Meeting Your Students Needs

National Council for Staff, Program and Organizational Development

Lesson Designs: Are You Meeting Your Students' Needs?

Doreen Kaller, Rio Hondo Community College, CA

Goals:

• To rekindle an awareness of students' learning styles and needs.
• To model frustrating vs. inviting lesson formats.

As a FLEX activity, I presented line dancing to my faculty. I chose dancing because I wanted a new learning experience for them. First I handed out dance directions in a wordy format and asked them to figure out the dance by themselves for approximately 5 minutes. They I asked for volunteers to demonstrate, but only one came forward. Then I handed out a second sheet of directions with a clearer format. I asked my faculty to read the new sheet and to work in pairs or small groups. It was amazing to see the interest in learning that occurred during the second phase of this activity. Several people volunteered to demonstrate the dance the second time.

After the two phases of dance instruction were completed, I distributed a breakdown of student learning based on the level of student involvement. This led to discussions about students' needs as learners and the level of involvement that instructors expect of their students. The benefits of collaborative learning were discussed along with the necessity of clearly written directions on assignments. Formats that were suggested included numbering, vertical arrangement, brevity, and readability.

Cost: The purchase of a CD and the cost of copying handouts.