Instructors
I believe it is important for students to be active participants in class. I personally, cut my lectures short to include time for questions.
Ashley,
Student interaction is an essential part of helping students move from being passive learners to active learners. They won't or can't be passive in the workplace so they need to learn how to be active in the classroom as preparation for employment success.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Agreed it helps a lot, especially with the hands on demos after lecture given.
I agree. I feel if the lectures become too long and drawn out then you lose the focus of the class and the information is not retained.
Yes the attention span of our learners is limited. It is vital that others be included.
I encourage an open discussion forum during lectures to promote student participation. I do my best to bring each question back into the main lecture topic. This tends to keep the students engaged.
Brian,
Good way to get your students involved in the discussion while keeping the course on track and moving it forward for the students.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I tend to tell stories of personal experience in the classroom. After a few days, once the students are acclimated to my style of teaching and I am likewise accustomed to their style of learning, I will ask for pertinent stories from the students. I know I have been successful when a student raises their hand to share a story unprovoked that relates to the days lesson.
John,
Good two way exchange of information to help move the course forward and keep everyone engaged in the learning process. Stories and examples of life experiences help to increase the value of the course content because the students can see both the relevance and application of the content as a result of these stories.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I like to lecture for a short time then do an activity to help students connect with the concept. Sometimes a long lecture will cause students to zone out.
Wendi,
Student like change of pace and variety in their instructional delivery. You are doing both with this approach. Keep up the good work as you share your knowledge and expertise with your students.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I try to get the students discussing the task and the similarities and/or differences from other classes or tasks in the school that have similar curriculum. I try to guide their participation to bring the subject back to what we are doing and/or where we are going with our curriculum. This usually keeps the students engaged.
TC,
I am sure it does because you are showing relevance and application across disciplines and fields. This is so important for students understand because no one course or area operates alone.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I often add activities and scenarios to instruction as well.
I also use this technique with my students as well this also is demonstrating to them how much they have already learned and how to apply it to new tasks.
before I start my class.I always ask my students if they have any questions on the lessons from the day before. I also think sharing stories on my life experiences pertaining to my work out in the field is very helpful.
before I start my class.I always ask my students if they have any questions on the lessons from the day before. I also think sharing stories on my life experiences pertaining to my work out in the field is very helpful.
David,
This quick session is a good way to check for understanding by your students. The sharing of stories from the field help to make the content being covered more relevant and have application. Also these stories help to make the content more valuable because the students can see why that content is being offered in relation to their career development.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I agree that students will zone out from lecture, I teach in a course where the most time spent in a lecture is 2 hours before breaks. I find that slowly working into lecture from something of current events get me teaching mode before the class realizes we are on topic. Of course the open ended questions along the way are helpful to get class interaction too.
I completely agree. I often deliver class content as a class discussion where I invite students to reflect on the topics being discussed and add to the discussion their views and related experiences.
