have different learning styles so try to determine what they are so that you can "fine tune" your delivery! Best wishes- Susan
I've also found the Background Knowledge Probe helpful. In our culinary program we have students right out of highschool, students in the field who realize they need a degree to advance and career changers. With that diverse of a group, it's beneficial to ask them to rate their familiarity and comfort with wine (the class I teach). I handout a "questionnaire" on day one and then customize each class somewhat based on their overall responses.
I like to ask a lot of questions when we are going through a unit and this helps the students to recall and use what we were just talking about to help them remembered better and lets me know what I need to go back over.
I have a series of power point questions about each subject. somtimes i call on a single student to answer the question and somtimes i allow a group of studnets to answer. with a couple of topics i have a student come to the front of the class to explain and demonstrate and particular procedure.
Hi Bryan - Your "Little Trick" is a great teaching technique! At my college we call it "Teaching Back" and have found it to be very effective in exactly the ways you describe.
I am also impressed with how you bond with your students as they exit the classroom. The class is over, the heat is off, and this is a real opportunity to gather some feedback. Absolutely wonderful , Bryan !! Best wishes for continued success- Susan
A little "trick" that I sometimes use, one that seems to entertain students quite a bit, is that I make up some silly excuse of why I was not paying attention to the lecture portion of the previous class. I then ask a student or two to come to the board and teach ME the material. This seems to help in several ways: it shows me how much the students grasped, it allows those students to determine their own knowledge of course content, and it allows those who didn't understand (or were absent, or daydreaming) another chance (this time coming from a peer, not me) to engage with the material.
I'm also a fan of speaking to students individually after each exam, as they head out the door. My goal is threefold: to gain an understanding of how difficult/fair they thought the test was (and as a corollary, how they are feeling about the whole course), to connect with them on a personal level, and to potentially engage the material with them on a more informal level. I've had great luck so far!
