Amanda Stovicek, Department of English
PROMOTING STUDENT
ENGAGEMENT AND
UNDERSTANDING IN THE
CLASSROOM
Overview
• Discussion
• Lectures and Discussions from
a Teaching Standpoint
• Learning Styles: How do we
learn?
• Bloom’s Taxonomy
• Question and Answer session
Discussion
• What are your impressions of lectures and
discussions from your undergraduate
courses?
• What are some strategies you enjoyed?
Disliked?
• Name a memorable lecture or discussion.
Why has it stayed with you?
Teaching
• Evaluate your class and your material
–what style works?
• Be aware of presentation
• Begin with summary, critical thinking
question, survey
• Be flexible –allow time for questions,
tangents
• Engage students to think about
material in class but also beyond
• Self-assessment: “What did you
learn?”/“What still confuses you?”
Learning vs. Teaching
Lectures
• Prep lecture notes with
important points/ideas
• Review your material
before class
• Be aware of body
language/class
response
• Ask questions to keep
students engaged
• Summarize lecture
Discussions
• Establish ground rules
beforehand
• Prep handout of
questions and key
points
• Vary your technique
• Facilitate
progression/mingle
with groups
• Summarize key points
How do you learn?
• Visual?
– See what you are learning
• Auditory?
– Hear what you are learning
• Kinesthetic?
– Do what you are learning
• Another way?
Basic Learning Styles
Styles
• Visual: 65%
• Auditory: 30%
• Kinesthetic: 5%
Strategies for
Instructors
• Visual:
– Charts, colors, graphics,
concept maps
• Auditory:
– Key ideas through voice
inflections, speaking
aloud
• Kinesthetic:
– Analogies, anecdotes,
writing on flip charts,
“active” activities
Perceptual Learning
Styles
• “…the means by which learners
extract information from their
surroundings through the use of
their five senses.”
• Repeated exposure through
perceptual pathways promote
retention in long term memory.
• 7 styles considered perceptual
(though there are a variety of other
style categories)
Perceptual Learning
• Print - refers to seeing
printed or written
words.
• Aural - refers to
listening.
• Haptic - refers to the
sense of touch or
grasp.
• Interactive - refers to
verbalization.
• Kinesthetic - refers to
whole body movement.
• Olfactory - refers to
sense of smell and
taste.
• Visual - refers to
seeing visual
depictions such as
pictures and graphs.
For all Perceptual Styles
How do we
approach
World War II
via the 7
perceptual styles
of learning?
Transitioning to
Understanding
-How do we promote
understanding?
-Just approaching is not enough,
your students should be
THINKING critically about the
material you are presenting
them with.
-Benjamin Bloom’s Taxonomy
Bloom’s Taxonomy
-a classification of the
learning objectives that
educators set for students
-three domains:
cognitive
affective
psychomotor
-Think about all domains
when teaching
-holistic learning
(thinking, feeling, doing)
Cognitive Domain
Principals of Engaged
Lectures
• Bloom’s Taxonomy
• Rehearse! Rehearse! Rehearse!
• Provide multiple examples or
presentations of material to
accommodate different types of
learners
• Use emotions to help information
stick (e.g., humor, sadness)
• Incorporate breaks/physical
movement
• Incorporate discussions…
Principals of Engaged
Discussions
• Bloom’s Taxonomy
• Consider group size for feasibility
• Opportunities to incorporate
concepts of diversity and social
justice into content
• REINFORCE ALL responses or
attempts for participation
• Guide the group
• Consider environmental variables
(e.g., seat orientation)
“I never teach my pupils, I only attempt to provide the conditions in
which they can learn.” ― Albert Einstein
Questions?
Thank you!
Amanda Stovicek- astovice@kent.edu
Source List
Learning styles: Overview of learning styles @ ldpride , MSU designs for adult learning,
Visual learning style, Auditory learning style, Verbal learning style, Kinesthetic learning
style; The Institute of Learning Styles
Lecture: Tools for Teaching by Barbara Gross Davis, University of CA, Berkeley
Brown and Atkins, 1988; Frederick, 1986; Lowman, 1984; Penner, 1984
Discussion: Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning and discussions, The Teaching
Center @ WSUSL on discussions
Blooms Taxonomy: source 1, source 2, source 3, source 4