Reinforcing the lecture
I find the opportunity to reinforce the lecture material with actual tangible findings cements the theory to the activity in the student's mind. After an active lab session, I have an A.A.R. - an After Action Review . What did we see in and did it in fact agree with the lecture material and with "real-world" issues.
Hi Lanny -
I believe that connecting lecture material with real world experiences reinforces how the information will be used once they are in the field. But I also like to have students recap with me at the end of class or beginning of the next day what was discuss and then follow-up with them telling me how they believe they might use the information in their career. I want them to visualize actually using the information in a real life situation.
That is a great idea! I think I will use that.
Hi George,
Sometimes it is necessary to deviate from the lesson plan, if the deviation is going to benefit the students.
Patricia
Hi George,
What other context do you have in mind?
Patricia
I think that the AAR becomes collaboration among students and teacher. The students might want to explore some material further or take a side road on a topic that was suggested in the instruction. I do not mean to say that deviation from established lesson plans would be in order, as the instructor is in control of "the next step." There might be some material that needs depth or breadth in content.
As I mentioned with the AAR.....Some material night need to be presented in another context for further understanding.
Hello George,
Whenever you feel as though your lecture was not fully effective what type of adjustments did you make?
Patricia
Hi George,
What type of things do you feel the students would like to see next?
Patricia
Nice idea......then they could present back to the class what the "new learning" was and what they would like to see next.
I think that we as instructors should always review how effective the instruction has been. The AAR is a method that is/was used in the Army and I am glad to see that there are believers here. Students can list good and bad points to increase the instructor’s awareness of strengths and weaknesses. I also believe in Google research that brings the lecture up to date…..It could be up to the very minute. Fortunately I am a member of several professional organizations from which I get all sorts of literature in the field that is current, as well as alerts via e-mail on “breaking news.” I also like the use of multimedia to support lectures. A picture is worth a thousand words is an old adage that has a lot of merit.
Hi Christina,
What a smart and quick way to reinforce what has been taught. It also gives the students a quick break from the lecture flow.
Patricia
Another reinforcer is after lecturing for 20 minutes, do a Three Minute Pause so that students can work in pairs to compare notes, discuss a critical thinking question related to the lecture, etc. This could also be an application question to the program in which they are studying.
Hi Tyson,
What a great way to determine if your students are grasping the information or not.
Patricia
Before students are allowed to leave class they must give me a Pass-Out. This is a paper that the student has written the answers to three questions.
Tell me three things...two things you understood well from class today, and one thing you did not.
Tyson
Hi Bennett,
Don't you love those ah ha moments from students. They finally SEE what you were talking about. Students really enjoy field trips too.
Patricia
I build on this by bringing in the days newspaper, or a poster, or utensils or take the class on a short field trip to show them what we were talking about in the Sanitation class. There seems to be a few "ah has" with this.
