Hi Heather,
Thank you for sharing these strategies with us. This enables you to reach your students with a higher level of learning opportunities. Keep up the good work.
Gary
In my place of work, most of the students enrolled because they are not making enough money at their current jobs. Most of them have children to support (often on their own) and little education. We try to keep the focus on better education = better earning power = better standard of living. It isn't always easy in this economy but I still believe my school is a place where lives are turned around.
Students learn in many different ways. They can be "grouped" into visual, auditory, kinesthetic and tactile learners. Incorporating all of these methods of learning into your instruction will ensure that you are touching on each of the needs. This does create a good amount of additional work for an instructor but it is important to ensure that all of your students are learning in the way which suites them best. So, for a lesson you could plan on having visual aids, lecture/discussion, and a hands-on learning activity.
It helps you to better be able to provide quality instruction and better planning.
I too, like this idea. It seems that students always want to work only with their friends in class. If we don't mix them up, they never get the opportunity to know and work with other students. Don't they realize that in the working world, we never know who our customer will be and we must learn to work with all kinds of people.
Understanding learner characteristics helps in the instructional planning process by realizing that everyone is different. Students come from various backgrounds and learn in different formats and speed. All these components need to be considered when teaching a class to students with diverse backgrounds. No two people are alike and we have to be able to reach them all.
I agree with what others have said. It helps guide the lesson planning process, group activities, and examples that you are going to use to relate to the students. I tend to relate the lecture material to what they are going to be doing in their future careers. This helps in both getting them to learn the information and see the relevance of the material for the course.
I agree with each comment and have practiced the same concepts in group assignments. I also like to pair two of my shy students or two of my really strong leaders together to see how they will work together.
Hi Laurie,
This is a challenge that many instructor face. What I have done it to identify the common points between the two settings and then focus on showing the student what content they need to acquire in order to be competent in the field. The example you gave is a good one. Handling animals in a shelter setting is very different than handling them in a hospital or clinic setting. So you can share with them a list of competencies that must be used in a hospital and/or clinic setting so they see that they are building on their previous experiences with unique knowledge.
Gary
Teaching in a career college presents a very diversified classroom setting. Understanding a students' background in both education and work-related experience can help to "set the stage" for how your class will be managed. For example, if I have a student in my class who has worked for a local humane society for several years this person may "feel" they know the content already. So the challenge is this: how do you praise them for having this experience as opposed to what is done in an animal hospital or clinic setting? The situation will vary greatly.
Hi Charlotte,
You make a good point about the need to adapt the instructional delivery to the needs of specific students. By traveling between different student populations like you do you get to see how you need to do different things in order to reach the students. This is great experience for any instructor to have.
Gary
By evaluating the types of individuals in a class, by age, background and culture you can plan accordingly and embrace all these differences in a dynamic learning experience that will actually help students feel motivated and valued and develop the confidence they need
I teach College Mathematics at different schools--career school, community college, and traditional university. The content in my classes is very different among the schools, as is the way I teach the course and deliver the material. This is because of the learner characteristics. At the career school, there are fewer pre-requisites for the course, so I have a different beginning expectations for the students. Plus, I am not preparing those students for mathematical careers or calculus. We have a lot of hands on activities and group work.
I think it is vital as an instructor to understand learner characteristics. We need to understand and help each student thrive. I teach IT and most of my students are a bit shy. Early on I assign projects and break them into small groups so everyone can participate. I have found that even the least talkative student will join in discussions and feel he/she is part of the class.
Learners with different styles can coexist very satisfactorily within a class room. Depending on the lesson plan; the instructor can assign varying tasks to different areas and students.
People who need help w/ knife skills can be assigned knife work and guided along through the lesson. If someone needs help with "measuring" volumes and weights, now would be the time and so on...
Hi Claudia,
Glad to hear about your success with student groups. I use them a lot in my teaching and really like the way that the students learn how to work with others as well as draw together on their projects. They also get a little competitive and this makes for some fun times in the class.
Gary
I have use student groups and teams in the classroom. The teams were choose randomly based of going around the room calling a number. Students were put with others who in some cases were different from them in age and skillsets. The benefits were students learned from each other and encouraged each other when a team memeber working on projects. Many shy students would participate in the group by helping other students and getting help. The group dynamic allowed many students to feel connected to other students and to the class.
I break student's into groups. This way they work as a team to get the project completed.
It helps me to outline my lecture to fit the needs of the student's
In my classroom, I have all ages of students so sometimes it is good to break out into groups with both older and younger students together and see how they compliment each other.
