Incidentally, this is what the problem is in teaching Statistics. Statistics being a mathematical science, certain mathematical matters are necessary to understand statistical matters. Unfortunately, mathematics is not given its due honour by most of the Statistics fraternity.

Teacher must give some numerical example.

Teacher provide some power point presentation which shows the detailed step. Teacher takes more exam on a specific topic.

Teacher decide some group of students who give seminar on predefined topic.

Create a picture of the instance and get them to dream a setup where people can associate and learn with their understanding of the reality

One old fashion solution:

1/ make a 2 hours session with an overview of the prerequisite

2/ let 2 weeks for the students to work

3/ make a written evaluation

If possible, try to relate the lessons with life experience and assign group works, that's what I do...

If majority of students are not able to follow, it must be either due to over standard of the curriculum or over standard of the teaching...

I have experienced this very often and it's frustrating because it means we have to revise previously taught concepts. That is the only thing we do. We revise the concepts, spend some time in that and then start with new topics. We also ask them to revise the concepts and come for class but that seldom works!

First of all, we must reflect on our own teaching to see whether or not the lesson was presented in a seamless, articulated, and an understandable manner. Secondly, teaching for concepts is the foundation of teaching and learning because the brain sees the forests before it sees the trees (the big picture first). If students understand a concept, they are more likely to get a better grasp of the specifics and the overall lesson being taught. Consider this on how we as professors should judge the effectiveness of our teaching-- we should not judge the effectiveness of our teaching and learning based on how well the bright students perform. They would perform well even without our teaching -- we help to facilitate their learning. Rather we should judge the effectiveness of our teaching based on how well we are able to move the academically challenged students in our classes to higher levels of academic achievements. Then we are in a position to pat ourselves on the back and say, I am good. If not, we are not yet over the mountain top pertaining to good teaching and learning. Two questions to reflect on: (1) what is good teaching, and (2) How do we know that good teaching is taking place while we are teaching?

If they have this problem, how to understand something based on this? And how they can solve this lack of knowledge if they where appoved? I suggets to to follow Edouard Laroche · recipe.

This is a problem we all face teaching senior level courses. I spend considerable time in the beginning of the course to review the necessary background material. Also when advanced topics are covered spend some time to refresh the needed principles.

Doing what the prof of Paul did is the only way: check individual level of competence early, then do some remedial teaching and let the students help each other. This is valuable both for those who already know, and those who were lacking the basic knowledge. Nothing learns you a subject better than having to teach it. Indeed more time and effort for the prof, but also more satisfaction. By the way: I learned sailing only quite well, when I had to teach it as a sailing instructor....

This is a particular problem with modular courses and in my experience an acute one in law subjects. Many degree courses have elements of law in them, some for good purpose others for little. Students from a non- law background often have difficulty grasping the basics of law never mind the complexities of the often specialised areas they are expected to cope with. Even if they have some grounding by way of a prerequisite it is often inadequate.

I teach law on a number of disparate courses from journalism to forensic science. Both subjects require students to know the law to a fairly sophisticated level but they have little opportunity for foundation studies.

Another often encountered problem is the slender connection between pre-requisites and the follow on courses. They are all to often not closely linked at all except in the broadest sense. Needless to say students have problems seeing the connection. Too much 'cobbling' together of modular courses and one size fits all modules are to blame in large part.

Incidentally, this is what the problem is in teaching Statistics. Statistics being a mathematical science, certain mathematical matters are necessary to understand statistical matters. Unfortunately, mathematics is not given its due honour by most of the Statistics fraternity.

You should give them the reference to study by themselves

There are always two prongs to a solution 1. External Locus of control and 2. Internal Locus of Control.

Telling that the students are not or unable to comprehend the teaching content and aiding is one focus area; while there needs to be an introspective probe to see with the teacher (within themselves) if there is a better way to process the delivery of the content. Empathic introspection will yield a unique pedagogy to succeed.... The teachers success is where the students succeed.

Start with an evaluation to create a baseline, to know exactly where your students stand. Maybe a test/quiz of some sort.

Always take the first 2 weeks to review the basic concepts, before jumping into the new material.

After they have reviewed the material, through your instruction/lecture, test them and see if they are ready to move on. If anyone is below a 75, tell them, 1) they need to strive to acquire the skills necessary or 2) drop the class until they are more adequately prepared.

Prerequisite course work is a base on which the future inputs gets added upon.. The irony is that the basics gets stored in the short term memory ... the problem could be that many of the basics, if studied with application orientation, it would not be forgotten.

Every teacher should always ask students to follow these points:

Perspective and Focus

Change your focus: There are three primary ways to learn: visual, kinesthetic, and auditory. If one isn’t working for you, try another.

