Learn to listen
Very often students talk to each other he demo. I always stress at the beginning of the lecture they must observe & take notes on everything that I do.Since they were not paying attention, their project was not as successful as it should be. They really believe that they can remember everything.
Brian,
This is a good example of how students can get themselves into fixes real quick. By them seeking that they needed to pay attention to the demonstration I am sure that the next demonstration went better. You are making it real for them so they need to make it real in their lives by learning and observing all that they can.
Gary
After I demo, I will ask a few students what were some key points they noted while I was going through the demo. This put a few students on the hot spot the first time i did this but the next demo the students were much more attentive and even jotted some keypoints down.
Kodee,
Good way to get their attention and show them how they need to pay attention during the demonstration. This leads to more storage of content in their working memories.
Gary
I usually ask questions during the lecture trying to keep them on their toes.
Kevin,
How do you set up the Q&A session for your classes? Thanks for your input on this.
Gary
I do like this approach as well, but I structure it in a different manner. I teach audio engineering and understanding the signal flow of your entire session is very important. I go around the room from student to student asking them step by step of an entire session, this puts everyone in attention without realizing their reviewing all the information they just learned.
I think that our students (at their age) need to be challenged and constantly reminded that they should be taking notes. This may not be a direct request to write things down, but maybe a question on something covered that you feel they don't know well enough.
Great advice Kodee, next time I will try this technique.
My approach to this is similar, I have students try, fail, and try again. Usually by the second go around, they understand what they did wrong without me having to call them out. The responsibility for the successful completion of a given task is on them, I manage the venue for it to take place. I think hand holding is appropriate for some skills but sometimes you have to let them fall flat on their face to drive a point home.
I learned very much in a trial by fire type setting, it was always go do this, and when I returned (having failed) the response was "i bet you won't do that again." I try not to be that gruff with the students, but they need to appreciate the gravity of the situation they are in and the potential consequences for their actions or inactions.
I have built time into my labs to purposely "screw things up" so they can see common errors in action. This applies in both directions in that yes, this is what will happen when you don't do "x", but it also shows them what you will see when something is not done correctly. Chalk it up to teaching normal vs. abnormal.
William,
This is what the real world is all about. The more opportunities they have to use their critical thinking skills the better prepared they will be. Your approach gives them the opportunity to problem solve but helps them learn the right way to do things with your support and guidance.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
