Retaining Course Content
Skill building is important in writing classes. You build a sentence, a paragraph, an essay. Teaching writing as a scientific method, as an equation of sorts will alway help the students that say "Oh, I can't write". If they feel they can connect with the entry point of the course, then they feel they have a chance to succeed.
Michael,
This is what student growth should be about. Learning and applying new knowledge to different situations. Then refining the knowledge to fit into different settings and your reinforcement and feedback is helping them to seal that information in their working memory.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Learn about it, see it, do it, talk about it, teach it, are the steps I use with my students and it usually pays off. I am usually there to correct any incorrect information that may be relayed during the teach it part.
I have found that a verbal reward "Great Job!" and a pat on the back also helps with retention of the information. When incorrect information is supplied they get a "Good Job!" and then the correction follows.
Just like a puppy, rewards are remembered during training.
When I teach science classes, first the lecture materials are given. Discussion of concepts and personal experiences follow. Games, labs and videos are utilized next. Finally I have students demonstrate skill with board exercises in front of the class. The building of the knowledge gives them the confidence to master the material.
Retaining information can be different for a whole class. The subjects I teach, students are more apt to learn seeing and doing. Hear it, say it, write it, do it and I like to add teach it, I have found to work great. After a student/group has completed a task, I like to have them show the next student/group. This is where "kinks" can be worked out. I also give the students "free reign" after demonstrations and notes. This can help them build comprehention. The "struggle" to recall steps/info and work them out internally, rather than asking "now what?" This keeps me mobile for support and builds teamwork.
Luequiten,
Building student confidence is an important part of what we do as instructors. We need to encourage and support the learning efforts of our students. In return they need to develop self discipline and content expertise.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I think the success of the student rides on the concept of the student gathering the information and building the knowledge through the subject matter. If they have the confidence then they feel they can succeed and gather the course content.
Gashaw,
As I teach a course that is an essential part of them being certified I can really relate to your comments. They have to have the content in order to enter their field and create a future for themselves. They need to be reminded of this on a regular basis.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
That is true, Dr. Meers. If they do not pass the board, they would not get a job and any thing we do to help them pass the board by teaching them the mnemonics would be good. We should do all we can to help boost their confidence during taking their board.
Lindsey,
This is such a valuable aide for the students because they know they know the terms or words due to using the mnemonics. Boards are stressful enough but if the students know they know their content and have a strategy (mnemonics) to fall back on they will have a much higher level of confidence during the test time.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
In a few of my classes I use mnemonics when having students memorize specific facts they need to remember for when they take their board examinations.
Jim,
Sharing little techniques like this really help students with their learning process. You are showing them how they can connect the points from the course to their learning.
Garyy
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Since I teach Automotive Technology we have use most of the teaching stratagies that have been discussed in this course. Sometimes when I'm trying to get students to remember key concepts I relate the concept to something they should be very familiar with. For example when I want them to remember the 8th digit in the VIN# which is the digit for the engine.So I tell them how to remember that E is the same starting letter for Engine and Eight.
Larry,
Yes, the will help with content retention and student performance.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Mnemonics, review and hands on will always be the best methods for retetion.
Nestor,
It is uses like this that make them fun to create and easy to use. They stick with us throughout our working lives and make it so much easier for us to remember information that normally would be forgotten at the end of the class.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I'm a big fan of mnemonics. It has helped me as a student before and now as an instructors.
Sometimes I catch my students sharing these phrases and/or acronyms to lower classmen in order to explain concepts to them. It's really great to see these resources in action.
Darren,
Success build confidence and confidence builds on success. By offering opportunities for success then confidence starts and the results are students succeeding when they knew for a fact they couldn't. It is times like this that teaching is so rewarding because they are learning and growing and you can see them develop their skill sets and move closer to their career goals.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
