Life experiences bring examples that range from "Learning from mistakes" stories to "Best practices" stories. Either way, learing from experience is valuable and the more experiences can be shared, the better the learining environment.
It's important as an instructor to see the different backgrounds that are in the classroom. Also, adult's like to share their experience in the industry or share their skills that they have acquire in another field and transfer those skills into a new career. It makes the class more interesting to.
Dorothy,
these are all great reasons to use the life experiences & it also helps the students see beyond the classroom to life after completion.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
When students use their life experiences in the classroom they help the students and the instructors learn about things that they may not have any knowledge about. It keeps things interesting and exciting, because the students and the instructors have something to look forward to each time the class meets. It can take as little as 5 minutes just to highlight 1 or 2 of the students experience as it relates to the course.
I find mentioning real life experiences helps students realize that what they are learning is useful in the real world.
Motivation is a very powerful force that can help people to achieve unbelievable things.
David,
this is so true. Additionally it shows the students that we value their other life experiences & can connect them to the class concepts.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
I think it makes them feel important. It gives them a boost of confidence. I also find that they have a lot to offer to those that have been through certain situations and then student are not just hearing it form me.
To allow students to use thier own life experiences in the classroom helps the student connect with their learning environment and it also stregthens their motivation by seeing how they have succeeded or failed in the past. This insight into their own experiences can shed light on thier learning abilities and help motivate them to follow a correct path toward learning the required objectives for the course.
I believe this ealy ties together the class room and the outside world. Students need to see that their past experiences add value to their pursued career goals. This helps them see their goals are achieveable. In addition the shared life experiences may likely provide the other students in the class the needed hooks to hang the classroom content on and keep it memorable.
It is important for adult learners to be able to use their life experiences in the classroom, because it can help the students towards achieving the course objectives.
A student’s life experience can have direct application to the curriculum, and if so by sharing it with the other students in the class, it can be used as an example curing the course. It is a win-win situation for all the students involved.
Me too it is a nice way to let them know that you are being on the same position as they are going to be.
Using life experiences in the classroom is very helpful. It allows others to see that their is a real human being that Instructs them daily who has real life issues just as they do.
I think that once they see that you are not exempt and you share that walk of life with them it opens so many more avenues for growth from that individual. It allows them to see and understand that we are all the same at some point and time in life and that we will all go thru some type of experience in life that we can share to help someone else along the way.
Adult learners can relate to experiences of others and need a forum to share. Not only does it build self-esteem and motivate hearers but it allows them to see that their knowledge and experience is transferable.
Eric,
yes & this is an important item to emphasize when working with the younger learners.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
This shows what they are learning in the class can be applied.
mindy,
I personally love to use the life experiences for the reasons you stated & also I think it helps the students be even more engaged.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
Discussing life experience helps the student to put what they learned into real world application. Helping them to remember how things work.
Life is too short to learn everything you need to know from only your own experiences. You need to learn from others' experiences as well. As an instructor, your experiences can almost become their experiences if told in a thoughtful manner.
My favorite question in a class is "why do we do that?" This opens the door for a life lesson that may help the student to understand. Life lessons can be used as teaching tools just as important as any teaching material. As the instructor I enjoy sharing my life experiences, whether good or bad, as examples of why a task is to be performed in a certain way. Sometimes being told that even the instructor can make mistakes and how I learned from those mistakes can be the best learning tool.
