ENGAGE STUDENTS TO LEARN
Using color, seating & music to engage students to learn help them to remember what they here and help them retain the knowledge.
Doretha,
this is a good point & good awareness on your part. It's also a good reminder to all of us, both in accelerated programs & subjects which we teach a lot, to stay engaged & interested ourselves.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
I find that teaching in an accelerated program you can have the module cycles move so swifly that you get bored with the subject and can loose interest because of teaching the same topic over and over again. So I find new ways of approaching and delivering the subject. Because if I'm not really interested and bored, the learning environment will be just that not interesting and boring. If the instructor is not showing excitment in their teaching the students have radar and can easily see that. This can and will effect the learning environment.
I developed this fun game that engages students to learn. I use two fly swatters (clean of course, you can purchase them @ the 99 cents store). You place the answer on the board or large flash cards on desk. Divide the class into two halves. They study with their teams,for a few minute,helps them review for the test. Next, the game begins. Each teams has a fly swatter. The first person to swats the correct answer, receives a point. The point change so, one team is not ahead till the last question. Points start at 1, then 5, then 10,till the game ends. They really enjoy the game. Like family feud.
Trevor,
this is a good point & we need to help ourselves learn the generational characteristics, cultural differences, etc so we can best understand & reach all of our students.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
Understanding the students is key. Sometimes generational gaps can impede approachability, and applying and relating the subject to what they like is extremely helpful.
Robert ,
the real stories or applications help the students pay attention as it reminds them of why they are studying this material & renews their interest.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
Often this is very challenging. When approached with a subject that tends to lose student interest
I like to use my own personal experiences and either relate a factual humorous event or create one that attracts their interest. I find that mixing serious learning with humor and stories keeps their attention. It is important, however, to insure the story directly relates to the material.
Julia,
definitely a challenging situation. I try to find something, anything, about the material that interests me or is related to something that interests me & try to make those connections.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
I do my best as an instructor to communicate with the students by engaging them in associating what I am introducing with anything that they have seen or see in their life. I am not always successful however I try to give them truth.
My question is what to do when the information I am supposed to give is totally uninteresting to me?
I like to find out what my students interests or hobbies are outside of the classroom and then use that knowledge to create an analogy to our current subject matter whenever possible. I find most students seem to perk up when I am relating something in the classroom to something else that is already an interest of theirs.
keith,
this is a great point & helps illustrate the idea that we have to evaluate these ideas & suggestions based on our classes, content, students & school rules.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
I find in a shop classroom we can't have a radio on, the students don't concentrate as much, and don't work as fast as they should
