I always have a few students that will catch on quicker than others. Some learn better hands on and others are bookworms. I like to approach this with the ones that work better hands on. They are usually finished first with a competency and can step up and help others that are having difficulty. I always encourage this in the classroom and lab settings because sometimes how one person learns can help someone else that may be having a hard time understanding.
james,
Facilitating the groups as you do seems to be working great for the students and you.
Ron Hansen, Ed. D.
James,
Thank you for your post. The range of techniques does address several learning styles. How do instructors monitor the web based exercises?
Ron Hansen, Ed. D.
alot of students are go getters.I let these students clip along at their pace.I watch as these students interact with others and watch to see if they help others to understand the task they are to perform.I have some time to work with others that are struggling,and need instructor input.alot of my students are self starters,and that is how I am training these students to be.I have occassionally moved students to other groups that will benefit there performance,but there are times where students will just bounce around and try to get by in lab and not ask questions so I must watch,approach,instruct, then back off and watch,until the student feels comfortable, and then,like magic, the student becomes a force in his/her group.I constantly watch each person in their groups,how well they perform the task, was it the way they were instructed,was it done safely,did they help others,did they have fun, and did they clean up when completed.this approach for blends the class, I get multiple grading opprotunities,and plenty of floating instruction time.
In our particular curriculum we offer the students several different ways to learn in order to accomodate individual learning styles. There are web based exercises where the student learns in a virtual enviroment at their own pace, and can manipulate tools or devices to acheive the necessary results. There are breaks, or test-drives, built into this training to show the student their level of comprehension, and they are able to navigate through each exercise as many times as they wish to ensure they fully understand the concepts presented. We then offer an instructor led discussion piece where the students can ask and direct questions from or to the instructor or their peers to help reinforce the web training. Finally they get the opportunity to apply what they have learned using the hands-on lab exercises designed to show the end result of the previous two exercises. The instructor facilitates this by asking key questions at several places throughout the labs to help the students understand the material more fully.
Sean,
This setup seems to reduce the amount of administration for the instructor. That allows for more teaching time for the instructor.
Ron Hansen, Ed. D.
DANIEL,
Is there any peer review when the students are in groups?
Ron Hansen, Ed. D.
My classroom employs a very small amount of lecture, relying primarily on a 50/50 delivery of information between online training videos and self-instructed hands-on tasks (the manufacturer refers to it as "Individualized Skills Training", where the students do most of there learning on their own). Assesment is done by online tests following the trainig videos and observation in lab during the students' tasks and verifying th results of the task when the student has finished.
I use lecture,then demostrate what i explain then take them to lab have them work in groups and help the students and explain to them in more detail while there in smaller groups.
Amanda,
How do you conduct the note and theory sessions? Do you have group work? Discussions? Student led presentations? Trying to find ways to make teaching theory more interactive is a challenge. Yet, it helps students to retain information better.
Ron Hansen, Ed. D.
Rocklan,
Are there any specific suggestions or guidelines given to the students when you break them into groups of two?
Ron Hansen, Ed. D.
Kerry,
In your experience, have you found that some students learn better with one approach more than others? If so, how have you modified instruction to give students more of that approach? Are you able to "individualize" the learning?
Ron Hansen, Ed. D.
in a medical lab sometimes the tests are fast and need to be repeated so that everyone can see the process and the result, I have been teaching lab classes at a few colleges across the country for the last 6 years now and tried many different styles and techniques, we do a note and theory session first, then we do a discussion to clear up anything safety related or anything that isnt clear as far as procedure, and then we have a demo day and a lab session and then a cumulative lab session where we practice all skills together that we have learned, after watching the first practice closely, I allow them to spread their wings and try on their own and I circle the room as needed and allow them to call on me when they feel I am needed because if I hover, they get nervous, this has proved to be successful and the students enjoy the directions and the lab time they get
Ron, I would like to report out on the ability to reach the different learning styles of our students. I like to start by spending approxamately fifteen minutes prior to going to the lab area to explain the processes and nessary tool usages that need to be used for the project. Even though the students feel they are ready, the preview helps with the questions that plague the instructor at the beginning of the project/task. I also like to keep the group to two students as so we can monitor the progress of the assignment. This way it is shared equitiably.
We plan out our curriculum in a manner that insures that most if not all learning styles are reached. This is done by combining instructor led sessions and demonstrations of key componets and procedures. We also put emphasis on lab. Since most of our students are hands on learners the this is important. Than lecture, discussion and reading assignments make sure that there is something for all of the students to grab on to makeing the process effective for a wide range of learners.
james,
When you are working with the smaller groups do you ask questions regarding information provided during the demonstration?
Ron Hansen, Ed. D.
I use lecture,then demostrate what i explain then take them to lab have them work in groups and i go around help the students and explain to them in more detail while there in smaller groups
Eric,
Setting expectations at the beginning of the term, the start of each class, and when beginning a task helps significantly. While some might find it repetitive it breaks the course down into bite size chunks for the student.
Ron Hansen, Ed. D.
john,
Recognizing that students do learn at different paces or require different levels of assistance is important. There are many roads to the same student outcome.
Ron Hansen, Ed. D.
I have found that taking some time during class and talking about what should be expected for that days lab event gives the students a little more confidence that what they are doing is correct or that the results they got were completly off and need some help.
I have also made a habit of changing up lab groups often, that makes it harder for some students to become dependent on thier lab partners for answers.
