The span of age and know how is getting bigger and bigger.
It's some times hard to find an medium ground.
Understanding and knowing your students learning and character differences and needs, I feel shows genuine care and helps the learning process for the student. Most all of us have been in a foreign invironment at work or at school and all of our fears were subdued by the Instructor that showed a genuine concern. Well let us take that learning experience and pass it on.
helps me to gauge the learners basic knowledge. Then plan your lessons to that gauge.
In the first days of our rotations we learn as much from our interaction with the students as they do from us. With conversation and the interest in the feild . We talk about their goals and what they have aready achieved or are thying to achieve in their studies. This leads us to lab and they acutually tell us what characteristics they have or need to use. Hands on, watching and doing, reading and then doing and so on. I enjoy helping them reach thier personal goals no matter how large or small.
I think an understanding of learner characteristics will help plan for the students' reactions to the challenges presented to them in lab.
Our curriculum is very structured and lab orientated, with little or no formal lecture. Consequently, we don't have much of a say in planning, but knowing and understanding students learning characteristics helps us to direct them in the best direction when they don't have suucess in the lab. Some gain from further reading, some from addition hands-on, some from direct demonstration.
I get to know and under stand my students so I can be a better Instructor for them and i do relize every one has a differant way of learning . fear is a big one for me I want students to be able to feel relax and ask me questions so the one point with me is to get my students comfortable with me and things will fall into place
Sometimes I spend a little more time listening to a student to learn his/her learning style. I usually can't find which style right away, so I find that if I listen to some of the conversations between their peers I can get a little inside view of their background and personallity. (Usually more than they tend to share during introductions) This can help to find the style or a clear path of communication for this particular student. Now lectures and demos can be altered a bit to provide a custom learning environment. This also lets me know of any negitive attitudes or frustrations that I can help to solve before it enters the class.
Hi Thomas,
By developing your observational skills and using some basic assessments you can develop your ability to meet the learning needs of your students. You state is well in terms of developing toward the classification of being a true instructor.
Good luck with your teaching and professional development. You students are going to benefit from your efforts.
Gary
Learning to deal and accept differences in personallies and learning styles may take a great deal of patience. The sooner we learn to accept that each person learns at different speeds, the sooner we can be classified as a true instructor.
Knowing the students learning characteristics would help me plan each days lesson. I could change the way I might present my lesson, such as using more or less examples also using demos were needed. But I feel I do not get to know the learning characteristics of my students until I have had them for a few days or even a week. I only have them for 3 weeks so I really do not get a good handle on how they learn, and when I do they move to a different class. Sometimes I do get feedback from other instuctors but that may only cover a few of the students, so I am in the dark about most of them until I have them for a while.
Hi Joseph,
You make a key point about establishing a connection with each student. When this rapport has be been created you have an opportunity to inspire and develop that student into a confident and competent professional.
Gary
I have always found that there is a underlying link to each student. On occasion that link is obvious, on other somewhat subdued. Accessing that pathway is usually and more importantly, the best opportunity the instructor has to influence the students immediate needs. Opening clear lines of communication to that individuals link produces the most positive experience for the student. Social and academic diversity can pose many challenges for the instructor and frustrating for the student.Patient questioning techniques help tremendously!
By understanding your student goals and motives for continued education it allows an instructor in my opinion, to format the learning materials and lab situations to best address the learners needs.
You can modify your class to meet the requirement of the individual student. In our classes we have the advantage of having smaller numbers, 16 max, so we can get more one on one time with each individual and by knowing there learning characteristics you can get through to them on there level and they will have a better understanding of the material presented.
It helps instructors plan there course in A way that is not over loaded with lecture. Students retain far more info if they are actively involved in the learning process.
I should also mention that as far as fear removal, it is of the best tools.
If you understand your learners it will help you decide the best way to cover the course material. That understanding will allow you to be diverse in your delivery methods to make sure you are teaching to each different learning style. This will allow you to be a more effevtive instructor.
most of my students come with differnt back grounds and levels of skill.getting to know them help me ,help them learn the objectives also it help me know who will need more help and some that have a good back ground in the subject matter aleader ship role.
It will help me to know what type of approach and pace I need to take with a specific group of students that are in my class at a specific time.
