A very clear and concise syllabus. I laways start with that.
Cheryl
A clear and concise syllabus always helps in the beginning of a class. I want them to know what the class is about and why they are taking it.
I also use several games. I may bring in articles or have students come up with different world events or issues, then we divide up into groups for dicussions. Each group, may show how a particular world event changed the world and why.What may have come out of that event or what kind of art or music may have been popular at the time. Then we share what each group has discussed. This helps the students see connections, in the world, from war to art and music and architecture, drama and dance. They see how one culture influenced another and how oceans do not really separate us but join us. They start to see how it all works together and gets them to see how my class in Humanities will work and what they will learn from it.
What do you mean by fake? Do you mean a fictious situation based on reality or totally fake?
Cheryl
On the first day, I go over with the students the course purpose, objectives and agenda. I explain what will be expected of them by employers and the value of what they will be doing. As home health aides and nursing assistants, my students will be caring for some of the most vulnerable members of society, and I emphasize the importance of compassion and caring and the difference they can make in the lives of those they care for and their families.
Throughout the class, I continue to underline their value and responsibilities as an important member of a healthcare team. There are homework assignments and self-assessment quizzes every day. These are gone over in class the next morning. There is extensive class discussion and skills practice, and students are given a very clear idea from the first day of class what to expect on the final exam.
I try to make the content relate to the real world and real events. referring to current events makes the information more interesting to the students. I find that they pay attention more and participate in discussion more often when it is something currently in the news.
Hi Scott,
Students love seeing examples. Students also like to know the what, how, and why of a course as well. Showing students what the finished product should be is always interesting and exciting.
Patricia
Hi Jason,
Some classes are regarded as being "tough", but you can still have fun as you do. As educators, we must be able to keep the interest level very high, otherwise we will lose them as students. I see that you use a variety of teaching techniques. Way to go, continue to have fun while teaching!
Patricia
Hello Jon.
Yes, information about professional experiences is always exciting to students. I enjoy sharing my stories with students. I've been in education for a long time, and I have a story for almost everything. :-)
Patricia
Hi Jon,
Students love to hear abut real world examples. Real world examples motivate students because those are things that have happened. I love to share my experiences/examples with my students.
Patricia
I bring in examples and show them and explain to them how they are made and design and then I try to get them into a discussion on how they would design this and what software they would use and why? Then them them how it is done from design to finished product explaining to them why you need each software and how it helps the design and getting this product to come to life.
Generally the students regard the class I teach as a difficult, yet fun course anyway. My goalis to maintain that level of interest. I employ Powerpoint slideshows, lecture, & demonstration in my classroom.
Information about professional experiences will always get the students excited
The most effective way I have found is to give real world examples of how the course will benifit the student when he or she gets into the field.
Hi Thomas,
Yes, you have it extremely easy in getting students interested and involved in course content. I even got excited reading what you wrote. Being able to show an example as to what students can/will do during the course really gets students excited.
Patricia
i think i have it easy in this area, We teach about bikes at MMI and I have some of the highest performing bikes in all of H-D in my class room. So i show them off have the students start them up and with the performace and sound of them the students get there blood flowing. Than i explain that most of the work on these bikes was done by students. Not just any students but the ones that have completed all the minimum task and projects, I let them know what else needs to get done on these bikes and that if they show me the effort and will to get all core work done in the lesson plan that they to will have work to do on these project bikes.
Hello Sharon,
It is great to break things up a bit with handouts, PowerPoint presentations, etc. Students love to know they are cared about and listened to. Students want to know how assigments, projects, etc. are going to be practical to the workplace.
Patricia
Patricia, I get students excited about the class by introducing different instructional methods such as handouts, power points and team assignments. I like to break things u as well with guest speakers. I also have a very close relationship with students who know that I am interested in their lives and their future goals and am open to their suggestions for making the class a better place to be. I listen to the students and use their input to gauge my instructional path. I also let the students know what the expectations and objectives are and apply these to tools they will need for their employment future. I believe that the career oath student is studying only what they feel will be needed for career success. I like to employ different tools to accomplish this, such as public speaking, writing skills and techniques that they can use when he classroom ends. Thanks for asking, Sharon
As a visual communication instructor, I come to the first class with a lot of visual samples of previous work done by other students. This show them the final product that is expected, the standards of quality for the class, and how exciting the projects are going to be. I always tell them that every time has to be better, so their projects will have to be even better than those.
Show practical hands on examples with explinations related to the subject at hand and encourage group participation with new ideas related to the subject
I currently teach computer technology and to try and get the students interested in the course I outline industry requirements needed to be successful and how each student can attempt to achieve these goals. During our introduction we cover real world networking scenarios and how we have trouble shot them.
We also play an introductory game covering very basic computer questions to determine initial skills.
At the beginning of the semester we ask our students to outline their career aspirations and then I breifly discuss our learning environment and how we will cover these aspirations if they are applicable.
