Starting a class with lighthearted joke or something fun sets the tone of the class. It helps the class feel at ease and lift some of the pressures and tensions the class as a whole may be feeling.
Self-respect plays a crucial role in the learning process, development, and success for most students. Instructors are able to help students acquire this attribute by encouraging and motivating them to continue to obtain the knowledge and skills necessary to move forward. Taking time to acknowledge each student individually and providing them an environment to learn comfortably, without reservations of any kind, sets the stage for maximum success.
Be creative, honest, and enthusiastic in your class.
I really enjoyed this section of the lesson on how to increase engagement in the classroom. I think overall my teaching techniques relies less on being authoritarian and more on being a learning facilitator. I look forward to making room in the curriculum for my student's interests, critiques, and questions about classroom materials.
All students need support from instructors
Fun is an important and essential part of developing rapport with students and maximizing the learning potential of a classroom environment.
I like remembering to evaluate where you students are before starting the lesson and opening with some light hearted time.
To learn their names early and to get an idea of how they are doing each day.
As a facilitator of education, it is important to be transparent and recognize student success.
adult studnets are active learners, put material in bite sized chunks, and be enthusiastic as you teach a topic.
This helped to consider the importance of the dynamics of the physical learning environment.
I enjoyed the discussion of potential ways to engage students in the classroom setting. Adult learners have competing priorities and need engaging content.
It is importance to understand and know the difference between different type of learners in your classroom. Adult learners will relate their experience, while younger learners without experience will be more passive about learning, so you need to shift your style to reflect this so they can absorb the material.
Help students find personal meaning and value in the material. Also, students lean by doing so having any activity followed by a short lecture will help retain information and make lerning engaging.
While adult learners like structure to the class so that it is not wasting their time, they also like classes that are interesting and hold their attention. Videos, power point presentations, group activities,etc, keep the forward momentum going and makes the experience of learning more interesting as well as improves comprehention and retention.
The thing that stuck out most to me in this module was to remember to have fun! It is so easy to get caught up in rushing to give them information but forgetting to keep things light hearted and relaxed.
Setting up high realistic goals is important. Also instructors should not create competion in class. It is important to encourage students to work together.
Above all, in this section, I learned that engaging students as individuals and providing them with certain human accommodations is key to gaining their trust and acknowledgement of the instructor's genuine caring and investment in their success. Affording students personal attention, creating and enjoyable atmosphere for all, showing respect, and guiding them in the right direction are all integral in the process of achieving the stated goals and objectives of the course.
In this module, I feel that I need to really be reactive to students in both an online and face-to-face setting. Students will have various levels of stress in their lives, and various levels of confidence with the materials and taking that into account will allow the class to flow more smoothly.
