helping a student with understanding
get them activly involved with the project (hands on!)
In my field it is critical to have hands on applications for the students to make sure they are involved in all projects.
In the field I instruct, knife skills, I challege the students to a 10 minute skills test every day. This helps them build of their speed and accuracy, and also prepares them for their final exam. I have noticed such a great improvement on their tests results in the past several classes.
This is a great hands on project for them
Hi Diane,
These exercises sound like they are a lot of fun for your students as well. They get to be competitive and develop their skills on in the same operation.
Gary
I think is a great idea to get all students involved hands on projects, however there are always a few who have more difficult time with their project and to those i always try to schedule some tutoring after class to bring them up to speed.
Asking questions and letting students think then answer, highlighting objectives and making students see the application of what is being imparted is a clear path to understanding.
In culinary arts I encourage the students to practice all the time. Also to help them remember the terms that they need to know I direct them to a website called quizlet.com that helps them make flashcards, practice tests and quizes.
I have found one major key with hands-on is being a good observer of how each student is engaged with the application of the lesson. Noticing if there are levels of frustration or not and being certain that the end result was obtained with a true understanding of the process and not one of accidental accomplishment.
Hands on goes well with practical viewing and demonstration.
Taking a field trip that applies to the content being presented and having students report on what they observe provides an opportunity to observa a real-world application and describe it.
As my class goes on, we always have some hans-on learning. I go around the class as the students are working, observing and correcting, making suggestions. I like to ask: "Are you doing OK?" Most of the time, a student who doesn't quite understand what to do will let me know that he is struggling.
Hi Craig,
Good strategy. That personal touch and concern is so important when working with students that may be on the "bubble" when it comes to staying in the course. Your asking them about their progress and understanding is often enough to keep them in school.
Gary
I am taking my students on a field trip on monday.....that is a great idea.
What I have found to work with students who do not understand; is to break the project down in to very small manageable parts. This gives them confidence to understand the small parts and then combine the some to get the whole picture of understanding.
Hi Eon,
This is so true. If you break the content down into segments the students will feel that they can be successful in a segment and then move onto the next segment. Sometimes they become overwhelmed if the are given the entire content.
Gary
If you are like me, I can usually spot the students who are struggling. I will go around to see if all students are understanding, spending extra time with those who do not.
Hi Susan,
This is why it is so important to "read" your students so you can pick out those that are struggling. By staying on top of their needs you prevent them from getting too far behind the class and can provide support as needed.
Gary
Sometimes the reason that a stuent strugles in a class is because they do not have a sufficent command of the english language.
One thing that really helps is taking the students to lab after the lecture to actually perform tasks associated with the subject.
i agree that hands on for the course i teach is the most effective way for the student to grasp the needed information. but many one to always keep in mind that what we consider to be secoound nature is often times very awkward for the first two or three times and we must remind ourselves to be careful not to show frustation when the students dont get it right away if the do see us getting frustated the will shut down and nolonger ask for help
Hi Craig,
Yes it does. I can this connecting the dots. The students can see the relevancy and application of what they just covered.
Gary
