Kevin,
Repetition is a very effective learning tool. As instructors we need to come up with ways to use repetition while keeping the attention of our students. I use a lot of case studies and games. We go over the material numerous times but each time it is slightly different and thus the students keep their focus.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Kevin,
This is a great way to increase the ROI of doing assignments. You are letting your students become a part of the assignment process rather than just telling them what they need to do to complete the assignment.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Repetition is important especially when students are new to the material. The more they do it they can focus more on the content and the technical aspects can happen with less obstacles.
Create an assignment that thety are excited about. That allows for some creative interpreation. I involve students in connecting emotionally ewith their assignments by creating mood boards and traditional media renditions. Once they have visualized what they wwant to accomplish this helps them find the steps they need to complete to acheive their goal. This approach uses a framework and becomes very student driven.
Thanks for the "check-in/check-out concept. Try to implement the idea with 3x5 cards.
Michael,
Yes, it does. What are some ways you do this in your classes?
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Make the information applicable to their future employment.
Wendy,
Repetition is a powerful learning tool and you are using it in a variety of ways. I am sure your students develop a lot of confidence in what they are learning as a result of the different activities you have them work through. Keep up the good work.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
it all depends on what we are learning. If it is vocabulary, I have the students write down the word on a index card with the definition on the other side. I encourage them to keep them in their purse or take them with them and if they have a free moment, they can review their vocabulary.
I take the last 15-20 minutes at the end of each class to do a quick review of what we have covered during class. This is a great time to get feed back to see if students understand what we discussed. I will also use the first 10 minutes of class to review what we went over in the last class. This review might be a quick quiz, discussion, or having the students tell me what we discussed, thus getting them involved.
Dennis,
Thank you for sharing this strategy for getting each class member involved in the learning process. I know this will be of value to other instructors.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
You can also expand the round of questions to a class discussion. It is important to include all students. Another strategy I have found successful is to have a "check-in" and "checkout" activity, When class starts, ask each student how they are doing and if they have specific problem areas. At the end of the class, "checkout" allows each student to comment on the class and indicate if they understood the information.
Graham,
I like the way you start and the way you end the course. Students get so busy during the course that they forget how much they are actually learning. You show them this as you do the end recap. I am sure they are amazed that they have learned so much and didn't even realize it.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I enjoy reminding my new students of what new knowledge they have acquired.I am lucky enough to instruct a class on their first day at a Culinary school,Not knowing very much about their new chosen career its an easy exercise to remind them half way through how much new knowledge they gained since their first day. Sometimes its the simplest tasks for me to demo, but to have them see it for the first time then have a good grasp of the skill set by the end of term is very rewarding.I also enjoy to do a recap at the end of term to remind them of the past weeks and how much they have learned in a short period of time and how this will continue for the whole year in each 6 week block.
The students will apply their new acquired knowledge by giving them chances to practice what they have learned. An example would be to test them through short quizzes. Another example is to provide them choices of retaining new knowledge through word associations they could easily remember lessons learned.
Yvonne,
This is the model I follow for student presentations and it has been very successful for me and my students. There is an old saying "To teach is to learn twice." and I believe it. Not only do the students learn the information as students but as they prepare for their presentations they get to learn the material at a more in-depth level. This increases their retention of the content dramatically.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
An example of giving the students an opportunity to apply new knowledge is through a project such as creating a presentation that utilizes what they have learned. I teach vocational nursing and an example is when I'm teaching nutrition. I give them an assignment that has them combine what they have learned in the class with the cultural norms of different nationalities. I group the class in groups of two or three and these teams present a specific dish to the rest of the class.
Melissa,
This is a method I use a lot in my classes as well. My students like to work together in the small groups and they get very competitive in their groups as they play review games. This increases the motivation factor to do well.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
When appropriate, I like to have little group activities (not worth points) that allow them to test their knowledge of the material. And putting them into teams and making it into something of a game makes it fun.
Katherine,
I am a big fan of using case studies because they let students make application of their new knowledge and show them relevancy to what is being taught. In addition case studies help to expand the problem solving skills of students so they will be more confident when they step into their work roles.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Incorporating continually what we discussed in class in their clinical portion. We just recently added some test cases that are helping to draw their knowledge out while discovering more on their own. We have made them very active learners.
