Pedantic material
Some of what I teach, fundamentals of engineerng, by its nature is pretty dry. It is pretty hard to get to excited about fasteners. I have added some history and personal examples from my industry experience which seems to help. But sometimes it is just material that needs to be remembered by rote. Mostly my attempts at creating interest has been in changing the intensity of my voice, using kinetic examples to pass around, and asking the students alot of questions.
Any input would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Andrew
Hi Andrew,
I think you are on the right track in terms of trying to help you students learn material that is more rote in base. I would offer several strategies that I have used in my classes when covering material of this nature.
I use games such as a PowePoint Jeopardy game (will be glad to share it, if you want), mnemonics,worksheets,and role playing to get the students to remember the material. This is always a hard area to get the students through. Once they see that they must have this material memorized to get to the next level it helps, but until then it is a struggle for everyone.
Keep up the good work.
Gary
I teach at a technical college and most of my students learn kinesthetically. I always show/pass around hands on examples. When they see the capacitors, resistors, IC's, switches; it helps create interest. I also provide circuits and schematics that utilize the components we are learning about that day.
Hi Deborah,
Thanks for the information about how you get students excited about your area. "Hands on" is hard to beat. There is a strong connection between the physical and cognitive learning process.
Keep up the good work.
Gary
