I enjoy using real world applications to make the course content relevant to the learning needs of the student. Utilizing this technique is easy, as the culinary math course is designed to use math to solve issues related to the culinary field. Students can automatically identify the relevance of the concepts.
Hi Lisa,
Good bridge between the real world and the classroom. The connection between what the guest speaker has just said with the text is a great way to show students that you are teaching them content that will be used in their careers in the very near future.
Gary
I teach marketing and here are a few ways I make it relevant and current:
1. Students keep a portfolio of recent news items or promotional material that relate to the content of each week. They share it with the class and we discuss how it realtes to the content of that class
3. Students choose a company, brand or product to research during the quarter applying course concepts as we go
4. In groups, student creata a plan to market a new product or service
5. I use active and collaborative activities like scavenger hunts, games, problem solving etc.
I do a lot of these things online as well and try to make the discussion questions about relating marketing concepts to something in each student's life such as, "Advocate is the highest level of brand loyalty a company can achieve. name a product for which you are an advocate. Why are you an advocate for it? Why are advocates important to companies?"
I try to bring in guest speakers who are experts in the field. I also connect the content to the text after the presentation.
Hi Laurie,
Good point. Variety is a good way to reach the different learning preferences of students as well as keep their attention. This helps them to focus on the content while enjoying the learning process.
Gary
Hi Jon,
Good preparation plan. You are very comprehensive in your looking at all parts of the instructional process and supports. This lets you see the big picture of what your students will be experiencing as they progress through your course.
Gary
One successful strategy for make a course relevant and applicable for students would be to mix up the methods for information delivery. When students have only lecture materials, they will become bored and possibly disengaged. When they have lectures, discussions regarding the application of the information, group exercises, and other strategies combined, they are more likely to remain focused and interested in the course material.
What strategies have you implemented for making a course’s content relevant and applicable to the learning needs of students?
I often incorporate links to articles or other course-related material in our weekly discussions to provide a practical and up-to-date frame of reference for the material. When students can see the material presented in another way and pursue additional research on the subject, they gain more insight into the topic and have a better chance of retaining the information and applying it to a variety of situations in practice.
Basically I research what the professional skills sets and qualities are required. I examine finished samples of professional work. I read up on as many trade journals, books and periodicals I can to see if there are any new techniques worth exploring. I review the text for the class, the syllabus and course outline and make sure everything is relevant to the initial research.
From there it is just a question of what delivery method would best suit the students. It helps if you were to know the skill level and learning strategy that best fits your student.
Hi Stephanie,
Your blend of these different media deliveries help your students to have variety in their course. This I am sure helps to keep them engaged throughout the course.
Gary
Hi Eleanor,
This is the focus of career preparation, meaning that you are doing everything you can to make their experiences "real". The more real the easier the transition will be into the work world.
Gary
For the baking and pastry classes, I encourage them to seek out standing business to see thier operation and how there production works. It helps our students to see the projects they are making and made in the current industry
I teach in an online environment. Every week, I provide additional resources to add to their learning. I try to mix these resources up. Sometimes it's an article; sometimes it's a videocast; sometimes it's an interactive learning object.
The first step in this is realizing that it's important, which it is. The second step is to actually learn about your students to find out what they need and what the best way is to teach it to them. I have two sections of an MS Office class this quarter and they could not be more different. The night section is full of people who work with computers all the time and know the basics very well. The day section has some people who had never worked in Excel before. It was the same curriculum but two very different bodies of students. One class took a lot more personal attention than the other.
I make everything relevant to the program of study-- which in our case is culinary. Everything we do is focused on preparing them for this field.
As I stated before I teach Algebra and Business Math - what I do is give the students test when they start to see what their math skills are and plan accordingly. I have two set of test - the basic and more advanced, the advanced students can take a more complicated test and receive bonus points - the regular students take the basic test - this seems to keep the students content. I have taught "lecture" type classes in the past and always used the 10-15 minute time frame - then I changed activities. When I taught Environemental Science I would lecture - then we would hear from a student - they brought in an article relating to the environment - they and the class would discuss that and then go back to another mini-lecture. This breaks down the time and makes it flow easier.
Hi Rachel,
Exactly. Get to the point and share useable information that will help them progress toward their career goals. That is what adult learners want from their education.
Gary
That is great Steven. I do something similar but not in an Academic setting. I call it an Overall Critique. We are a culinary school and every now and then instead of grading each item individually, I have the students place the food items on one long table, together. They are able to see how each item (which is supposed to look like mine) varies. It enables me to see if I need to adjust my teaching at all. For example, if I did not explain myself well enough during a technique they might all make the same mistake. It affords me, and them, the opportunity to see uniformity or lack of.
Course content for myself as a Chef Instructor deals with lecture and demostration. How ever sometimes dvd is used in such advanced modules of chocolate and sugar to give the students another prospective of learning. I also like to use powerpoint so as they can bullet point information and pictures that will refresh what I may have already told my students. There is a need to keep the information short sweet and very much to the point for adult learners so as they do not get tired and forget the information.
Hi Steven,
I like your use of students as evaluators on student assignments. They all get to contribute as well as have their own work evaluated for content and grammar. This really promotes cooperation and exchange between the students.
Gary
