maria,
yes, this is a great idea & especially important in a field such as fashion design.
Dr. Ryan Meers
I am a visual person, and enjoy moving things around in the room, including the seating. What I know will be useful, is to add music. I am not a music person and seldom listen to it, but the students are very much into it.
I am going to try and have it on in the classroom when students arrive and then turn it off to start the class. Then during "work time" I want to try playing different music to see how the students respond to it.
I know I am missing out on connecting with some students because I can't identify with them in this area. I hope that trying to integrate it a bit and I can begin to build that bridge to creating a stronger communication tool with the students.
I use alot of visual drawings on the whiteboard. I have found that by using different colors when doing schematics ect. my students understand better than using just plain old black markers.I sometimes turn the front of the room to the back by turning the chairs around.I do this to introduce change in the enviroment that they are in since the workplace is constantly changing.In the lab environment we usually have low music or noise of somekind to simulate noises that they will encounter in the future.
I love the idea of seating the learners in groups in a U-shape around each table. I've been having difficulties rearranging the class room so that it promotes attention to the instructor, as well as a group learning environment. I will definitely be using this technique at the start of my next class! I also enjoy thinking about how I can utilize time with the learners to work on posters about the topic we are discussing. The idea to move them from the left side of the classroom to the right, was wonderful, and I think that it will help remind me to make sure we review a topic before moving on to the next. Time to invest in poster paper and markers!
As I teach major classes in fashion design, being creative in your style of teaching is very important. Giving lectures I incorporate the use of a lot of images in my presentations and I always make it a lecture guided discussion. During lab work, I always play music because it energizes the students while they work.
I have already tried to implement many of these strategies based on my background in learner diversity and differentiating instruction based on learning styles. I try to utilize color where appropriate and would love to be able to utilize it more with print materials. However, our copy machine only provides black and white. I would love it if I had the resources to provide all of the materials out of pocket, but unfortunately I do not.
I am looking forward to integrating music into my psychology course. I had related a story with my learners when we were discussing multiple intelligences on how I utilized music as an undergraduate when studying for physics exams. It will be nice to see how much this can improve retention and transfer of concepts that learners are struggling with or find particularly difficult to initially comprehend. I have learners whose backgrounds are not in the sciences and have been out of school for some time. Any strategy that can be used to connect meaning and help facilitate transfer of the concepts is relevant and useful.
Robert,
I think this seating arrangement would be of great help to you & your students.
Dr. Ryan Meers
Karen,
totally understandable. It has to be recognized that not all suggestions or techniques will work for every environment. The individual instructor definitely has to determine what is best.
Dr. Ryan Meers
All students learn differently so i try and accomidate the entire classroom.
Our classes are set up with computers, projectors and speaker system. I am going to attempt to use your ideas in my classroom.
Seating and visuals are what I tend to focus the most on, however, it really depends on the type of student that I have in the class (we have a mixture of different personalities and learning styles). Also the materials being presented varies also. There are more bookwork type classes and there are skills that are practiced/learned in our institution. I have noticed that the use of music with the volume set low, the students do seem to focus better on the materials we are working on.
I am going to ask to see if I can rearrange the seating in my classroom to create a "V" pattern so that the students can see each other better. Am also going to ask to see if I can incorporate some music during study/lab times. I currently use different color markers at the whiteboard.
There is limited room in the classrooms to alter the seating and add color to our kitchens. We establish an environment which mimics what the students will see in the industry.
Alejandro,
this is a great idea as it helps reach even more types of learners.
Dr. Ryan Meers
Laura,
yes, if we make them more comfortable they should be better prepared to learn.
Dr. Ryan Meers
in Medecine you have to be very visual and I like to use a photos where you can show to the student how the patient looks.
I want to try creating a more inviting classroom, so that students feel more comfortable. Quotations and posters on the walls would welcome them. I plan to use them to prompt memory of concepts, too.
I teach ultrasound and I find that color posters are essential to solidify concepts such as anatomy. The colors not only make it more appealing for students to learn from, but they help them better visualize structures and remember them long-term. I have never tried music but I would be curious to, if the school allows it.
Esperanza,
this is a great technique to really set the stage for the learning of the day.
Dr. Ryan Meers
David,
yes, using seating (when possible) is a great & rather inexpensive way to help with the learning.
Dr. Ryan Meers
