Sharing personal experiences....
I have been instructing for over 8 years and have found that sharing personal experiences from my own schooling helps every type of student...because no matter how diversified, they can all relate...and most often, whether the experience is positive or negative, the student feels "they too, can accomplish the task...you did, and you are now the instructor".
When I share my own experiences, I am very open about the challenges I've faced in school. I want my students to know that I, too, hit roadblocks and found ways to overcome them.
I agree with you on this point. I teach at the the school I graduated from so I often bring up my own experience while I was in school. I tell them about the challenges I faced and how I overcame them.
I definitely agree that sharing your professional experiences in the field absolutely helps in the learning process. Students are looking for that extra knowledge and insight targeting the career path they are going to school for in the first place.
Sharing work related experiences helps to breakup the day, I also do this to make sure they realize what there in for going into the Automotive field.
Sharing personal experiences with the students helps them relax in class so that they can perform well. It also gets them excited and motivated to perform at higher standards.
Sharing personal experiences has been a great benefit in my classes. As part of a forensics program, the students are so eager to hear the real "war stories" of crime scenes I've worked. Using these as examples really helps to drive points home and illustrate the concepts in the text.
Lynne,
Great point! I consider myself a career student and my experiences as a student help shape how I teach. Appropriate sharing of my student expereinces help in the class.
