I agree Tom. Sincerity is the best way to deal with students. I have never been good at "winging it" and stumble whenever I try. I just make it a policy to be honest and upfront, even if I have to tell a student that I will get back to him or her with an answer.
My students enjoy games, class participation questions and participating in hands-on labs. The students utilize the overhead projector (boxlite)as one method of reviewing for boards. They like competing in teams. The students also enjoy dental hangman. The least exiciting time for students is lecture, but many of them are more responsive when allowed to ask and answer questions.
Hi Kenneth,
What kind of training aid and complicated systems do you utilize?
Patricia
Getting students involved -
I always have a discussion board where students post their biographical information. I then will periodically refer back to it as we work through the graded boards so make the course more relevant for them.
Jocelyn M. Dervis
Hi Michael,
You teach the perfect class to get your students interested and involved. I visualized as I was reading your response, and I became excited. I can see how your students become interested on Day 1.
Patricia
Hi Steve,
It is important for you to believe in the product so that you can be fully excited to teach the product to your students.
Patricia
Hello Richard,
It is important for students to know how the course relates to their chosen field of study.
Patricia
One of the constant struggles an instructor faces is the wide disparity of learners in the classroom. Often times, the instructor spends more time on the struggling students and/or those students who choose to attend classes 1/2 the time versus those that want to learn and better themselves. A few of the strategies shared are worthy of considering and reconsidering for those instructors who are more established than others could and should take the time to revisit old concepts and apply them in a new way. Simple modifications may make a world of difference.
Hi Stanley,
Great! You let your students jump in right from the very beginning. What an awesome way to get students involved and interested.
Patricia
Hi Charlin,
You are right on point! Afterall, that is the reason for students being in college. I am sure students are interested in your explanations.
Patricia
Hi Patricia,
The respct comes when they see in me a leader and an expert on the field. When they found a tought problem or seek for coaching to develop critical thinking
Thank you
Hector
Hello James,
It is amazing what color and pictures can do to a document. Students actually want to read the content.
Patricia
Hello James,
The classroom must be conducive to an atmosphere for learning.
Patricia
Hi James,
Organization is the start and key to success.
Patricia
Hello William,
It takes for students to realize there are some things that they do not know to convince them they need to take a particular course.
Patricia
Hello Frances,
Students really do become excited when the end product is presented at the very beginning. I work with medical assisting students, and I constantly keep them motivated about getting their certification once they graduate.
Patricia
Hi James,
I always stress to my students "keep your eyes on the prize (graduation)."
Patricia
I very commonly will teach a chapter without the powerpoint, while using my own handouts, and lots of physical examples of the parts we are descibing in the lessons we have here. I like to work outside the box, I read over the material and build my lecture/discussion around the material to make the most of terms the students will understand. I haven't seen anything lose a student faster than going over a subject full of terms that they have no concept of what they mean. Our courses here are written to a 10th grade reading level, unfortunately a lot of our students are coming out of high school with maybe a 6th grade reading level( very sad but true). Getting down to their level of comprehension is very important to getting their interest and getting them to buy in to what you are teaching them. We try to use as much hands on training as we can, this helps facilitate their involvement and reinforce what we are trying to teach.
I like to start off a class by getting to know the students and having them get to know themselves, finding out why they need or selected the class, developing a "wish list", keeping the energy up, using some humor and lots of real word applications. I also like to do "pair ups" with the use of the 1,2,3 counting method, this way they are forced to meet and mingle with classmates in case they are sitting with someone they already know....this takes away some of the fear. If able I like to use visuals, not just PPT but examples of items relating to the class.
By using training aids and showing seemingly complicated systems that the student will soon be able to understand.
