The first suggestion I feel is important to note is the concept of being sure to encourage students to set useful goals for class. This is important because it helps students develop strategic learning skills and most importantly, it helps generate and maintain motivation. I plan to implement this suggestion in two ways. First, I hope to frequently identify how material in class might be useful to the students and their overall goals. Second, I plan to also discuss how the various topics we're focusing on in class relate to students past, current, and future lives, in other words how the material personally relates to and affects them.
In the field of psychology, this is done quite frequently, however, often for other reasons than for goal setting. Usually, the material covered in psychology courses is abstract and can be difficult to understand. However, all of our lives, ever single student's life, is affected by psychology and the concepts covered by psychology are present in every day life. Instructors often use the approach of relating information to students' lives in order to enhance comprehension.
The second concept I feel is important is to be sure to help students build bridges between what they already know and what they're trying to learn. This is important because, according to McKeachie, this type of strategy has been shown to increase comprehension tenfold. I plan to implement this suggestion by frequently tying new topics into previous ones. For example, when discussing each new clinical disorder chapter, I would be sure to refer back to our discussion on the definitions of abnormal behavior, the process of diagnosing and assessing, and how previously learned treatment strategies apply to new disorders.
Next, I think an interesting, and useful, suggestion from the reading is to not answer every student question. Instead, turn student questions into an opportunity for all the students to think, brainstorm, reflect, and provide opinions. I would be there to provide suggestions, facilitate discussion, and of course make any corrections necessary. This is important because it is a type of active learning in which students can help one another and feel more involved in the learning process. A similar suggestion I hope to implement is to encourage students to share examples of successful approaches with each other. This is an important self-regulation technique which is useful because it provides students with an opportunity to discuss what works and what doesn't, learn new learning strategies, and to learn self-regulation skills (determine what self strategies are beneficial and harmful). I plan to implement this suggestion after exams. On the day that we discuss the results as a class, I plan to allow for time for the class to have an open discussion about studying strategies that worked and did not work for them. This would also be a good teaching and modeling moment on my behalf for the students. This suggestion also fits well with my previous ideas of implementing study groups in the classroom. The groups could discuss these issues on a small group basis rather than as a large class, and thereby encouraging more discussion.
The last suggestion, similar to the previous one noted, is to provide examples to the students of specific student DOs and DONTs. I would choose common mistakes student's make and discuss them, providing visual, concrete examples, and being sure to preserve anonymity. Similar to the previous suggestion, this is important because it helps students self-regulate, recognizing mistakes and providing them the opportunity to correct, and to learn successful learning strategies. I plan to use this suggestion before the first large paper assignment, before any "diary/blog" assignments, and before the first exam. Following the first introductory stage of the assignment, I feel it is the student's responsibility to remember the examples and utilize the opportunity to their benefit.
Additional Links and Information:
From an APA Journal - Teaching Students How to Learn
A Professor's Duties: Ethical Issues in College Teaching
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