Do walking meditation. If you’re taking a hike, go one step further and learn walking meditation as a way to tap into your inner resources and your strengthen your ability to focus. Just make sure you’re not walking inadvertently into traffic.

Focus and immerse yourself. Focus on whatever you’re studying. Don’t try to watch TV at the same time or worry yourself about other things. Anxiety does not make for absorption of information and ideas.

Turn out the lights. This is a way to focus, if you are not into meditating. Sit in the dark, block out extraneous influences. This is ideal for learning kinesthetically, such as guitar chord changes.

Take a bath or shower. Both activities loosen you up, making your mind more receptive to recognizing brilliant ideas.

Recall Techniques

Listen to music. Researchers have long shown that certain types of music are a great “key” for recalling memories. Information learned while listening to a particular song or collection can often be recalled simply by “playing” the songs mentally.

Speedread. Some people believe that speedreading causes you to miss vital information. The fact remains that efficient speedreading results in filtering out irrelevant information. If necessary, you can always read and re-read at slower speeds. Slow reading actually hinders the ability to absorb general ideas. (Although technical subjects often requirer slower reading.) If you’re reading online, you can try the free Spreeder Web-based application.

Use acronyms and other mnemonic devices. Mnemonics are essentially tricks for remembering information. Some tricks are so effective that proper application will let you recall loads of mundane information years later.

Visual Aids

Every picture tells a story. Draw or sketch whatever it is you are trying to achieve. Having a concrete goal in mind helps you progress towards that goal.

Brainmap it. Need to plan something? Brain maps, or mind maps, offer a compact way to get both an overview of a project as well as easily add details. With mind maps, you can see the relationships between disparate ideas and they can also act as a receptacle for a brainstorming session.

Learn symbolism and semiotics. Semiotics is the study of signs and symbols. Having an understanding of the symbols of a particular discipline aids in learning, and also allows you to record information more efficiently.

Use information design. When you record information that has an inherent structure, applying information design helps convey that information more clearly. A great resource is Information Aesthetics, which gives examples of information design and links to their sources.

Use visual learning techniques. Try gliffy for structured diagrams. Also see Inspiration.com for an explanation of webs, idea maps, concept maps, and plots.

Map your task flow. Learning often requires gaining knowledge in a specific sequence. Organizing your thoughts on what needs to be done is a powerful way to prepare yourself to complete tasks or learn new topics.

Verbal and Auditory Techniques

Stimulate ideas. Play rhyming games, utter nonsense words. These loosen you up, making you more receptive to learning.

Brainstorm. This is a time-honored technique that combines verbal activity, writing, and collaboration. (One person can brainstorm, but it’s more effective in a group.) It’s fruitful if you remember some simple rules: Firstly, don’t shut anyone’s idea out. Secondly, don’t “edit” in progress; just record all ideas first, then dissect them later. Participating in brainstorming helps assess what you already know about something, and what you didn't know.

Learn by osmosis. Got an iPod? Record a few of your own podcasts, upload them to your iPod and sleep on it. Literally. Put it under your pillow and playback language lessons or whatever.

Cognitive enhancers: binaural beats. Binaural beats involve playing two close frequencies simultaneously to produce alpha, beta, delta, and theta waves, all of which produce either sleeping, restfulness, relaxation, meditativeness, alertness, or concentration. Binaural beats are used in conjunction with other exercises for a type of super-learning.

Laugh. Laughing relaxes the body. A relaxed body is more receptive to new ideas.

TQVM

I agree with Dr.Heshu on various methodologies available... However there are many constraints in an educational setup... such as Time. Resources support and Syllabus completion etc.,

May it would be better to first identify the level of students and aggregate them into clusters and then design a suitable dosage...

It goes with REALITY and EXPERIENCE

Teach them the necessary concepts in extra class hours. Unless you do so teaching will become a punishment to you and your students.

1.Before the start of any course, find out the grades obtained for the  pre- requisite course to know  the overall grades of students for a particular course. This would  facilitate the teacher to know the appropriate level to start the course.

2. Try to make students understand the rationale of studying a  particular course. Students tend to put more attention if they know the importance of studying a specific course  in relation to the program 

3. Start with a basic concepts by asking randomly what they understood about simple  concepts before moving to a more difficult one.A group discussion could make students help each other to exchange their views.

4. Always relate theories taught in classrooms to real life examples to enhance students'  understanding about the concept.

good luck.

Hello Isaac,

I had a similar situation while in secondary school when I was a student. We had 4 years of Polish language, and after two years a new teacher came. She had to start from scratch to ensure we would pass the leaving certificate. It is hard to find a way around the problem you have presented.

Best wishes

Maybe start your course with a pre-test to evaluate the level of your students and then adapt your course to it, You may give deficient students material to get up to date.