ED101
I'm currently taking classes ata University - I have learned so much from watching may instructor - There are some techniques I will use in the classroom and some I will not use.
HI Michelle,
You are on the right track in developing your own teaching style. By having an idea in your mind of what you think an excellent instructor should be like you then can develop your selection process of what you are observing in your University classes and what parts of your professor's delivery you are going to retain and reject.
Another thing you might want to do is to observe people in instructional situations outside of formal education. These individuals can give you much insight on delivery, human relations, and student growth. Avocational courses you might take at a local high school or community college. Many of these instructors are excellent because all of their students are there because they want to be. That is they are learning about golf because they like golf rather than having to pass a course to progress in their career.
Good Teaching!
Gary
I have also learned how short the sttention span can be with my students depending on the time of day. Every twelve weeks my schedule changes, I teach am/afternoon and pm's, I find I adapt different sequences for the "times" the students are learning. An example, I may choose hands on time in the Lab first thing in the am to get the students alert, then lecture after a break ending the class.
Hi Linda,
It is amazing how complex learners are and yet it is the simple act of involving them in activities and projects that can get them focused and moving forward. Yes, they do have a short attention span so instructors in order to keep the students on task and engaged in the learning process have to be creative in the selection of activities that will stimulate and motivate the learners.
Min-lectures, activities, mini-lectures, activities are ways of keeping the students active and from your comments it appears that you are doing such. Keep up the good work.
Gary
Hi Gary,
What I like to do with my students is play jeopardy with them it's amazing how much they learn and retain, I've noticed that there grades went up quite a bit. I wonder if anyone else has any idea's or other learming games you can play? What kind of activities do you do with your class?
Liz
Hi Liz,
Good idea about playing games with your students. I use many different types of games, many patterned after TV game shows. You mentioned Jeopardy. This one I use for single student responses and for teams I use a Family Feud format. By having different compositions of games and different groups of students I get them to compete but they are sharing their knowledge with each other in the process.
Anytime you can introduce some form of competition to your students you will see the interest and learning go up. Good job.
Gary
Greetings! As a massage insturctor. I find that changing my format every hour really helps. I teach a 9 AM to 3 PM class & a 6 PM to 10PM class. I start out with meditation, lecture, hands on, Q&A, work book, some time of viedo & end with hands on. That constant change really makes a differance.
Hi Jo,
The human body has a limited ability to stay focused on a particular subject no matter how well that subject is being presented. You are doing a great job of keeping variety going for your students. By creating a change up in routine you are helping the students to refocus on the content of the course while helping them physically to refresh themselves and prepare for the next lesson sequence.
Gary
These are really good ideas. I need to think about how to change my "boring lecture" format into something more interesting!
In some ways I believe it's easier to change things via the online classroom. For example, I can have a written lecture, an audio version, direct them to something fance on another website, have them keep a journal to reflect on the experience, and have them participate in a threaded discussion question--all my using a set of tools already provided to me.
Hi Darcy,
You make a number of very good points about learning from your experiences and being able to adapt to the group of students you have at that point in time. I am sure your students enjoy your classes and benefit from your desire to be an excellent educator.
Gary
My opinion Michelle would be that observing instructers and applying their techniques is useful yet also could be a bit risky. When the techniques are a reflection of your style it incorporates your personality into the training and will probably be better welcomed by your audience as you will project more naturally.
Michelle,
After I graduated from school and started teaching, I found myself emulating my professor’s way of teaching. My professor’s had many years of experience in the medical field and had their set way of teaching students. I found out instead of inventing the wheel all over again, I would use what I had learned from them and tailor it to fit my teaching style. I used what was going to be helpful to me and disregarded what was not pertinent to me.
James
I always try to incorporate group activity into the classroom experience. When I was in college I hated lectures and focused on getting all of my knowledge out of books. Then I took a course where the entire class was a group activity for the entire semester. We had to formulate and manage a business and make it sucessful. It really changed my attitude toward teaching and instead of focusing on material they can get from a book, I now focus on how their studies at home can be put forth into real life.
I found that changing an activity every 15 minuted is a good thing. I was glad to find out that the attention span of an adult was was not 8 minutes.
Hi,
I don't agry that by changing activities every 15 minutes will bring some working atmosphire into class environment. I strongly believe that adult students will be desoriented by that kind of teaching methods. They need more time for concentration and problem solving. The activities are not the goal. They are tactical methods of teaching process
Hi Eduard,
Each instructor has to identify what works in their setting.
Based upon research and countless case studies the strategies listed have proven to be very successful with students. The human brain needs variety and change of pace to keep engaged and the lecture, activity format really helps them to learn at an higher level.
I wish you much teaching success as you develop the strategies that work best with your student population.
Gary
I used to do group activities like cross word puzzle, movie sheets, and critical thinking problems.
KIZHAKKEPARAMPIL,
All good examples of how instructors can offer variety in their instructional delivery.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
Hello Dr. Meers,
I am a new instructor and have 3 years of Elementary background in Special Education. I am use to finding different methods of teaching based on the individual. Since I am still learning to lecture at the college level, I did try Jeopardy with one of my courses and the students enjoyed it. I can not apply this method to all my courses but when I can I will. Can you provide other examples with Accounting courses?
