I currently instruct a medical coding, billing, transcription courses which include, lectures, hand outs and one-on-one with students. I also sit on a panel of instructors for weekly retention meeting to go over our student's progress. We also have daily brief meetings for any problems at the start of each instructors shift
Hi Terri,
Great use of the categories of the learning styles. The human brain, all three pounds of it, is constantly seeking variety so your use of the different delivery modes helps this process out.
Keep up the good work.
Gary
I have enjoyed reading your responses to this thought provoking question. I teach at a career college and my classrooms are filled with students from age 18 to 70. Clearly nontraditional! I find that for these adult learners they need to see the relavancy to what Iam teaching in relationship to their career path. Along with that has to be an established boundary of mutual respect. Once we have established the mutual respect and they have determined the relavancy then we can move to the next level. I must present the course content in such a way that everyone stays captured. This must be done by incorporating the four catagories of learning styles. These four catagories are viewing, listening, reading and tactile. I can incorporate all four by assigning readings from the text, using a dynamic power point presentation, empower them with an up-beat and interesting lecture (throwing in a real life example or two really keeps them captured), and by using a variety of other tools, for instance showing actual patient X-rays while teaching a unit on the skeletal system. By keeping my classroom dynamic, focused and relavant it provides a productive learning environment.
Hi Louis,
Great suggestions all. You listed a number of ideas that instructors can use to help keep their students engaged in the learning process. You have a very good understanding of what it takes to keep students motivated and enrolled. The human side of teaching is stronger than the content side no matter what the career field is. When the student feels respected, valued and engaged learning growth occurs. Keep up the good work with your students.
Gary
One of the keys to retention is early assessment of student capabilities. Student surveys, a thorough orientation that focuses on factors that identify student strengths and weaknesses. Have students writing a motivational letter to themselves on why the enrolled and why they will succeed, learning style assessment, etc. These are all tools that can be utilized. When an instructor has a general idea of the class dynamics it is easier to plan lessons to use student strengths to help them overcome learning weakness.
Hi Ruth Ann,
You are doing the right things to keep your students engaged. By having a clear understanding of the situations that your students are bringing to the classroom you have a better idea of how to get them focused on the what they need to do for class success.
Your challenge of keeping the class moving forward while attending to the diverse learning needs of different students is a big one. I commend you for your use of different learning devices such as the legos and other such items. It is amazing to me how effective these devices can be in helping adult learners. Keep up the good work.
Gary
By being able to understand learner characteristics it allows me to help each individual student to become as successful as they possibly can. We have students who have come from very diverse backgrounds - some have been successful in higher education and some are finding success for the first time. The challenge that I face is trying to keep everyone engaged at a level that is productive for them while keeping the class moving along.
Many students do not have the support system at home to help them be successful. They have "other priorities" such as childcare, money, transportation, etc that interferes with their learning. I have tried such devices as legos, games, clay skeletons, puzzles, etc to try and keep them engaged and excited about their class.
Hi Kimble,
The key as you mentioned is to have an instructional plan that will enable you to deliver quality instruction in such a manner that the needs of all your students will be met.
Gary
being able to design an instructional plan to help each student learn according to their learning style,whether it be by hands on,reading or hearing.
Hi Amir,
As instructors we need to develop instruction that offers learning paths through all of the learning style avenues. This include as you mentioned visual, as well as printed material, hands on (tactile) and auditory learning preferences. As you prepare your lesson content and delivery you need to think about how you can present the information in such a ways as to appeal to all of the students within the four areas.
Gary
Some students are visual learners, they need to see or show how something is down
Hi Theodore,
You have painted a very clear picture of your students. Your are fortunate that you have the diversity that you have in your classes. Experience has shown that with age, cultural, geographic, and ethnic diversity students have the opportunity to see themselves in others that have achieved. In addition, the students can see that no matter what background they bring to the classroom they can learn, grow and make a life for themselves.
