Relate Personal Experience to Teaching Subject
In class, I like to use a personal experience and lecture on a certain subject to demonstrate real life examples. I feel it keeps the students more intrigued.
Georgina,
This is a very good student centered sequence to follow. You are sharing and then reinforcing with your examples and clinical experiences. This increases the value of the content to your students and increases the content retention rate.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
While teaching a concept, I find that sharing my clinical experiences along with a reliable video followed up with rationale of the concept, and then practice application informs and engages my students.
Virginia,
I am a big fan of using field experiences in class. Students love to hear stories about their field and how their instructors worked through different problems. By sharing stories from the field you increase their engagement and motivation.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I feel that sharing your experience in your field is of utmost importance because it helps the students know what to expect when an issue arises and how they should handle said issue. I am in the field of Massage Therapy and situations come up all the time. The students need to know what their scope of practice is and how to stay within that scope using knowledge and good ethics. One of the most important tools in our field is communication between the client and the therapist. If you communicate, you can solve these issues before they happen.
Lynn,
I think these stories reinforce the content being offered. In addition, they help to keep the students engaged in the learning process as a result of the relevancy and application of the students in relation to the content.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
As a longtime nontraditional student myself, I find professional/personal experiences often help solidify the learning experience. These experiential scenarios offer real life meaning and relevance to the material. Additionally, I encourage my students to relate their personal experience when possible to optimize retention.
Sonja,
You make a very good point because you are building off of a tremendous knowledge and skill base as a result of all your years of experience. This way you can define and refine your instructional delivery skills while continuing to teach the content of your field. Keep up the good work and continue to grow as an instructional delivery expert.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
As a new instructor with limited experience in preparation for class, I sometimes have to rely on my personal knowledge of the field to get the point across! It is hard enough to learn how to "teach" much less having to learn the actual subject yourself! Thank goodness for my many years of experience in the workforce that has taught me so much!
Philip,
You are right about needing to have knowledge of the field. Experience in the field will give you examples you can share with your students to illustrate the content you are covering as well as reinforce the value of learning the material.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I feel it is important to have knowledge of the field because you can tell stories of past experiences but you can also let them know the things that they will experience and the importance of knowledge of their trade.
Travis,
You make a very good point about the value you are bringing to your students as they complete their last stage of schooling. You are can give them a realistic picture of what they are transition to as they enter the workplace. This is important information for them to have so they aren't too surprised or scared out of becoming a member of that career area.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I am just about to start as an instructor for the first time. After coming from 11 years in the actual field I plan to use my personal experience to relate to the students. The students I will be instructing are in the final term and making the transition from student to employee. I believe it will help by showing that I am not just an instructor, I am also a proffesional in the field of study.
Dustin,
Students really like to hear stories from their instructors about experiences in their field. These stories reinforce the validity of the course content being offered and shows them applications.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
