Knowing the students you teach
Knowing and understanding how each student learn will also help you prepare for lecture and activies.
This topic follows the basic rule of knowing your audience--it is essential to know your students and how they learn best. This module reviewed the importance for the four major kinds of learners: auditory, written word, kinesthetic, and the visual. Usually students are a combination but they should be encouraged to try the others because in the work force, you need to be prepared.
The learning assesment survey is a good idea and valuable tool that should be implemented to find out how your students learn the best. It would also catch those students who are weak readers or who cannot read. We had a student who bluffed her way quite some time without allowing us instructors to know she could not read. For adult classes, we often do not use the reading data outloud method--maybe we should reconsider that. It may put some students in embarassing positions but, hopefully, they would share the lack of reading skills with you before they are asked to read in class. Since we are here to help our students grow, we need to know their weaknesses along with their strengths.
My texts have written instruction with specific pictures showing what to do. Plus they have hands on work to accomplish with audio available, which is usually quieted to avoid an overload of noise in the classroom. I may need to reconsider that option to support the auditory student to learn better.
I encourage a bit of chit chat at the beginning of class especially Monday morning to discuss activities of the weekend. It opens the line of commuication and allows me to "know" them better. If they learn to trust me as well, then the start opening up to their problems, needs and concerns. When this happens, instructors can find the way to help them in education as well.
This absolutely makes sense. In order to deliver your material in a retainable, and understandable fashion, a good instructor will learn their classes and students learning style and make adjustments to please a variety of students, adjustments are constant and a variety of media and tools are available, you just need to use them. Mitchell Becker
Absolutely. However, this can be difficult if you have a large class and have not had the opportunity to assess their skills. Going forward, I hope to provide assessments (I have created) and develop some activities pertinent to the subject matter to attract as many learning styles as possible.
It is difficult adding more to the class when you are strictly following a curriculum such as assessments and different teaching methods. I do thing it is very important for the students in order to help them succeed. I find this information very helpful and can't wait to try it with my next class. I am thinking of looking up an assessment online that does not take long to do and take it from there.
Hi Ariana - Thanks for your post to the forum. I'm glad that you have found this short class useful! Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
In the beginning of every module I ask students to share a little about themselves and their previous educational experiences. By doing this it helps me to understand what they have done in the past and ask them questions in a learning assessment sort of way to help prepare myself for their learning.