Your comments about learning styles are right on the mark as well. I have worked for many years in the area of multiple intelligence assessment (how we process information) as it relates to learning styles. By being aware of the various learning styles of your students you have an edge on getting them through the material with maximum success. Congratulations on getting a handle on this most important area.
I have a question, what methods do you use to identify the learning styles of your students?
Gary
Fortunately, in our school setting, our students have almost as much diversity in learning characteristics as there is diversity in learning opportunities, or diversity in cultural or ethnic backgrounds. Our students range from 18 to 56 years of age and cover every aspect of that age diversity, including learning characteristics. For those who are "hands-on" learners, there is a large portion of their training in a lab setting, for those who are visual learners, there is much done in the demonstration areas, and for those who do well by reading, there is a large portion done from a textbook situation. Our students also vary greatly in their backgrounds, many from an inner-city experience, many from a rural experience. This seems to give a positive note to the learning situation, for not only are they growing in an academic sense, but also in a cultural sense, regardless of their backgrounds. It seems as though the diversity(ies) are definitely a "plus" among the students as a whole.
Hi Carol,
It is obvious by your forum response that you have had a lot of experience in working with non-traditional learners. Your points about how to encourage them are right on. Sometimes the personal aspects of instruction become more important than content. If the student is so discouraged or burdened down by life outside of the classroom that he or she cannot see a future for themselves in your classroom then the best content in the world will not make a difference.
A key part of experience is knowing just when to intervene and when to step back and give the student some space. This skill seems to be an ongoing one that requires observation and good common sense.
Gary
Understanding your student's characteristics and learning the art of empathy are essential for retaining adult learners in the classroom. Someone who has been out of the classroom for a number of years can bring a lot of "baggage" with them. While the instructor should not put him or herself in a situation that detracts from teaching, understanding the self-doubt and fears our students have is important to their success. An instructor must learn to recognize when it is time to intervene on an individual basis, with a kind word of encouragement, etc., referral on to administration, or helping a student to problem solve during break, can mean the difference between a decision to stay in school or to drop.
Hi Ana,
You have touched upon the components of what keeps students engaged in the learning process; that is constant contact in one form or another. It sounds like you have set up program that enables you to keep up with the pulse of your class. This way you will be able to approach any situation that might occur before it becomes a serious learning issue, either with an individual student or the entire class.
Gary
Learning how to help and understand the students
methods of comprehending the material is very important. This will make it easier on the student as well as the instructor.We want to help them succeed and learn at a comfortable pace. Giving them some one on one time, playing games, and have them come to the board to write what they learned are some ways to encourage the student. They learn to interact with one another and have fun learning at the same time.
Hi Elizabeth,
Your discussion about different learning styles is a good one. As educators we must have variety in out delivery or we will miss a majority of our students at any given time. With a balance of delivery we can appeal to the differences of students, while imparting knowledge and skills that are needed for career success.
Gary
Hello, I agree with Gloria.For i have learned that not everyone works at the same pace and dont always understand on one method which is that in my class i spend time with lectures but also while i give examples on the board to show what i am trying to explain and some understand better when they work on thier own and just have simple questions.Some students even enjoy playing games like Jeopardy or hangman after lessons for example.
Hi Jim,
I am glad that you have success with the pairing approach. The problem you present is a common one. My most successful approach is to first talk with the strong team member and outline specifically what it is that I want him/her to focus on in working with the other team member. Sometimes, the strong team member gets out ahead of their knowledge base, just as you mentioned. Through my talk with them I encourage them to focus on one item that I want them to work on with their team member.
If I have a strong team member that doesn't listen I reassign teams. As a general practice I do this anyway so that I can measure individual growth and just not team growth. It keeps the teams from becoming to dependent on each other. In addition, they learn to work with different personality types, and dedication levels. Strong team members may find themselves teamed with other strong team members and this forces them to negotiate some form of work plan if they are going to complete their work.
Hope this is of some help to you as you create your teams.
Gary
