Robert,
That is a very good idea. I know of an instructor who has everyone peel and dice one potato and do yeild measurements to show that some concept.
Jae Gruber
Brandon,
I believe it is good to mix generational groups. They often learn great ideas and perspectives from each other!
Jae Gruber
I treat students individually recognizing there different generational cultural learning and that they all learn different
i use handouts, white board, power points & instrutional tapes
I use my life experiences. I talk a lot about when I started in my career. Power points are great, lots of colors.
Great I love use the Informational techniques such as posting,reading, and research in their own
I use videos to convey the message in class this also helps the young person that is used to watching YouTube.
Scott,
The more instructors work to improve their own focus on reaching every age group and learning style, the more often our students can truly learn and apply what they have learned in the future.
Jae Gruber
michael,
What kind of instructional tapes have you found give the greatest return on student learning?
Jae Gruber
Monica,
When an instructor can make the connection between the course content and how the student will use it now and in the future, it certainly makes a huge difference! PowerPoints are great. It really is important to include pictures and colors rather than an excess of words. There is a fine line between not enough informaton on each slide and too much information and slides that are distracting.
Jae Gruber
rory,
It is true that watching YouTube clips does reach the younger generation. It is a great help to the visual and audio learners. Many genertaions are now are starting to tap into the value of many forms of technology.
Jae Gruber
I think it's important to use many techniques to teach the students of any generation. Each student learns differently, whether they be 18 or 78. It's definitely important to show them the skills they need to learn, as well as lecture the material being taught (visual and auditory). Today's generation is going to respond better to technology, although I also find that a challenge given the demographic diversity one may have in the classroom. Introduce them to the library where they have a vast amount of tools necessary for those who are techy, as well as those that are "old school" and like to read an actual book, or lecture materials.
Joshua,
Thank you for your insightful thoughts. You make many good points. What are your thoughts on school's converting traditional libraries to entirely virtual/online libraries?
Jae Gruber
PIZZA! This is another classic that bridges gaps, promotes discussions on cultures and history, as well as allowing students to claim their favorite kind, style, crust, city, toppings, etc. The discussions can be endless and quite intense. Everyone, of all age groups, usually has an opinion about their pizza.
Marcus,
Great point! Pizza can truly be a "common ground" discussion. It is certainly a food that can speak to many backgrounds, age groups, regional differences and even international differences.
Jae Gruber
Generally when creating groups, I like to mix up the generations of students. We have many activities that are centered around discussion within the teams. This allows all sides to hear other perspectives. It also allows me to step in as the instructor and find the common ground so that they can work better together and in the end learn more.
Robbi,
I agree that mixing generations of students is both helpul and interesting to the student.
Jae Gruber
I assign team projects the require the students, which always vary in age and learning styles, to work as a team, create contracts with each other and learn to use their strengths while minimizing the effect of their weaknesses
Jorge,
This is an excellent idea. Often students will want to work with the same students on a regular basis, rather than switching groups. Chosing the groups for the students rather than vice versa, really gives the student the opportunity to develop the soft skill of working with different personality types and, if applicable, taking a leadership role.
Jae Gruber
I have been trying to include few techniques in the demonstrations and learning process. I tried to involved the older students on the technical aspect while doing powerpoint lecture for the youngest generation. The practical part help usually the older generation to relate to the different techniques.
