Jim,
Absolutely! When the 'ah-ha' moment ocurs, it is validating What you are teaching is How the students are best learning, which is Why you appear to be a great teacher.
Thanks for sharing your words of wisdom.
In Kindness,
Margie Stogsdill
Hi Margie,
You are right on target with your comments. What you outlined in your forum response is what all of us is facing in education. In many situations we don't have the research completed that will answer the questions about what technology should be offered, in what amount and how often. Maybe the way to teach is through tweeter. Just think 140 characters of information for each and every concept. Talk about condensing. We are conducting some learning acquisition research currently that may answer some of these questions but technology keeps coming at us so fast that we can't keep up. Going back to the tweeter example. It hasn't been around for long enough to incorporated into the learning culture but it certainly has in the pop culture.
The key point is that we are all in this together and we must remember that the human factor has to be a constant in this.
Gary
It is important to use a variety of learning materials, such as notes, class discussion, and small groups to keep students active, but also to draw on the various intelligences of students. Our students have different intelligences, and need to use their strengths to build confidence; but also need to have an opportunity to work on areas that need improvement.
Hi Dina,
Well said. This is why it is so important that we instructors know the intelligences of our students. If we know how they internalize and process information then we can plan more accurately to target those areas.
Gary
Now having a better understanding of the basics of learning, I believe that I can do better as an instructor. I would impliment a bit more time between subjects that are being lectured on that day. this would give the students more time to transition and have a little more clear head when transitioning between two different ideas.
Hi Bruce,
With the introduction of a bit of a breather between subjects I know you are going to see your students better able to focus in on the new material. We are striving to move the material from general information to stored working memory and the more opportunities we can give the students for application and reflection the greater that retention will be. Little things like 5 second pause can even help with breaking up a lecture so the students can let their brains rest and then re-engage back to the topic area.
Gary
The most immediate and direct change I will make is to facilitate discussion time in class for students to relate their skills and experiences to the current class topic. With proper facilitation, I think this would add an important dynamic to the class and allow all of the students to benefit from each other's experiences. Since our students are together for 9-12 months, it believe it will also help them come together as a group and support each other throughout the program.
Hi Marc,
I think your strategies will be effective in creating a positive and supportive learning community. Since the students are together for such a long period of time the development of discussion skills for the students will be well work it.
Gary
The topics in this module were quite insightful. I find myself having to do a lot of studying and learning just to stay ahead of my students. Topics like semantic and episodic memory brought me back to some of my own experiences with trying to understand a topic enough to teach it to someone else.
From here on out, I believe I'll investigate my own learning style(s) in effort to fully understand the needs that I have for information retention. That way I can more easily identify with the learning needs of others instead of just shooting from the proverbial hip and hoping that everyone understands.
Hi Paul,
Good comments about exploring your own learning preferences and pathways. The more we understand about our own learning the better we can plan for the learning of others.
I wish you much success in your professional development because I know your students are going to really benefit from all your efforts.
Gary
Adapting to various learning strategies and preferences is only possible if you're cognizant that all people learn differently. Being aware of this and looking out for it, I can gauge the effectiveness of my teaching. Modifications in the way that I present information will accommodate all students in a class.
Furthermore, the pace with which I present information needs to be tweaked. Finding the right speed and spacing of information will help to give the brain the opportunity to work with the information that is presented to it.
We are in a unique situation teaching adult students in a career college and possibly we need to understand learning theory more than in any other educational environments. Our students come to us from many different walks of life, from many different cultures, and many different age groups. We are empowered to educate students who are still developing their thought processes as well as those who are fully developed and we need to mix them into the same classroom and lab. We get students who excelled in prior education and liked to learn, we get students who hated prior schooling and dread the classroom and we get students in between. The one thing we have to do is make learning fun. This takes an understanding of how people learn, or learning theories.
My students do not like sitting in a classroom, they want to get their hands into things, and they want to learn by doing. Makes sense, knowing that only 30% of what is past a 24 hour period comes from the formal classroom, doesn't it?
Someone once told me that our primary responsibility as vocational/career instructors is to teach problem solving skills. As vocational instructor that is our greatest problem that we need to solve as well... We are sometimes a product of our own education and the method we learned by may have been faulty, we have to change habits and an understanding of the learning theory and the way adults learn will help this process as well. How do we teach problem solving skills to students who are products of a school system that teaches memorization over thought?
How can I adjust my teaching methods? Keep doing what I am working towards --> 90% shop, 10% classroom. I already see differences.
Hi Christopher,
Thank you for the excellent comments about learning theory and how we need to apply such theory to adult learners. You ask a very important question about how to teach problem solving skills when our students come from a more rote or memorization background. Doing what you are doing is one part of the answer. The more hands on the more application occurs. I use a lot of case studies, role playing and learning group methods to get the students to think, propose and resolve problems. This is where their success will occur if they can problem solve.
Gary
This is my first course on learning theory. What I learned on this course will help me understand the different learning strategies and ways that learned information is processed.
If you could understand how each person's brain comprehended and retained the information that you were trying to get throught to them then you would have a better chance in getting them to understand what you wanted. But each person learns differently and you have to work with each one individually. This is my first time in this type of class and I hope I will understand what you are asking for.
That is very good, I also think that students learn better and retain the material better if they do a lot of hands on.
It feels good when you see that light bulb come on inside someones head, you know that you have finally gotten through. All the hard work and struggle has finally paid off.
I agree, if the students don't understand what you are trying to get through to them, it donsn't matter how you present the material to them there not going to get it. you must make sure they do understand the material before going on to something else. Hopefully you will see the light bulb come on inside their head.
I agree. if they don't see why it is important then sometimes you can't get throught to them.
I agree with your viewpoint. We may never completely understand what goes on in another person's brain. Even with the most sophisticated device, 100 % accuracy will not be achieved. However, there is already a plethora of research findings on how the human mind works. These are the findings of scientific studies. In the absence of any data to disprove them, we are left with no other choice than to view them as scientific facts.
