I teach at a school that caters to a lot of visual learners. I try to be mindful of that fact so that I can keep their attention. One of my favorite ways to introduce the upcoming project to my students is by showing them pictures of past students' work and actual examples when ever possible. I think that showing them what other people have accomplished their very first time doing that same thing really gives them the encouragement they need to keep going. I feel like making sure they understand that while they should hold themselves to high standards, they must also understand that they are students and they should not expect to be perfect the first time around.
I think it varies based on the type of class or audience. The reading material in this course gives lots of ideas with regards to colors, visuals, seating, supplies, and music.
At some point in my teaching career I have used some of the suggestions such as seating and music. Many times I’ve had little control over items like color of the room
the amount of colorful posters.
I been a student in classes where the instructor has used many of the above suggestions and at times they worked other times not the case.
Ultimately I think it comes down to the type of class or audience. I think the trick is to find a happy medium where you don’t overdo it. Maybe experiment with a couple of the
ideas. Then stick with what works for each individual teaching.
Michael,
I think this demonstrates some great creativity in teaching an area that has definite prescribed material (diagrams, etc) yet you've found a way to keep the students engaged.
Dr. Ryan Meers
I use diff color markers,while teaching and using the white board,may have big diagrams all around the class walls, music only when the class is doing an exercise or a gruop project,music works wonders when they are reviewing at the end of the day.relaxes the students,sometimes I have used music to do a 5 min workout just before the class ends.
music can warm up in the beginning of class and cool down at the end of the class. it works.
I teach HVAC. Although I don't incorporate music into my classroom. I do have training aids throughout the class room with colored posters both attached to the walls and as pass around placards. I use a white board for power points as well as for writting key points and drawing diagrams as needed. There are pass around items as well as displays of equipment freestanding around the room.
The tables are in a horseshoe layout with the white board centered to the tables. I can walk around the area between the white board and the students to keep them focused on what I'm saying whil their eyes follow me around the horseshoe and white board.
John,
Yes, it is definitely a challenge in a situation like this. I think the key is to look for ways where you can mix it up a little.
Dr. Ryan Meers
I'm afraid I have little choice in any of these things. We have no widows. Every inch of wall is covered with practice wiring boards. All paper is printed in house on white paper and I have no idea where I'd put a plant if I had one. We do allow them to move tables around at times during study periods but with 32 to 34 students around 17 tables in a room 32'X 32' there is little room for that. They have 100 hours of class in 20 working days covering quite a technical subject and usually have a class grade average around 80% to 85%. Most are young adults and well motivated, that helps.
I really like the multi-sensory learning idea. Our rooms are already colored blue, white and gray. I think with a little artwork and music it would be an excellent learning environment.
I have experimented on the using color and not using color to see how the students repond. When I do my power point presentation,usually I present in a vibrant color to capture my audiences attention. Another thing I add to the presentation is motion picture every third or fourth slide. This is vey helpful.
I have used less vibrant color an found that the student do not respond as well, they appear less interested, almost bored, so every week I have to come up with a better idea to capture the audience.
Donna,
This is a great strategy as I'm guessing that it can also help these students retain the information & recall it for assessments.
Dr. Ryan Meers
I have a tendency to relate songs to subjects. My students began to do the same thing. It became a fun contest. Music and song is very uplifting. Displaying past projects around the room helps stimulate students creativity. The classrooms are oddly shaped so seating has to be creative.
Brenda,
When I have students I also like to encourage them to use their creativity & often I end up getting some great ideas from them that I incorporate in future classes.
Dr. Ryan Meers
Makila,
Yes, often those different colors or shapes or sounds can help students recall the information better, especially on asssessments.
Dr. Ryan Meers
I have involved student in presenting topics. They create colorful poster and power point to "spice up" their presentation.
PowerPoints, music and the others mentioned just raises the attention level. It is very helpful in raising the attention level of the students.
I think using different tools helps to create connections for the students. They may remember the slide before they remember what is on the slide. I try to use different colors when writing on the board to help students associate a color to a concept. I heard that smells can work also, but you want to be careful of student sensitivities.
i definately have a multi-sensory environment in my classroomwith the seating towards the comps around the room, training aids thoughout the room...ect
seating by numbers as i myself learn names and who are the talkers as well as the quiet ones. Music is to release tention in the kitchen like around cleaning time.
Jennifer,
You are so right that the more senses we stimulate the more will be remembered. I too like to play games & I always like to emphasize a good strong debrief. As I often say in the corporate training world, the power is in the debrief!
Ryan
Dr. Ryan Meers
The more senses we stimulate the more students remember. So I have added more charts to my classroom. I also have added more short videos to my lecture so the students can get a visual of what a colonscopy looks like for example.
I haven't tried the music thing, but I am welling to give it a shot.
Playing games in the classroom seems to help a lot with retention. Especially games where they are up and moving around.
