Lisa,
Your last sentence says it all. You do have their attention with your working arrangement. You are bringing the latest technology, best practices and examples to class every night. This really makes it real for the students.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
As a Dental Hygienist during the day and a Clinical Instructor at night, I am able to give my students everyday scenarios. This gives them an insight to where their careers will lead too. Grabbing their full attention.
Our students vary in age from 20's to 30's.....some have great experience and some have been out of school for a very long time, or have never gone to college. Our students must self evaluate every day via a "self evaluation form" and I try to utilize this...gearing off of their concerns and what they think they are doing well. It's valuable.
Laura,
This is such a great way to get them to see the value of a gen ed course. I teach such a course and I have to work hard to get them to see the value of my course. I bring in guest speakers, take field trips, and share content in media form to get them engaged. The more they see how what I teach can be used in their everyday lives not to mention their future careers the more the light bulbs come on. We go from a 10watt to 200wat over the course of the session.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
In dental hygiene, I constantly struggle with the fact that our students must do their gen ed courses first -- then they get into the meat of the program. They want to feel connected to their ultimate goal. When I teach, I remind them of the relevance of topic in their clinical life. We'll watch videos or I'll have them journal about how they see this fitting into their future. I think discussion is key....and I get them into the clinic asap. They are told that they are welcome to shadow in the clinic to get an idea of what they will come to expect. They are encouraged to, and most do, make an appointment to have their teeth cleaned just to see exactly what they will experience. It's an eye-opener!
Samuel,
Immediate use of newly acquired knowledge in a personal way engages students. Your approach does just that. You are personalizing your content for the students so they can use it in their everyday lives.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I think when we understand the needs and learn the real expectations (and perhaps the student perceptions - right or wrong) of adult learners, we as instructors can be better prepared to develop a strategy that ties the relevance of course material to the students. Without such intimate consideration, we can only guess and make suppositions of how the relevance will be identified by the student population.
When we truly understand the expectations and motivations of how the association of relevance meets the student requirement - we can use a variety of methods to satisfy such needs. For example, for many students there are always questions about why higher-level math is focused on many in many college programs (as opposed to basic mathematical concepts). Few students associate their expected success based on algebra or calculus (unless they are pursuing a science or engineering degree). If we tie the relevance of ensuring they are not overpaying for a sod estimate or how the critical thinking of such an exercise can help in accurately determining a patient dosage - they begin to look beyond the superficial and more at "gettig the most of every subject" as it pertains to them.
I like using real-world problems and exercises (not just textbook theory), group exercises, experience sharing exercises, and the like to show how application of course concepts are viewed, used, and in some cases - critical to their planned success.
Some ways that you can make your instructional content and delivery relevant to student expectations is to know your learner. Know their style of learning and try to reach out to them.
James,
This is a model I follow for my classes as well. The more diversity in delivery the more engagement we are going to have with our students. They get to use many different learning preferences as a result.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
It is common for instructors to deliver instruction in the same manner she/he has for years, but research seems to indicate that students of various generations prefer to receive instruction in various ways such as rote, web based, hands-on, text, etc. To address adult learning needs and expectations, I would start off with a review of the course syllabus and describe how the course is relevant in today's society and/or the field of practice. A pretest would allow me to determine learning gaps and the need for prerequisite course materials/learning labs. I am an advocate for group projects and would encourage the students to form teams in an exercise to identify the learning preferences of each individual student.
Laura,
Your class sounds like a lot of fun with a lot of learning occurring. Your personality is a key asset in your success. You like what you are doing and bring passion to your field. The mac and cheese with Mornay sauce sounds wonderful. I am going to have to give that a try since I mostly each my mac and cheese out of the Kraft box.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Dear Dr. Meers:
As a culinary instructor my students expect to cook, play & eat every day! My job is to encourage their revelation that cooking is indeed fun as well as to "sneak in some spinach" on their plates. What do I mean by this? I strive to constantly put the day's lesson into a larger picture; i.e., by asking how else a "Mornay" sauce might be used? ...... We have learned that is is the base for a very rich & yummy 'Mac & Cheese'...I ask them: "Can you think of other dishes/foods that it might pair well with"?? I am encouraging them to start to develop their 'mind's eye' in tasting and experimenting. I want them to always connect the food they are cooking at the moment to food that they have cooked or better yet to food that they might cook in the future.
Terence,
Student input is so important for the reason you state. We need to know what they are thinking plus they need to know we are listening to them.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Ask the students what they expect to learn after introducing the subject. Often times, they will tell you what they are thinking about.
Shannon,
Good strategy for analyzing the learning needs of your students. This enables you to customize your instruction which will engage your students more efficiently and effectively.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I think meeting learner needs and expectations to the best of my ability will produce successful students when they finish a specific course. I can focus my instruction on which method or strategy work best to deliver the content of the course accurately for the students to be successful. I think by keeping the lines of communication open with my students, the content and delivery of material may meet many or most of the student expectations. It is definitely hard to please all the students because of the different learning styles. If I pay attention to the areas in which the students may or may not be struggling, then I can work on presenting the content in a different manner in hopes the students acquire a better understanding.
I try to make course content relevant by telling my students about the times the information i'm presenting has been relevant and helpful in my own career.
Shannon,
This is a good strategy to follow because it does generate success. Repetition helps to "drill" the content into the minds of the students and they are able to store it in their memory for use later on as needed.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I remind my students often by saying "Repetition is knowledge." And demonstrate this by reviewing the material from the previous class at the beginning of class and material covered that day at the end of class, as well as incorporating review games that when a question is answered incorrectly they must start from the beginning by answering all the questions over again. I believe that by reviewing this way in a variety of methods help them grasp and retain the knowledge.
Pierre,
You have a very good instructional delivery plan laid out. I wish you a lot of success with it and I know your students are going to leave your class with additional skill sets that will serve them for years to come.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
