Tag Archives: teaching tips for computer instructors

Creating an Excel for Accounting Course

By Eric Weinstein, author of Labyrinth Learning’s Excel for Accounting and Payroll Accounting

Continue reading Creating an Excel for Accounting Course

Effectively Teaching an Excel for Accounting Course

By Eric Weinstein, author of Labyrinth Learning’s Excel for Accounting and Payroll Accounting

Continue reading Effectively Teaching an Excel for Accounting Course

Let Your Students Have a Do-Over

By Alec Fehl, author of Labyrinth Learning’s Microsoft® PowerPoint® 2016 Essentials and Your Digital Foundation Continue reading Let Your Students Have a Do-Over

Teaching Microsoft Applications: Encourage Individuality, Encourage Experimentation

By Alex Scott, triOS College; Author of Labyrinth Learning’s Microsoft® Excel 2016 Comprehensive Continue reading Teaching Microsoft Applications: Encourage Individuality, Encourage Experimentation

Things You Should Know about Teaching Millennial Students

Source: FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Source: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Millennial students have been described in many ways. In one text, “Millennials Rising: The Next Great Generation,” the authors describes millennial students with the words “team-oriented, pressured, confident and achieving.” When teaching millennial students, taking these descriptive adjectives into account can help you devise strategies to specifically target their minds and enhance their learning.

Some examples of strategies often found effective when teaching millennial students include:

Encouraging plenty of student-faculty contact
Many millennials grew up with involved, interested parents. They tend to learn best from instructors with whom they feel a connection. Including personal experiences in your lectures will make you, and your lessons, more relatable.

Include plenty of teamwork
Millennials grew up working in groups, and they are adapted to learning in this manner. Allow them to collaborate from time to time. You’ll be amazed at the ideas they can generate when allowed to discuss and interact with one another.

Offer detailed feedback
Millennial students are driven and goal-oriented, but in order to keep your students motivated to continue achieving, you’ll need to provide them with adequate feedback. There’s no need to stroke their egos, but do tell them where they have succeeded, and what they can do to improve.

We offer efficient software to make multimedia learning more approachable for both students and instructors. Contact us at Labyrinth Learning to learn more about our materials, which will greatly help you teach your millennial students more effectively.

Important Misconceptions Students have about Learning

misconceptions that students have about learning
Source: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

In order to get the most out of their education, students need to be able to learn efficiently and in a way that encourages them to retain the material, rather than simply forget it once the test is over. Understanding some common misconceptions that students have about learning will assist you in designing a curriculum and teaching style that fights these misconceptions and results in well-educated, prepared students.

Misconception #1: Knowledge is just a slew of facts.

A common student misconception about learning is that building knowledge is about learning more facts. In reality, knowledge is being able to tie these facts together, see how they relate, and understand their deeper meanings. Making sure you explain how individual concepts are related to one another will help break through this misconception.

Misconception #2: Natural talent, not hard work, makes someone good at a subject.

Provide your students with feedback throughout the semester, letting them know that their work is paying off and that they’re improving. They’re not just naturally talented; they’ve been putting forth effort to succeed.

Misconception #3: You can learn effectively while multitasking.

This common student misconception about learning is quite detrimental. Student think they learn well while also doing other things. Set policies, such as no texting during class, to encourage them to focus on the singular task of learning. They’ll find they have an easier time absorbing the material.

We invite you to contact us at Labyrinth Learning to learn about our accounting software for college students.

How to Effectively Improve Student Group Work

improving student group work
Source: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Having your students work in groups is a great way to promote teamwork and problem solving skills. While educating your students is your priority, promoting teamwork is incredibly important as it is a skill that everyone needs in life in order to succeed. The following are a few tips for improving student group work:

  • Emphasize the reason for group work – Before you begin forming your groups, make sure that your students understand why the task is to be done in groups instead of on an individual basis. Students often think that group work is a way to avoid having to teach the class or make grading easier – dispel this notion immediately!
  • Teach students how to work in groups – Students often don’t know how to work in groups. Provide information on how each member needs to take responsibility and how they should relinquish individual priorities or goals for the favor of group goals.
  • Provide reasonable work and clear goals – Obviously, the task should be bigger than a single individual can complete, but you don’t want students to struggle in completing their assignment either. Make sure the goal is clear as well so that the groups know what they are working toward.
  • Provide class time – It can be difficult for students to schedule meetings outside of class. Provide class time for groups to meet.

These are some tips for improving student group work. For additional effective teaching advice, be sure to contact us at Labyrinth Learning today.

How Using Attendance Questions Enhances Learning

attendance questions for students
Source: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Checking attendance is a regular routine that bores both teachers and students. Going down the list of students in your class while you listen for “here” or “present” doesn’t exactly set a great tone for the rest of your class. So, why not provide attendance questions for students instead?

Ask a question and then go through your class, allowing everyone to answer. Not only are you doing attendance, but you’re giving the students something more interesting to do. This also helps get them thinking and build their confidence, as it gives students who normally don’t speak up in class a chance to say something at the start of the day.

There are a number of questions that you can ask. For example, ask what the pet peeves of your students are. This is a great question as it will most likely elicit a lively discussion. It gives students a chance to get some complaints off their chest. Or ask about an early memory in order to get your students to self reflect. Just be sure to ask questions that won’t take too long to answer. You want to create an atmosphere in which students feel comfortable sharing and speaking up, but you don’t want to take half a class period to do so. Toward the end of a semester, you could ask what their favorite attendance question was.

Use attendance questions for students to enhance learning and contact us at Labyrinth Learning today for additional strategies for teachers.

What is Your Learning Philosophy?

learning philosophy
Source: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

As a teacher, odds are pretty good that you have both a specific teaching style and a teaching philosophy. The style of teaching that you employ is most likely something innate, whereas your teaching philosophy has developed over the years with experience and education. However, what about your learning philosophy?

You’ve probably heard about the different learning styles of students. Some students are better visual learners, while others need to read the content in order to learn it – no matter how much attention they pay during lectures. But a learning philosophy is something that should affect your teaching philosophy. It’s your beliefs about learning, after all.

There are a number of things to think about when figuring out your learning philosophy. This includes asking yourself if learning can be taught to be loved by students who dismiss it, if students that have to work harder have less intellectual ability or if they are just less able learners, if students can be taught the same material twice if they didn’t learn it the first time, and if all students can learn the content that you are teaching. By crafting a well thought learning philosophy, you can improve your teaching philosophy and better promote learning in your classroom.

You should think long and hard about your beliefs regarding learning in order to craft your own personal learning philosophy. For additional classroom teaching resources, we invite you to contact us at Labyrinth Learning today.