It helps by aiding the instructor on how to plan on teaching the class and to tailor fit the class to the students needs.
One must be able to teach in a way that is comprehendible to all learning styles. By understanding the different type of learning styles one can cater to the majority but not forget about the minority. As instructors, we must be able to maintain a balance and bring down any learning barriers in order to keep the focus and learning in progress.
Tejeda
I beleive it is a combination of the two. Getting all/most of the students active in the learning process requires knowledge of our characteristics coupled with an understanding of the teaching tools available to us.
Understanding the learners in your classroom allows you to tailor parts of your curriculum to the students needs. some students may only require some basic information along with a bit of hands on work and be able to put the pieces together in their minds to create the understanding they need, while other students are going to require extra explanations, visuals about how things work, and repeated hands on training (doing things over and over) to imgrain it into them.
Understanding that students come into my class with a variety of backgrounds, needs, experiences and goals makes my job even more interesting! I create a discussion area for students to post information about themselves, their goals, their background and what they hope to get from the class. This is very helpful for me as it helps me to gain insight into their individual learning style and their approach to education. I find this useful in many aspects, such as in my interaction with students. For example, I begin to see who is more timid and in need of additional encouragement and interaction. I see who prefers to work independently but wants quick response to questions so he/she can get back to working independently, etc.
The more interaction I have with students, the more I begin to recognize those who are intrinsically vs. extrinsically motivated. In setting up group projects I attempt to assemble groups with a goal of ensuring variety in the group composition. A good mix of age, background, culture and even quality of work submitted thus far, has proven to be successful.
As my awareness of student differences has grown, I find my class “lectures” have evolved to allow for additional dialogue and plenty of Q&A time for those who are struggling to grasp the material.
Understanding the different learning processes helps you to adapt your intruction in order to maximize the learning potential of all of your students. With such diverse students in our Career college, we must constantly bring multiple teaching elements; lecture, graphics, situational role playing, video, etc. into the classroom to constantly reinforce the material for each style.
I agree and I purposely ask students to move into groups that reflect a broader base of age.
to know hoe to reach is more important than how to teach and this can be achieved by knowing each one's characteristic
I have been able to use these groups of cohorts to my advantage. I teach in very hands on classes/labs. When the students already know how to work with each other, it improves our lab time. I can guide those that excel and they in turn help those that are struggling a little bit more. Definitely helps when there is only one of me and 10 of them!
By molding a corse of action that might help the student better to learn.
if you got oranges make orange juice. It helps to know what type of learners you have ...So you know what to make of them.
Understanding the learner characteristics provides a path to encouraging the student that they have what it takes to achieve their learning goals. They usually come out feeling better about the total learning experience because someone took the time to listen and understand their plight.
Understanding students means you need to understand where they come from. Everyones personallity is different and it is a result of what they have been through in their life. It is more work getting to know each student on that level than it is actually teaching the material. But unless this can be done, you can never reach that student on a level that will truelly effect their life, and that is the real reason for teaching.
Hi Karen,
Way to go in drawing out the students that are not as forthcoming as others. These efforts are not lost on the students as you mentioned since they step up and excel in their leadership positions when given a chance.
Gary
Hi Jacenta,
This is a very good point about needing to offer variety in your instructional delivery. What are some strategies that you use to offer content in the different learning preference areas?
Gary
Not only the first day fears, but the fears that come with assignments and other tasks. Many adult learners "freeze." They need to understand that they can do it, the importance of doing it, and the relevance to their success.
Sometimes I like to assign the least experienced person in the group to be the leader. I have been pleasantly surprised by how some of the younger students will step up and excel in a leadership role when given the chance.
Currently in one of my classes i have an asian student and I've been very careful to include her in our discussions. I also make sure to recognize her for her good performance. I don't let the language barrier get in the way of good communication. She doesn't speak good english and it's hard for the other students to associate with her.
Understanding the different characteristics of each learner in your class is important in planning how you want/need to teach. Having a style that varies to allow each different learning type emphasized will let each student succeed in their own ways. If you incorporate just one way of instructing during the planning process, it may lead to some students with different learning abilities become frustrated.
culture diversity in my side of view need to be understood
