Hi Marcey,
You make a number of very good points about how to reach students. You are correct about offering instruction that interesting and has variety. This will help the students to stay engaged in the learning process.
Gary
With regards to instructional opportunities, the most important part for an instructor to remember is not to assume that everyone learns the way he or she does. For any program or instructor to be effective, the program and instructor must be stimulating to the targeted audience. So you ask, how can that be accomplished? The key to successful instruction is to work with the participants and assist them with the content. It is very important to be realistic, and be prepared for your audience to approach the class with a wider variety of interests and knowledge. This may seem overwhelming and confusing for some instructors, but with careful preparation and open mindedness, a successful program and instructor can be the outcome.
Hi Kari,
Great way to start a class. Your methods let the students get comfortable with the class and helps them to feel confident that they can pass the course.
Gary
Hi James,
That is what an instructional delivery expert (IDE) is all about. Learning how the students learn and then using that information to formulate strategies that will make it happen.
Gary
the goal of an instructor is to make sure every body no mater age or back ground gets all the information you have to offer in you class. knowing you students characteristics is one way to teach to there needs and the frustration levels will go down. whitch will make a better learning invorment, the class will run smoother, and it will help the students acheve there goals.
I have seen that students of every age come in on the first day with a fear of failure. It seems to be universal. Going over the syllabus and relaying a clear understanding of objectives and expectations on the first day helps to assuage a few fears by giving students structure within the academic sphere. Second, playing "get to know you" games and developing group activities on the first day gives the students a sense of belonging and helps them find their place in the social sphere. Once the student feels comfortable with and confident about the material and their classmates, the instructional process becomes easier because the students feel "safe". The instructor is then free to focus on the relevance of the material to the students career goals.
If I know how students learn, I can convey the information in a way that is easiest for students to understand.
In addition, if I know the background and other factors about the students in the class, I can use examples that are relevant to the students.
Hi Ernest,
Good observation. Different classes and differ students require different approaches. It is good that you see this and as a result you can adapt your instruction to the needs of the current students.
Gary
It helps to know your audience and how you can reach them with the material that you must present. They must be able to retain and assimilate what you are presenting so this an important aspect of teaching.
It helps me to understand why I can get a point across to one group but can't seem to get the next group to understand the same question. I may need to tailor my teaching techniques to better suit the class I have.
I feel this gives an instructor a gauge for good balance. Being able to appeal all learner characteristics
Hi Farida,
I like your approach of offering different uses of learning styles for the same activities. That way students can find their preferences and comfort level within the subject. This should greatly enhance their success rate.
Gary
getting an overview of your students' learning characteristics allows you to format your course appropriately. Different students needs different teaching methods; some are visual, others are hands on. I have always taught my classes in way where I incorporate different learning methods for the same activity. I find that this helps cover the different learning styles, as well as reinforce the issue at hand more than once.
Hi James,
Student diversity is a real issue that instructors have to deal with. Instructors today are being challenged to meet a wider variety of student needs more than ever before. The fun part of teaching is being creative in meeting those needs. This keeps teaching from ever being boring. When the students have an "uh-ha" moment it is worth all the effort.
Keep up the good work.
Gary
In today’s economy there will be great diversity in the classrooms. As instructors we have to be ready for a host of issues like Financial, Health, Cultural and Personal.
to decide what type of teaching method is best for the class. You can use different styles if need be.
Hi Dotti,
You are right about the tactile area being a learning preference. In answering your forum question I forgot this one. Thanks for reminding me. Tactile learning is the focal point of most of the training that we do in career colleges. It also helps to blend the other areas together and give value to the content they are studying.
Gary
Hi Gary,
Thank you for you prompt responses. I add one more of the learning styles which is tactile because my students are learning to write on a steno machine that uses a phonetic alphabet concept. Letter combinations are used that do not represent the English spelling but the phonetic sound of our speaking and listening language.
Thanks, Dotti
Hi Dotti,
You make a number of good points about knowing the learning characteristics of your students. There has been as you know a lot of research in the area of learning styles.
The four categories currently being used are visual, auditory, pictorial and printed word. There are many sub-categories of learning styles but I like to focus on the four big areas as I plan my instructional delivery and content.
Gary
Hi Dave,
You are right about by understanding the students' characteristics you will be able to decide better how to instruct them.
What are some methods that you use to get to know the characteristics of your students?
Gary
