Managing Multiple learners
Hello everyone,
I think there are many skills an instructor can employ to manage the broad scope of learners that they have in their classroom(s). One of the most important tools that I have found to be helpful is listening to student suggestions on how to improve assignments or instruction while the course is being conducted, rather than waiting to see suggestions via end of course surveys. I have found that making small changes as the course progresses can help groups of students, rather than just one single student, especially if suggestions for changes are made more than once. Any thoughts on this practice or its uses? I look forward to hearing your feedback!
Best,
Shaheen Christie
Feedback is important for both the student and the instructor. I use the same strategy as you do in my virtual classroom. Students tend to be honest. I ask them questions about what works in a class for them and what does not. We have students with varying learning styles. I try to integrate various instructional techniques and resources into chat to try to differentiate the instruction.
Brian,
I like your final statement, as we all have to continually improve ourselves and our instruction through reflection in our classes. This reflective process and self-improvement is what make us better instructors.
Herbert Brown III
I definitely agree with you. I have found most students to be somewhat passive. But if the instructor takes initiative to engage, then it can greatly help the students.
For example, I teach math. I found that while teaching statistics a lot of my students were struggling with long (and trivial) computations. By tracking their homeworks I found them to be spending extreme amounts of time and still with sub-par performance. After discussing with several students I found they were not using calculators at appropriate times or trying to use calculators with insufficient functionality. This allowed me to direct my students to resources that taught them how to use MS Excel or calculator emulators with more advanced features. In my subsequent courses I provided this material at the onset with much better results.
Brian Stout
Shaheen,
I believe as instructors we all need to be reflective practitioners and should be ready to tweak what we have created in the best interests of our students. If this is during the course, then you are being more aware of your students' needs and being proactive instead of reactive after the evaluations come in. I have made changes during the semester in most of my classes, typically little changes, but often with profound impact. Most of my changes are due to formative evaluation of the students during the course and a determination I need to make some changes to better connect to the students. However, there have been times that student feedback has also contributed to those changes.
Herbert Brown III
