Learn to teach!
what is the best way to teach for the student to easier to understand the lecture.
Sometimes it helps to put students in groups so they can help each other to understand material covered. Someone else may explain the lecture in a way that makes it easier to understand.
I think varying teaching methods to hit all learning ranges is important. Even more important, I think you need to start by focusing on WHY the material is relevant. Give the student a reason to want to learn it. I think we assume the student realizes that the material is important, or we wouldn't be teaching it, when they might just see it as something they have to get through in order to get their degree and move into the workforce.
Marcus,
Providing a variety of learning experiences before, during and after the class meeting is essential to student success. We need to develop ways for students of varying intake styles and learning preferences to find ways to experience content in a way that is the most meaningful for them.
If I make the lectures available beforehand and suggest that they review them and even print them out, then they can make notes on them and tend to retain more. Tell them to look at it BEFORE, write on it DURING lecture and quickly review AFTER lecture. That ay they have three chances to absorb the info...
I am always learning how to Instruct, just from listening to other people and students.
Jerome,
I learned at a seminar that if every lesson has an activity, some group interaction and some reflective time, nearly every type of intelligence will be addressed during that lesson. The basic premise was that students needed to hear it, see it, touch it and think about it.
Thurough knowledge of the subject is essential. Incorporating all the learning styles into your lecture followed by question and answer sessions to guage the students retention of the subject matter. Follow up by reviewing the material students have the most difficulty understanding and contunue the question and answers.
Thanks, Steven.
Dr. Scott Fitzgibbon has done some work on establishing motivational conditions in a learning environment. Two of the most important conditions were control and choice. It sounds like you establish those conditions for your students.
The experience that I have learned is that if the students take control of their learning they have to have a sense of taking control of their learning, and with this they control their freedom. the second idea I have learned on motivation is the students must feel competent. This take place with small steps of positive reinforcements through oral questions, or quizzes.
The third idea is to have the students feel connected to others. This might be other students, instructors, staff, reception, anyone and everyone. Our school is trying to support the idea of one voice, one vision. Everyone should be acting, talking and doing what they have to do to make the students and their needs come first.
Motivation can be fun. If the students know others are having fun this will catch on.
I have always found that students do better if there a number of different ways that a topic is covered. If you can combine lecture with active learning activities that allow students to interact with each other as well as allowing time for personal reflection, student will do better.
I have attached a Word document with some tips for more effective lectures. I hope it is useful.
