I use an online assessment with my students to determine what type of learning style they learn best with. I have found that it can be an icebreaker for students.

I believe it is important for students to be active participants in class. I personally, cut my lectures short to include time for questions.

My reflective question remains is how can we more effectively incorporate experiential learning into our courses? Our adult learners have so much to share and we need to allow them to focus on the practical application of knowledge rather than theoretical considerations. Jean

Some time ago I felt that I could be more effective if I offered the students a brief questionaire pertaining to their work experience, reasons for choosing our school, and hopes and aspirations after graduation. Now I'm going to integrate an assessment of their learning preferences, beginning with those offered in the "Learning Preference Module". Have you used such an assessment, and how has this benefited you and your learners?

As instructor you need to be very attentive on how the students react to a specific situation and be prepare to help them situated on their correct learning process.

I've found showing students how to create text and excel templates to be very helpful for their learning, and time saving too.

If you do use youtube and wikipedia sources as examples, it's important to show students that this material may not be the most accurate on that topic.

This will really help me reach some of my students. Teaching at a music school, I will show students how to listen, and not look at the music.

Has anyone seen this recent news? It suggests you can possibly learn better, not sure what to think, I need to read up on it more. http://www.npr.org/2014/01/04/259552442/want-perfect-pitch-you-could-pop-a-pill-for-that

A hard process for some because we are all so different. My students have been out of school for a long time so getting that process going is sometimes tough. I start slow with one chapter and skills building to 2 a week. Seeing the light go on is such a fulfilling thing and knowing they get it. Learning to study sometimes needs some instruction and I try and do that and use examples. What ever it takes I will do my best to make it happen for my kids. Everyone deserves a chance at a life they can be proud of. How do you teach the learning process? P O'Dwyer

I give a lot of quizzes and with anatomy I give sections of the body to color and write in the word parts-medical. I do review and give them a heads up for when the test is coming. I do multi media where I may show a heart transplant and then we talk about it. It gives them a chance to use their medical terminology. I also do tutor my slower ones and help them with spelling. What other methods do others use for retention? P O'Dwyer

Finding out what works it the key and that is learning your students and knowing what they need to succeed. I like giving playdo and having them sculpt something they like to do. Watching them work so hard on a small project is a great thing. Getting that same attitude built into skills and giving praise is a good thing. Socioeconomic status changes things a bit as well as diversity. One child may need more praise and attention where another likes to stand alone. Its finding the key to every lock....Do you have a special task? P O'Dwyer

When class comes together it is so nice to have a diverse set of people. They all think different and they all learn different. So your job is to pull out your teaching bag and use all the tools you have. I like to pair my bright stars with my lower beamers when it comes to skills. The stars like showing instruction and it give them the confidence they need to move on into a great job. My beamers move slowly but are able to catch on and learn from doing and feeling. I think behind a desk is for one thing but to give someone the power of skills shows them that they can be all they want to be. They are all intelligent in different beautiful ways.

I try to help my kids by feedback in the classroom. Even when we are in lab I am questioning them about the instruments they are using and what they are for. Keeping that constant thought going on is a wonderful thing and it is fun like a game. Being bored is the worst so you must be creative and share your knowledge. P O'Dwyer

I am a clinical instructor and can see the changes a student goes through. We start the students in pre-clinic to prepare them to see patients. It is wonderful to watch them develop critical thinking skills from pre-clinic to clinic. My role is also to help prepare them with critical thinking skills they can bring to their job, which is different than a clinical setting. For example, when they are senior students I ask them what they would do in an office if a patient has not taken their antibiotic premeditation prior to the appointment and their employer insists you see the patient. They have to make a ethical and professional opinion.

Being that Im in a small school and we are currently at 15-1 ratio we have the ability to teach several different styles and methods in one classroom sitting. This allows us to reach more students with the same material at one time. We can even adlib material and tell stores or bring in real-life situations to the class. This allows the students to see the need to learn this material at this time.

Reasoning and judgment complements one another and is critical to the success of our students as future leaders. However, because reasoning is a function of common sense and good judgment is based on sound information, I am concerned as to how technology has hindered our youth with social media and video games. Much of their information is derived from Social Media, Wikipedia, and other open sources that are not vetted for truthfulness or accuracy. And, notwithstanding the aforementioned issue, the realistic nature of video games has eliminated the need for children and young people to use their imagination and creative ability. Today’s video games leaves nothing to the imagination, taking playing “Army” or “Cops and Robbers” to a whole new level. Unfortunately, some of these games, such as “Grand Theft Auto”, clouds the judgment and reasoning capability of our youth. Reasoning is a part of using a common sense approach to thinking about and solving a problem. Reasoning helps individuals see the different options, segments and outcomes of critical thinking and problem solving.

Pretesting performs a number of positive result, especially if there are prerequisite involved. The class I typically teach has two prerequisites, and we have found that a student review can refresh information and processes that haven’t been performed recently. The students are given time to answer the questions, then they are given time to work in small groups. The last step is to review the questions by randomly calling on groups of students, one group at a time to answer the review questions. The review packet is long and the process takes about four hours to complete. It consists of about sixty questions with multiple answers and provides students with a good way to determine what they need to work on.

I am always surprised how many non-auditory learners I have in my audio production classroom. It amazes me that people can want to go into a field and have little idea of how to process/learn in that primary method. Do you think it's possible for a non-auditory learner to properly absorb and apply the material in an auditory driven field and classroom?

Graphic organizers are also useful as a non-verbal communication device. While I would be remiss if I did not shed a tear for the fact that visual communication is (in part) responsible for the lowering of reading and writing skills, it is also undeniable that a picture is worth a thousand words, if it lends to instant understanding of the concept at hand. In a course that has a high volume of new material, the idea that a picture or graphic can communicate instantly what would take 100 - 500 words ... it is not only a valuable tool for learning, but a welcome time saver in the process of learning new material.