IT concepts can be abstract and difficult to remember. What techniques do you use to help students retain key concepts like subnetting, IP addressing, and security protocols?
Improving Retention of Key IT Concepts
- Thread starter precious
- Start date
Teach them one small topic. Demonstrate the topic. Repeat it until they grasp it. Have them demonstrate the topic.
Then, teach them another small topic.
Then, teach them another small topic.
Since I'm a strong believer in "Repetition being the mother of all learning", I put students in a position where they have to repeatedly use those concepts. It's the same strategy that was used on me when I was 5 years of age, learning the English alphabet. Because of the very powerful and effective learning approach, I'm able to recall any letter in the English alphabet, without any hesitation - and I'm a lot older than 5 years of age now
Interesting that "retention" and "repetition" kinda rhyme
Repetition - nothing exotic about it, just extremely effective!!!!
It's been often postulated that without repetition, the ephemeral nature of learning is very hard to overcome. For example, @Trevor Chandler can give an amazing lecture on any topic and within 24 hours, students will remember just 33%.
It all starts with vocab imo (think learning levels...got to advance from facts to comprehension to analysis) also the end goal is a certification exam that demonstrates ability to work in a professional environment...gotta talk the talk no short-cuts here...from there, you need to associate the vocab and abstract concept with the concrete (I use the common - apartment building with a street address in a city - to explain IP/ports/subnets)...tell a story, reference a news/current event, give a non-IT example (giving them a frame to hang the new vocab on), then move to practice and spaced repetition ... use your lesson intro's to remind them what they learned before or point out on a slide how it builds on previous lesson , or setting up quizzes...some LMS's have "mastery" or adaptive quiz modules that can also help with"spaced repetition" at one or more levels of learning...
It's not my fault that I'm competing with those mobile phones (34%) and thoughts of
what's for lunch (33%), while I'm discussing the subject matter. I'm only left with 33%
capacity of their focus. I'm an educator, not a Miracle Worker
That’s why we need to hit ‘repeat’ so the light sticks around a little longer!......Thanks again
Love the apartment analogy-makes subnets and ports feel less like abstract concepts and more like something you can live in!
......Thank you so much
I'd love to see how the Magic Number is used hereLove the apartment analogy-makes subnets and ports feel less like abstract concepts and more like something you can live in!
Group Discussions and Peer Teaching: Encouraging students to discuss concepts with peers and teach each other can deepen their understanding. Explaining a concept to someone else often helps solidify one's own knowledge.