The First Day of Class
Before starting a class: Identify objectives, set goals discuss them.
For Example: "Class, this semester we are going to lean the 40 something presidents in their order of appearance and learn the reasons for ..." or This semester we are going to learn the 12 organs primarily involved in the digestive process and the digestive process works.
In business school students are taught to create a plan for success before beginning a project.
It involves listing objectives, setting goals and listing methods of reaching those goals in the most effective manner possible.
Business history has taught this process will better ensure the success of the project.
Likewise to be successful. we as students/teachers should specify our goals and what we expect to accomplish in the course and in the school year.
When my son entered 4 year old kindergarten his teacher told us that
they had 26 skills that they planned for each student to master during that year.
I think many courses, many teachers and many students fail to have clear objectives and goals for the courses.
Proof of this is in the lack of ability to recall information after a student has spent YEARS "getting an education".
Consider this scenario.
Student spend 12 to 16 years studying, yet most can not recall more
than 6 or 8 presidents after they have been out of school a couple
years.
Most certainly can not recall Franklin Pierce or his position in line or
the aspects of his administration.
Some would say there is no economic benefit to remembering this
info but we use it as an example to effective use of the learning
process.
Each subject has a core amount of information, which E2R calls the "skeleton".
You could also call it an outline of the course.
If students learn that skeleton, they can then learn other information about the subject and we will call that information the muscle, which attatches to the skeleton.
If a history teacher will reduce a 500 page history book down to 40 something names of the presidents, we can reduce that information to a one page list of 40 something names.
If we learn 3 important facts about each administration, the student should have a good working knowldege of American History.
Anytime a student learns new information, they can attatch it in the proper location in their outline.
As students or teachers we want the student to train themselves to
observe and absorb information.
As a brief introduction, allow yourself to learn the first ten presidents of the United States in order.
Most people studied them several times during their schooling but can only recall a few, especially in order. Click Here ,then return.
