Marian Dillahunt

Great teachers inspire learning and use a variety of strategies to ensure students retain and apply their learning in different contexts. 

In this Module, I learned about the concept of Learnativity.  I also learned the importance of REFOCUS; I appreciated the reading about not being perfect and how to unburden oneself. I agree with the literature about student engagement. Like students, I want to feel appreciated and valued too! It is relatively easy for me to engage students and demonstrate that they are valued members of the class. 

I learned that is vitally important to set clear expectations, hold students accountable with high expectations but also realistic expectations. Lastly, I learned establishing a good rapport with students sets the tone for the course or daily interaction. 

It is vitally important to not only get to know students, but it is also vitally important to meet them where they are. The life experiences of adults, teens, and young adults are vastly different, and the instructor must be aware of these differences to effectively facilitate learning. Additionally, I learned the importance of the surveying the learning environment prior to instructing students; I never considered surveying the classroom environment from a student perspective. Additionally, I learned how to better manage student and instructor relationships by avoiding getting roped into student conflicts with other individuals and/or departments. Maintaining professionalism is… >>>

I learned that attending to different learning styles is vitally important to student engagement and retention of information. Additionally, a variety of lecture types, particularly problem -solving scenarios in lectures, results in high engagement. Lesson planning is vitally important to both student and instructor success. 

I learned that the first day of class is very important; implementing the strategies presented in the module sets the tone for the course, expectations for the course, and establishes community among students. Learning students' names is vitally important to providing them with a certain level of comfort and belonging. Additionally, sharing details about yourself, career, and personal learning experiences, helps students foster their own self-efficacy. Reviewing the course syllabus, communicating course expectations, and helping students' see the value of their learning experiences helps with student acquisition of knowledge and course retention. 

It's important to make a checklist and it is extremely important to build relational capacity with students. 

Good teaching gets students involved by having them actively work together. It means having a supportive classroom where everyone knows what's expected, and checking in regularly to see how students are doing and give them feedback. Tailoring lessons and showing how they relate to real life helps students learn better.

Going forward, I plan to:

Use more activities that make students actively involved in learning.
Create group work so students can learn from each other.
Use different ways to check understanding and change my teaching as needed.
Ask students for their thoughts to make learning better for them.