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Concrete vs Abstract Students

Having these two groups of students in the class only means that I have to make sure I teach using visual aids, vocal aids, and with textile performance to be certain that every student receives something they need from the lesson

Different flavors of the same skills

Some skills can be generically applied across multiple disciplines. For example, the job of a film producer can be looked at as just a specific form of project management. What skills do others on this forum teach that can be transfered to a different industry, or that can allow a student to tap into an existing skill from an industry that they were already in?

Common Ground as the final goal?

This was a weighty topic, not just because of the depth of the technical information but because the expectation seems to be this: That we need to discover how everybody learns and then we need to accommodate the different learning methods, by both redistribution of the students within the class or the project, and by addressing subject matter to accommodate multiple learning methods. Yet the real world will not be as accommodating to these students. What then is our commitment to teaching students to adapt to different learning methods? Is our goal the finding of common ground -- in the… >>>

Concrete vs Abstract thinking

We know that different vocations attract thinkers of one type or the other (e.g.constructionn versus fashion design). Has anyone thought about the connection between each mode and various cultures? For instance, do people from an agricultural society or from a service-oriented society tend to think one way or the other? If so, how can we use that to improve our understanding of individuals who are locked into one mode or the other?

Teaching Abstract Concepts to Kinesthetic Learners

I have always had difficulty teaching abstract scientific concepts to kinesthetic learners. What are some good suggestion for teaching things that can't be seen, heard, or touched?

Different Devices Needed

There are many different learning techniques that can be used to help students acquire new knowledge and skill. One thing that I feel is important for instructors to remember is that the same technique may not work for all students. For example, a graphic organizer may work well for a visual-spatial learner while an outline to fill in may work better for a verbal-linguistic learner. After introducing each type of device, it may be beneficial for the instructor to make multiple devices available to the students and let them chose which works most effectively for them

concrete and abstract

I definitely like the analogy used (blue cheese) in laying down the basic understanding between concrete and abstract application. I, as an instructor, always bear in mind that my adult learners already have a "concrete" understanding of what they wanted to know or learn and I just expand (abstract) their understanding of that knowledge.

Bring it all together

My classes always have a mixture of students from all different majors in all different points in their education. The benefits of this are that they can learn from others. A first term Criminal Justice and a fifth term Criminal Justice student in the same writing class can be beneficial. The first term student may not be aware of how this course will be a benefit in that major. By discussion how students will implement and apply the information after the course, students can see how the course content will help them.

Working outside the comfort zone

Our primary or preferred methods of learning are comfortable for us. We all have multiple intellegences and we have those that we use and rely on more frequently than the others. However, as educators, we should be taking our students outside their comfort zone of learning. The only way for someone to increase the areas that are not their strongest is to apply them. It is important to offer variety in teaching methods, but only delivering information in a student's preferred method does not teach them to find new ways to learn

Relating Information

I think it is very important to relate each session's information for the students. Learning is a process; they are building on that process each time they meet for class. The connection may not always be obvious to the students or they just may never have thought about it. Helping them to make the connection between class sessions or between different classes can often help to make the learning long-term

Adults approach influenced by past experience

Hi, Im Corinne, I have been teaching at a vocational tech school for 16 years. This course will help me with the challenge of teaching adult students with past experience and bad habits that have been formed. Re-teaching is often more difficult then teaching a person with no experience.

Repetition

I find that it's imparative that the student practices the same technique over and over again to fully understand the concept behind the task that they are given. I shared this in forum 2 already. I share the theory of 10, 100, 1000. If you make something 10 times you begin to understand the basics, make it 100 times and now you can see how all the components comes together, make it 1000 times you have mastered the technique and fully understand the entire concept. Then the process starts over again with a new project.

Kinestethic Thinking

I remember when i was working towards my AA degree and too an art class in ceramics and remembered everything that my professor taught us. Taking good notes were helpful but having the opportunity for hands on training was extremely helpful for me as i fall into this catagory of leaners. I often visit my old professor as he has given me an open invitation to come in anytime to get on the wheel and create some artful creations. I share this story because i share the same story to my students that you cannot fully understand the content of… >>>

Setting Goals

I like to begin each class with an overview of today exercise of what our goals are going to be in preparing the cuisine of the day. Like in ED107 with the debriefing process, I can see the difference from the students who come in prepared and ready to cook. On the flip side of things the day can become a challenge to those who have not prepared themselves for the activities. One successful tip that i do at the end of each day is to recall the goals of the day and give them an overview of tomorrow goals… >>>

retain cousre content

Doing activities that develop those thinking "outside the box" techniques will help set the stage for curious exploration of the content being delivered.

pretest

I feel a pretest will help me understand where the students are before i start my lesson plan

Understanding Multiple Intelligences

i try and use four learning styles to help every one understand material

Learning Process

we welcome people from all walks of life in our classrooms and sometimes set the standards too high for them to reach success.

Getting student information vs FERPA and the Pygmalion Effect

Section 3 suggests that instructors gain access to the results of entrance pretests, such as the wonderlic exams that many colleges give to new students. That is something I always thought that should be accessable to instructors, but it seems that Privacy Laws can hinder this information from getting shared with instructors. In addition, if we see student scores beforehand, will we, as instructors, form biases against students who performed poorly, or would we show favors for students who performed well?

Review, review, review..

I am a firm believer in reviewing. I like to use the phrase "Repetition is the mother of all skill". The more you go over something, wether it be a physical activity or reflecting on an idea or subject matter, the easier it is to retain.