I present information to the students, and then see if anyone has any life experiences to add to the dicussion. I follow this up with age appropriate hands-on training.
Understanding learning characteristics assists the instructor with developing a "blended" approach to the instructional needs of a class. Each class has its uniqueness and requires the instructor to maintain a higher level of awareness to be successful.
It would help me modify my lesson plan based on students life and mechanical [job] abilities
Students have different learning styles. The instructor needs to be aware of this in order to be effective in the classroom.
I help my students gain knowledge of the material I am teaching by giving them lecture materials and then having them apply what I have been talking about in assigments right away.
Understanding learner characteristics helps me to apply specific examples in class to their background. In the virtual environment it can be dificult to get to know someone in a relatively short period of time so as to have lasting impact.
Hi Joe,
You are right on with this approach as you are spreading the learning opportunities throughout the intake preferences of students. In addition, you are getting enough repetition going that the students have ample opportunity to store the new content in their working memories. Great job!
Gary
Gary,
For each chapter lesson, I pass out a study guide with a memory bank of key words used in the lesson. Then as I am giving the lesson, I stop on a key word and ask a student for the definition. Then I draw a visual or show a picture on the smart board. Then I ask the students to type the definition or hand write the definition. This multisensory VAKT (Visual-Auditory-Kinesthetic-Tactile) approach helps students remember the key words.
Joe
Hi David,
Right you are. How do you go about identifying the learning styles of your students? Thanks for sharing your strategies with us.
Gary
Because if you can understand the learning styles of your students, then you can plan and taylor your lessons around them so they understand the material.
Hi Chimene,
Good way to encourage more interaction from your students. By using a variety of instructional deliveries you are offering them content in their learning preference areas which will keep them engaged and focused on the content.
Gary
Hi Katianne,
Great approach to teaching. By combining all of the elements you have listed you are giving your students your best professional effort while providing them success steps if they are willing to put forth the effort to achieve them. Keep up the good work you are doing. You are impacting lives in so many different ways.
Gary
I remember having the students at my on-line college described as 'students in transition.' It was explained how these students are usually in the middle of a huge life transition -- many are back in school because they have lost a job, divorced, or maybe have been diagnosed with a disability that makes them unable to work in their original career.
It was explained to us how difficult it can be to be starting a school program while life is in such flux. These students can have low confidence and really worry about success. In addition, many are so busy with their transitions and the stress that change brings that the time they have for their studies can be sporadic.
When I heard this, it completely changed the way I looked at my students. So often (since I teach one of the first courses they take -- Composition I) I feel like I do so much coaching. I used to think that wasn't appropriate, but now I see that it is.
I also see, though, that I need to be careful about how I help. I need to get them to stand on their own feet and not get too used to asking for extensions, etc. It's a difficult balance sometimes!
Hi Janet,
So true. I have a background like yours. My students were there because by law they had to be which is a different game than teaching adults. You are right on with your comments about how to engage adults and learn why they are there and what their expectations are.
Gary
So you know what each student needs to succeed in college.
Understanding learner characteristics allows me to better plan for learner issues that may adversely affect the learning environment, and provide constructive guidance in helping to provide a meaningful learning experience for them.
Students need to know that their time spent in class is of value. If an instructor has a mixed class and is only prepared for one type of learner, then the others in class do not feel that sense of value. By having multiple back-up plans and many kinds of activities the instructor can be of value to all learners.
Having taught for 35 years, 30 of which were in public high school, I find that teaching adult learners to require different strategies on my part. I need to know why the student is in my classroom and what this student hopes to achieve.
I believe it helps during the instructional planning process to incorporate elements of the learner characteristics into the delivery of the lessons so that students have points of reference and association.
Great point, and this is the ultimate key in my experience. Learners learn in different ways, and it takes an instructor utilizing different methods to relate to all concerned.
Ken Orgill
