I try doing the first project so they can see what I want them to do.
There seem to be many different characteristics of Lab or shop teaching. You must first identify the different learning styles of the students. When they can move at their own pace, they are less stressed and likely to be more successful. However, they also need to be progressively reaching not only their goals, but also completing the course on time.
I do agree cooperative and active learning have positive effects in the lab: as students are more engaged, they grasp the materials much faster and easily. There is significant improvement in their cognition as well as they are able to reflect back in a more better way.
Teaching in a lab can have many challenges, in many aspects such as the visibility of the students who are standing in the back; the instructor / instructors mite not be able to demonstrate certain things due to lack of appropriate models or study materials; may be due to budgeting issues, spacing issues, storage issues etc... In these situations virtual lab can be more beneficial to engage and connect the students. Plus the students can repeat the exercises several time on their own pace and have a better practise. Another advantage is that the risks of safety hazard is low when using a virtual lab.
The needs of the different learning styles and methods of trying to improve your students learning with labs.
Virtual labs can be useful to simulate the experience without the real hazards.
need to apply the objective
Using virtual learning instruments are good for getting the basic skills, but they lack the ability to show the students the true danger in the task.
Comment on Laura Hogins's post: safety issues
Knowing a students learning style is the most effective way to conduct hands on training because that knowledge allows you access that students strengths and allows them to feel confident in the learning process thus leading to a student who is not only competent but confident.
A Lab environment is good for Kinisthetic learners but anything hands-on provides a welcome change of environment and a different type of challenge for any student.
With true hands on they are getting the feel of what they need to know to continue in the career they are embarking into.
I would also add that shy students sometimes have difficulty in lab. We need to do our best to not let them be over-run by our more verbal students. Also, they tend to be more hesitant about answering questions around their peers for fear of being embarassed, I try to make effort to ask them privately if they have questions.
Individual Learning Styles can also help you pair partners or group work.
I am actually pretty critical of the different learning styles theory, it doesn't have any imperical basis when you study it statistically.
I must have good topics and helpful lectures that can enthrall students to strive
Different learning styles benefit the student's learning experiences.
Comment on Laura Hogins's post:
Assess the lab in enough time to ensure all of the necessary equipment is available. May need to form groups that use the same learning style.
Teaching in the lab requires the implementation of multiple teaching and learning styles. You have to keep the students engaged by having them perform the skills using a realistic approach.
In my experience the lab is most of the time a great place to learn because the students are engaged in the activity.
As I am new to teaching labs, this is a relatively novel type of instruction found here. I intend to use the information though, to try to simulate as much as possible the potential scenarios my students my find themselves, so they actually get the most from their lab.
