I start each term with introductions, and then set up study groups and class group projects. When students are working on medical skill sets they are working together. Students feel part of the class when they are interactive in the class.
Introductions is a good was to help students feel part of the class on the first day. Group particpation are other ways which also help. Calling on students during discussions is also another way.
An informal introduction the first night in class.
Judith,
This is a great way to encourage student cooperation and interaction. I am sure your students really enjoy this activity. Thank you for sharing it with us.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
I always tend to allow my student to input what they feel is necessacary. I ask questions and they tend to be thinking quetions. 9 out of 10 responses usually are personal experiences therefor i know they are thinking and feeling a part of the discussion.
I like to give them an opportunity to work in a group and even participate in class games.
Encourage my students to make friends in the class so that they can help each other when necessary.
One of the strategies I implement in class that seems to have a high level of success,in helping students feel like one of the group is to encourage peer interaction. Sometimes it is a quick 10 question quiz where I suggest that two heads are better than one, so pick a friend and work through the problems. They seem to love this. Another way I incorporate peer interaction is to have a peer panel complete a simple score sheet for public speaking. I make it fun with a judges table of four peers. The peers are encouraged to be more than fair, but be honest. They are instructed that for every negative comment there must be a positive one to balance. Again, they have fun and get a score for being a good listening judge, while the speakers score actually comes from me. Another tactic I have employed is to identify leaders in the class room. When I form groups for activities, I am sure to place one of these assertive students in each group with one quiet student in each group as well. Along with usually two other students, this group of four works together, and the quiet student usually enjoys working with the others and quickly becomes and feels a part of the group.
Troy,
I think this is a critical element in the teaching effort. They are going to have to work with others out in the work world so they need to learn how to do it as students.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
For many of the classes that I teach I teach teamwork and helping each other get through the class activities.
When I teach a class like Anatomy and Physiology, I show the Body Atlas DVD'S for example and then I ask the students for feed back to see what they took out of the dvd and their understanding or I will hand out short answer worksheets and then we will discuss their answers and get feedback from the students on why did they choose the answer that they did.
Verna
Some strategies for making the students feel part of the class include allowing time for them to introduce themselves on the first day, diving them into work groups for group assignments, content relating gaming, role playing, and proper use of the guided discussion.
I make sure every student has had a chance to answer a question or voice an opinion. Many times students are stressed to the max and just need to vent, so when I feel I am losing them, I'll lighten the lecture by just asking how they are feeling today and others chime in, but I keep it to a minimum and find a way to relate it to the topic at hand, Sometimes we take a 10 minute break and talk about something I saw on a coding website or something I read related to the topic, anything to lighten the lecture and then return to it.
I always begin the first class with introductions and an ice breaker. This allows students to get a bit more comfortable with myself, their peers, and their surroundings.
Day-to-day I encourage students to work together. When we review homework and someone is struggling with an answer, I encourage their peers to help them out so we can discover the correct answer together. We have some formal exercises (like paper peer review) a couple times during the typical term, and any time left at the end of a class session is homework time. During homework time I notice that clusters of students will work together to figure out the answers and won't hesitate to call me over to the group for additional help and explanations.
I try to assign my students to groups randomly by drawing numbers. This way they are forced to interact with others who maybe they wouldn't naturally be drawn to and they also can't say it is "not fair" who they end up in a group with each time.
Strategies, such as making the student more comfortable with their surrounding and peers, that they participate more often with discussions and enjoy the class.
One of the best instructors I had always asked us to write about what we learned - and anything we had concerns about at the end of the class. We'd write them on a paper that was turned in as we walked out the door. The instructor would comment on each one and hand them back to us at our next meeting. It was great way for us to communicate with our instructor without tying up the whole class.
Hi Gary,
Good strategy. This creates a foundation upon which the course can operate and then go from there. This is so important for the development of respect and rapport with students.
Gary
My strategy is the set the tone right away in the beginning of the class, to introduce myself to each student as they enter the class room and to have each student to introduce another student to break the ice.
Hi Kevin,
I really like both of these strategies. They are great contributors to the development of both the professional and human aspects of becoming a therapist. The second strategy supports the progress that students are making. Sometimes they forget just how far they have come in a short period of time.
Gary
