You're teaching a complex concept to your students. How can you help them understand it better?

The best way for a student to understand a complex field is when you apply the concept in to day to day activities. So for example if you are explaining Standard Cost you need to use the day to day examples for them to make a comparison.

As simula??es educacionais s?o estratégias pedagógicas que buscam proporcionar experiências práticas e imersivas para os alunos, promovendo a aprendizagem por meio da vivência simulada de situa??es reais. Paulo Freire, um destacado teórico da educa??o, destacava a importancia da práxis, da a??o-reflex?o, e as simula??es podem ser ferramentas eficazes para esse processo, integrando teoria e prática. Além disso, teóricos como Piaget e Vygotsky enfatizaram o papel do desenvolvimento cognitivo e da intera??o social na aprendizagem, elementos que também podem ser considerados ao incorporar simula??es no contexto educacional.

In teaching complex concepts, I simplify using relatable analogies and visual aids, making the content accessible. Encouraging active participation and adapting to diverse learning styles ensures a dynamic and effective learning experience.

As a former K-12 teacher, current educational technology person, and a mom of an elementary school kid, my first saying would be “Keep it simple and put it into pieces.” Then, do examples related to the same topic every day. You do not have to do many examples, but just a few. But be consistent and give a chance to your students to apply their knowledge / what they learned on a daily basis. Practice makes perfect!

The system this AI-generated article is suggestion is going to be time-intensive. While it may yield a high-quality product, there are other ways you teach complex concepts to students like breaking things down into manageable steps and having skill checks at each one of those steps.

A utiliza??o de simula??es educacionais é fundamentada em diversos benefícios pedagógicos. Elas proporcionam um ambiente seguro para os alunos aplicarem teorias em prática, permitindo a experimenta??o sem consequências reais. Essa abordagem contribui para o desenvolvimento de habilidades práticas, promove a reten??o do conhecimento de forma mais eficaz e estimula o pensamento crítico. Ao incorporar simula??es, os educadores possibilitam uma aprendizagem mais envolvente e significativa, permitindo que os alunos enfrentem desafios reais dentro de um contexto controlado. Além disso, as simula??es facilitam a compreens?o de conceitos complexos, promovendo uma vis?o mais holística do conteúdo.

The landscape of engineering education has shifted recently. Engineers, while retaining their technical expertise, must now also focus on non-technical aspects like personnel management, economics, marketing, and environmental considerations. This shift reduces the time and motivation for technical aspects. Engineering programs are reducing technical coursework in favor of tutorials and projects. This evolution of the training specifications forces us to renew our pedagogy, but, fortunately, we also have new assets because of the existence of virtual environments. It is possible to overcome the difficulties encountered by conventional approaches if we renew the pedagogy by having a wide use of simulation software to perform calculations.

While simulations can be powerful tools, they can also reinforce unintended patterns or behaviours. You need to be very aware of the pros and cons that a simulation can provide to your students and whether or not it is developmentally appropriate.

Com base em minha experiência de 13 anos na educa??o básica, penso em ferramentas gratuitas como as do Google ou Microsoft. Na plataforma Google, o Google Forms oferece a capacidade de criar questionários e atividades interativas, enquanto o Google Slides permite a constru??o de simula??es visuais. Já na Microsoft, o PowerPoint oferece recursos de interatividade, como bot?es e links, possibilitando a cria??o de cenários simulados. Além disso, o Microsoft Forms pode ser utilizado para desenvolver questionários dinamicos e avalia??es interativas. Ambas as plataformas permitem a incorpora??o de elementos multimídia, como imagens e vídeos, ampliando as possibilidades de simula??o.

Para criar simula??es educacionais eficazes, é fundamental seguir um processo bem estruturado. Primeiramente, defina objetivos educacionais claros e mensuráveis que orientar?o o desenvolvimento da simula??o. Em seguida, escolha um contexto relevante e prático que permita aos alunos aplicar os conceitos aprendidos de maneira significativa. Identifique os elementos-chave que ser?o manipulados durante a simula??o, garantindo que estejam alinhados aos objetivos educacionais estabelecidos

A reminder that simulations do not need to be digital. They can occur using "low-tech" methods and in some instances may be more reliable. Consider whether or not there is a significant benefit in building your simulation digitally or if other methods may be preferrable.

Simulations are most effective when they are applied after a body of knowledge has been learned and tested. In a lot of ways this is the next logical step before a real-world application. Ensure not to skip over knowledge or skill checks before doing the simulation or you may find you have to stop or pause it multiple times.

As a former science student, I would have loved it if I were taught a complicated (yet simple) topic such as Volumetric Titration using a simulation. You can find a some virtual screen experiments by RSC (Royal Society of Chemistry) on their website.

Sometimes the best way to visualise an otherwise complex or difficult to observe concept is to go low-tech, via modelling and role play: 1. A water balloon with a ping pong ball inside can be used to demonstrate cervix dilation and uterus contractions during childbirth. 2. To teach protein synthesis, give student 1 a coded message to transcribe (student 1 is RNA polymerase), then student 2 (the ribosome) translates the code to determine the order in which to join different Lego blocks (amino acids), producing a final protein. 3. Coloured pipe cleaners can be used to illustrate the differences between mitotic and meiotic cell division.

Try to break down (difficult) concepts, first by using ample examples, especially from real-life experiences. Also, allow students to access given information or showcase their learning through different media. For instance, in assessing their learning, you may allow them to respond through drawing, song, writing, etc. to show how much of the concepts they have understood. Importantly, I know there is always the pressure to cover the curriculum, but try to be patient with the students, ensuring the majority of them understand each concept being taught before you move on to another concept. Remember: cumulative learning is key, for proper students' development.

Chunk it down and make it relatable and relevant. Motivated learns helps the process. Use abstraction. Students need to work harder than the teacher.

I am amazed by the number of educators who instantly think that an online or technology-supported tool is the best way to teach complex concepts. What happened to old-school tools like pens and paper, and traditional approaches like concept maps? Advanced technology doesn't automatically make it better for teaching complex problems. Integrating old-school methods (e.g., drawing, writing, freehand mapping, discussing, think-alouds) with new-school approaches (e.g., educational simulators, industry/skill-specific simulators) often yields the best results. Additionally, ensure learners possess relevant domain knowledge to grasp advanced concepts; without it, any approach becomes more challenging for learners.

Be careful: when new technologies are introduced into teaching, especially simulators, care must be taken to ensure that the time users take to learn how to use these new tools remains very small compared to the duration of the course. Technology must only be a tool at the service of training, and its introduction into teaching must not be to the detriment of the core of the discipline being taught. The goal is not for learners to become professionals in the use of teaching aids, but for them to have a perfect command of the course they have enrolled in.