Photoshop and Illustrator classes
When teaching a CAD class where there are varying degrees of pre-existing competencies,
is there an effective way of assisting the most needy students without making the other students feel like they are waiting for them to catch up?
Hi Judy,
One of the first things to do is to do a pretest so you know what competencies the students have. Based upon the pretest scores you can group the students and assign projects to them. That way you can focus your attention on those that are in need of basic support while the other students are doing more advanced work. Then as the students progress you can assign group work where the more advanced and basic students are working together to complete tasks. That way the learning curve is working for all students.
If you have any additional questions about grouping let me know and I will be glad to help you with them.
Gary
Besides the pre test approach, I use the "hip Pocket exercise" approach where at each practice point in the course plan, I have a number of more difficult assignments already typed and laid out, that I give to the faster students.
It allows me to take more time with the slower students in a technology class.
Hi Charles,
Good strategy. You are allowing for individual differences while meeting the diverse needs of your students. You are on to something with this approach.
Gary
