I think that the primary change I will institute is one that will include more information from previous classes in the review at the beginning of each class. I tend to review only what we have covered in the class that immediately preceded the one that we are in. I do, however, make every effort to tie previous knowledge to current information during my lectures.
I quiz every day over the preceeding days lesson. I also use lots of examples to appeal to all 3 learning styles. I let them know the first day of class that memory is nothing without retention. I want them to not only get the concepts but also get the right answers.
In areas that have great importance, I give real life examples/situations so they will remember the incident. In difficult words that are hard to remember, I use song titles or words.
Using the theory of primacy, I will ensure to get the most important objectives up front without a lot of lead in. In the past I may have spent too much time leading up to my main point.
Kent Dolasky
Good evening Professor Davis,
At the beginning of each block; I give all of my students a printed recipe packet. After the first day of class I instruct them that they are no longer allowed to use this packet during class production and that they need to hand write the recipes in a pocket notebook each night before class. I then check the pocket notebook during roll call to see if they have completed their "homework". I feel that this procedure helps with their memory and retention and they are less likely to walk into a class period and make a statement such as "Dude...Do you know what we are doing today?” It also helps them during their cooking because the notebook fits into their pocket and they don't have to fumble with the large packet as much. I also encourage the use of flash cards to help the student’s study terms that will be on quizzes and tests. As far as what I will do differently; I think I will try to incorporate the retention tactics of primacy, recency, uniqueness, emotion, visual, and information chunking. Thank you for the thought provoking post Professor Davis!
Best regards,
Jason Kupper
i would have the students write a paper on a topic thst they have a pass experience and knowledge of the toopic given to analize the informaation learned and obtained from prior experiences
I have tried to increase retention through memory by applying the subject to what the student already understands, showing them that they do have a concept of the information. It helps them to realize that they do understand the material, they just have never applied it like that before. I also like to make up stories related to how things work. It helps the students to diagnosis the problem and gives them confidence that they are capable of solving the problems.
I start the class with current affairs, start discussions, ask questions that everyone would know the answer. I explain what they will learn from this class and give examples of quiz questions. I attempt to give handouts so that can follow and pay attention. Changing my classroom is very difficult, I teach nights and the day instructors have their visuals and they may or may not pertain to my subject. What to do differently. Attempt to create different atmosphere for each class.
Repetition is one way. I would suggest using
acronyms is also a way to remember.
The spaces on a musical score are F A C E.
Memory is necessary to be competent in many areas. Many things can be looked up, but if you do not know where to look it up, well there will be no info.... The best way to have a student retain information or remeber something is to have the use it, discuss it, or explain it to some one else. As they say, the best way to learn is to teach. I have the students participate in training exercises that I want them to remember, this seems to keep that knowledge alive in their memory, which also makes them feel good that they learned and retained the info.
I am a big fan of repitition. I like the students to perform a task many times to make sure they get it. Also, at the beginning of class, I repeat the themes of the day before. at the end of class, I discuss what we will be doing in the next class. I try to work in as much repitition as possible.
My current practice is very briefly review the main points we covered during the previous session. After which I will highlight our objectives for the day. Including handing out a number of questions on a sheet of paper. The questions will be answered throughout my lecture. Each student is assigned one or two questions. Towards the end of the class we discuss the answered in a nonthreatening group-work session. This has worked really go for my students.
I am really not going to do anything differently but continually refine my course. I give a quick lecture on what we are going to cover in the begining of the class and how it will relate to the overall outcome. We then go into production and I do various demos during this time. As we eat what we have produced I go over the foods and then to wrap up the class there is the final outgoing lecture on how our foods turned out and what we covered. I hit them on primacy and recency, on mutiple intelligence with various powerponts and films during lectures. They are hit with kinestetic learning by doing. There is shared disussion and grouping of work. I can barely fit all this into 3.5 hours but I get it done. My biggest thrill is how much the students enjoy what they are doing in the class. By hooking everything up through a dynamic high powered environment they seem to retain even more.
It is important at the end of the day to re-cap the days lesson and go over any elements that may be confusing. We might take a short pop quiz which will help me to alter the material if necessary.
Well teaching culinary is a bit different. I give them recipes and methods once and the second time only ingredients and they must remember the method. down side is some pretty crazy finished products
Hi David!
I like it David! Then I review at the end of the day to be sure that we have achieved out goals.
The sound of the voice is also important. I tell my students that if I repeat something 3 times, you are sure to see it on a quiz or exam.
Chunking is another good technique, but I caution that it may not work for all students. I try to make chunking visual as well.
Keep up the good work!
Jane Davis
ED107 Facilitator
Instead of just making the students read the ogjectives and lessons, I will write them on the board and read them allowed while they look. The sound of my voice and the way I say the information will activate emotional signals which will help them remember objectives.
Chunking is another good way that I would like to adapt my teaching style to this lesson. When teaching people how to cook, there are always several steps. It would be a good idea to teach the students how to chunk the recipes in parts; especially when they are having a test.
I will continue to do what I have been doing which is going over the days lesson in the beginning of class. I will continue to stress repetition in all that my students do. I will continue to go over the positive and negatives of the day at the end of the day.
After I have lectured on a topic, I list some key points on the board in scattered order. I ask two students to come to the board and write the steps in sequence order. After they have completed the steps, I ask for a show of hands of who agrees with student #1 or student #2. I keep asking the next two students to compete the order until someone correctly executes it. We then discuss why those steps were correct.
Hi caren I beleive that repetition is key in the classroom I always review what took place in our previous class both positive and negative and review how we would approach the day differently.
