I learned that instructors are to plan courses and lesson carefully and to have enough activities on-hand to fill up gaps in classroom time to keep students engaged and alert. The same is true for planning activities of learning to have enough time for the intended lesson plan.
I really liked the ideas on how to re engage a class. I especially plan on implementing activity changes when students are not paying attention. Doing so forces the student to think about the importance of what is being presented.
assessing students prior to instruction to establish a baseline of prerequisite knowledge.
A pretest is very good way of assesing there strength and weakness.
Shah Rahman
Have some back-up resources available to get them back on track. We need to keep them busy and help steer them back to remain engaged.
We often times get so invested in what we are teaching that deviating from the subject is not an option. However, if students are not engaged then we should be able to deviate to a different method so the message is received more effectively.
As the class manager you need to have a plan B available at all times.
I think it's very important to know the baseline of knowledge the students are coming in with. Many of the nursing students are MAs or CNAs and have a lot of medical terminology and basic patient care experience. While others have none and need more of the basics and fundamentals to be on par with those peers.
I also like the idea of switching to a new activity if the attention of the class begins to wander.
I have learned that there should be a plan B if instruction is not well received by the students.
I learned the importance of redirecting students when they are not engaged in an activity, lecture or competency in the classroom.
I think constant feedback is key. convey intent, prepare students for structured activities as well as feedback sessions, and you will get the best outcome.
Assessing your students
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in the beginning is a great idea. Also, always have a plan B.
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It is important to consider your pacing and to know where you are in a lesson so you can adjust as needed.
It is also important to always have a plan B, just incase things do work out as planned.
Divide the class into groups and have them work on case studies.
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We set up an out of class tutoring session to help those learners who don't have sufficient background for some of the labs. It is slow going at the beginning of the semester, but some of these students become the best student in the class by the end of term.
Having a plan B strategy is vital while teaching. If the class is disengaged it is important to have a backup plan to reengage your students. Remembering that there are four main learning styles, and you need to have content that depicts all four.
