bob,
Yes, I would imagine in your field it is essential to check for understanding at every level or proceedural stage. All teachers should regularly check for understanding but in a hands-on environment, understanding is critical for every aspect.
Dr. Ruth Reynard
In the classroom we do group projects and demonstrations. We sometimes take difficult topic material and divide it up into parts and let the class research and correctly identify the individual parts, their correlation and function to the whole component. In lab we administer time based lab practical tests with outcome based results.
Gregory,
I like the flow of your ideaa: breakimg things down and then rebuilding - a great way to learn!
Dr. Ruth Reynard
One way to determine what a student understands is to just talk to them, either in class or lab. Have them explain why they perform a particular procedure, or how something works. Unfortunately, this doesn't necessarily mean better grades for a student, but it does tell who needs additional help.
Fred,
Great! Yes, no one can explain anything he/she does not understand. The second step is to have the student demonstrate in some real context so that the understanding can be observed.
Dr. Ruth Reynard
At the beginning of each class, I have started a new approach: I will go around the room and ask individual students questions pertaining to the prior day's discussion. This not only gives me an idea of retention, but also brings the class into active learning. I don't make this a pass/fail situation, but rather open up incomplete or incorrect answers to the class so that they can all help out with understanding.
By the use of technology and hands on, greater depth of knolage and learning skills is acheived.
David,
Great ideas! Yes, providing connection points for students is a wonderful technique - helping students develop more thorough frameworks of understanding.
Dr. Ruth Reynard
mike,
Yes, technology can help facilitate and/or mediate the process, however, students still benefit from helpful intervention from an instructor.
Dr. Ruth Reynard
In my class we get the oppertunity to go to lab and work on cars with problems simalir to problems you may find in the field. By going to lab and working on these vehicles they get to practice what we learned in class to better thier understanding of the subject.
To asses tru knowledge, which is the application of information learned, I will place the students in a variety of changing scenarios that will force them to use the knowledge in different ways. Information recall can get a student by, if that information will fit into a certain order that fits. By changing the scenarios, it forces a student to apply the information, not just to recall it. I will also use cross linking excercises that force them to link different concepts together into ways that are truly knowledge based and not just recall.
John,
Great! So this is a combination of study and application. This takes blended to a fuller level - good example.
Dr. Ruth Reynard
One way to determine what a student understands is to just talk to them, either in class or lab. Have them explain why they perform a particular procedure, or how something works. Unfortunately, this doesn't necessarily mean better grades for a student, but it does tell who needs additional help.
kenneth,
So true - no one can explain anything he/she does not understand. This is a simple yet effective way to check for understanding, which is vital for instructors to do.
Dr. Ruth Reynard
One way to determine what a student understands is to just talk to them, both in class and lab. Have them explain why they performed a particular proceedure in the manner it was performed. Was the proceedure performed as the OEM desired, if not what would the results be in the method the student used? This however doesn't necessarily mean better grades for the student, but it does let you know who needs additional help.
Errol,
Yes, several have made this point which is really important - having students speak back and explain is a sure way of finding out what they know and what they don't.
Dr. Ruth Reynard
One of the areas that is important for the students to understand in the course I teach is how to interpret fuel trim numbers. After a presentation on what the numbers represent and completion of several labs where the students can make their own observations. I will head a class discussion using examples with multiple variations. The class discusses what is likely the cause and why and also various explanations of what does not fit.
As I listen to their feedback it quickly becomes obvious who understands the concept and who needs more work. I find the students who get it will typically be eager to help the students still struggling. Hearing from a different view point can help a struggling student master the subject.
Steven,
Great! Hands-on and applied assessment of learning coupled with peer tutoring and group learning - wonderful design!
Dr. Ruth Reynard
During lecture time and note taking I will give examples and see if the students can diagnose the problem. This only gives you a small look into the students that have an understanding of the subject. Some students just will not be very verbal in class. I watch for those students and when in lab I will give them examples and have them diagnose it then. Most of the time these same students that are not verbal in class will ask you questions one-on-one in the lab. A lot of these questions are just to verify that they know the information. When they asked this question of me I will ask them questions to verify their answer. I do this even if they are asking about a certain parts name and they have the right answer. I asked him to prove to me why they call that that part. The student that cannot I know at that time needs more help. This also helps students to reassure themselves that they have the correct answer and be more confident in their chosen profession.
We use a lot of hands on, along with visual demos to see if the information is being retained.
