The Learning Process
AS instructor we have to help the student recall what they learn by keeping the lesson appealing to all five senses.
Sadie,
This is a good point and one that needs to be reviewed as we plan our instructional delivery choices.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I understand that learners learn from different formats, like demo's and lecture, but I find it hard sometimes to keep them motivated if the demo takes 15 minutes or more. Does anyone have advice on how they approach a shorter demo (hands-on) while including all five senses.
From a science teacher perspective (1.5 hour instruction blocks) I utilize the 5E method for lessons: engage, explore, explain, extend, evaluate. It provides a natural flow to a lesson plan by breaking it into different instructional and learning approaches.
To answer your question, the engage is often a short, hands-on activity. An example would be an introduction to why enzymes are useful for us. In this example I might use saltine crackers and place one in a beaker of water. We would watch for a minute or two and discuss what is happening (not much) and then predict what would happen when the cracker comes in contact with the enzymes in our saliva. I would then have the students place the cracker in their mouths (no chewing) and observe what happens. We would then discuss. This engagement activity takes about 5-7 minutes and engages all of the senses.
Robert,
Great model to follow as you have covered a lot of content and applications with these five 5Es. Thank you for sharing your example with us because it makes the engagement step very clear and shows how to involve all students in the process.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Some subjects will appeal to all of the senses. In the subject matter that I teach, sight and touch are most important. Hearing is sometimes used. The others are not involved at all.
It is important to identify the senses appropriate instead of trying to use all of them.
Carolyn,
This is true because as you say certain senses are used more in certain career areas. The more we are able to target those senses the more accurate we are going to be in our instructional delivery.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Since learning can be seen as a the process of creation of knowledge from received information and past experiences, the use of the senses provides more opportunities to access it.
Daniel,
Yes the use of the senses serves to reinforce what has been taught and it increases the retention of the content in such a way that the information is stored in the working memories of the students and is available to them for recall when needed.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
