I think the fact that you are versatile and offer a variety of teaching/learning methods for students makes you a good teacher. The simple fact that you are not set in your ways or stuck in a box allows you to customize your students' learning experience.
I agree with you 100%. It is amazing how getting to know someone can really open the lines of communication and provide information on how a student learns. At the end of the day, simply getting to know students makes us as instructors more successful and makes our jobs easier to do.
Being in Fashion Design, I have always tried to relate how our current project works back to styles the students like, but now I will try to reinforce it more directly to clothing that they wear to school. Relating to clothing they wear every day will hopefully place the concepts more firmly in their memories.
Understanding the basics of learning allows you to assess the needs of your students and adapt your instruction to their learning style. This usually helps me especially at the start of a course when the student teacher relationship is being developed. Gaining a student's trust and allowing them to feel a certain comfort level in your course, by making adaptations to their style of learning, will only benefit both the student and teacher as the course proceeds. I am a big believer in making sure students are challenged and taken out of their comfort zone- but you must gain trust first. I have had much more success exposing students to different styles of learning once I embraced the basics of the learning process and applied that knowledge to how I instruct students. It has been my experience that students (especially adults) can be "stuck" in their ways and that if I am the first one to give a little, they tend to be more open to being challenged as the course proceeds. For instance, I teach science courses and I often run across topics that I feel are easily understood by presenting a powerpoint lecture on the topic (at least it seems easy to me). By understanding the basics of learning and taking the time to present this information in a variety of learning styles, I have not only made sure that I reach the majority of students in my course but I have also managed to pull the student in, get their attention (because they understand the topic), and now I have the platform to challenge them to be open to a variety of instruction. Â Using this instructional strategy helps prepare students for challenges they may face in future course and in the workplace.
Marjorie,
Good way to create connecting points for your students as they are moving through the course. This way they can refer back to the required content and pull it out of their memory when needed.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
It is important to understand basic learning because as an instructor you need to know the various ways students may learn. I include both concrete and abstract techniques. I will put out a list of items that are important and then I will I will intergrate an activity that will help explain or expand on the topic. I find this helps build a "memory" for the student to return to when they need to recall the information.
I always find out thru the student on how he or she learns best the first few days of the start of class so that my instruction hits the areas of learning that best fits my students.
Curran,
Glad this information was helpful to you. This information will set the stage for some creative and engaging instructional development that will greatly benefit your students. I wish you continued teaching success.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
It is very important to know the basics of learning as an instructor. Identify the best instructional strategies for your students and designing the best methods to use in order to facilitate learning. One example is the use of episodic memory. It allows the learner to make use of a very important and unforgettable time in their lives and this would allow the instructor to use these to teach.
Once you understand the class dynamic and what types of traumatic experiances you might be dealing with then the class format should be addapted and once they take the first quiz you can see if you have adapted it properly for them to learn what is necissary. I like highlighting the most important info and keeping the enteraining info but helping the students filter that out with reviews.
Having the opportunity to understand how the brain functions is going to have a profound effect on how i hear and respond to struggling students. I've always known that frustrated students are so because they are efforting to grasp and retain the subject matter but this has given me a much better perspective on how to handle different situations.
Thanks
Tim,
Right you are. What are some of the strategies you use to identify the different learning preferences of your students.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
I think different students will learn best in different ways. Finding students strengths and weakner areas allows you to adjust your lesson to best serve the stronger areas.
Hector,
By understanding your students and their learning preferences you are going to be able to more accurately target their support needs. This support will help to keep them engaged in the course and moving forward toward their career goals.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
How will understanding the basics of learning benefit you as an instructor? Would you give an example of how you might adapt your instructional strategy or teaching methods as a result of understanding how the brain functions and how learning occurs?
I think having a good understanding can only benefit instructors in developing quality lessons for their classes. I have a couple non-native speakers in my classes, as well as, a few with identified learning disabilities. I never thought about personally limiting the number of assignments, so they can grasp the material better. I've never wanted them to think they were getting special treament.
Donna,
Good to hear about how you will be able to construct some higher order problem solving and critical thinking opportunities for your students. This is such an important part of their career growth. Keep up the good work.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
I think this will have the biggest impact on how I assess the learning. When I am trying to develop the higher order of questions/assessments (comprehension, application, analysis, etc.) it is difficult to write these. Having a better understanding of the learning process and how the brain works will definitely be a plus.
Khalid,
Good way to appeal to the different learning preferences of your students and keep them engaged throughout the course.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
I usually do not adapt one teaching strategy,during the course i change strategy according to the need of the subject and according to the moode of my students,having one stategy all the time i think will be boring to the students and this could encourage them to miss the class.
It benefits me by helping me to understand the means in which different students learn. I would alter my teaching method by bringing several different items for students to taste, touch and smell so that the students who are good auditory learners can physically get there hands on the product so they learn better from it.
