share with them your experience in the field and how the class will enable them to be successful in the chosen field. establish relevancy.
Hi Donna,
You are on point! Students certainly need to be able to apply the knowledge they have learned in order to be confident.
Patricia Scales
Hi Jeffrey,
When students can visualize and understand how the course is going to benefit them in their career, they buy into the course.
Patricia Scales
Hi Hugh,
Students love hearing our students as to how they apply to the real world and the course content.
Patricia Scales
I teach both theory and practical classes using the premise that theory is the base that you use to build your practical skills, they go hand-in-hand. Theory helps build the knowledge base, practical helps build the confidence base.
Mapping the course material directly to their personal situation. Example: If they are dental assistant students, clarifying the real world applications to the course outline and getting the students to picture how they will use this knowledge in their chosen profession.
I relate my own presonal experiences to them. Sometimes it might be about how I used this information in the past in real world situations and other times I talk to them about how they can take the knowledge gained and make a difference.
Hi Pamela,
When we can share examples with students they have more of an interest in the course. Students really enjoy listening to stories that are applicable to course content.
Patricia Scales
I use my experiences as examples and ask them for their experiences of the subject.
One of the big things I like to do is ask them why they are taking the class or why it is required. A lot of times, through the discussion they actually end up generating their own reasons why they need the course and how it will help them.
Hi Virginia,
Our students need as much reinforcement as possible. Reinforcement generates better retention.
Patricia Scales
Hi Brittney,
Great analogy! Students automatically become interested when they understand how the course is going to benefit them in the workforce.
Patricia Scales
Hi Wade,
I concur! Relevancy creates automatic buy in. Adult learners have to understand the benefit.
Patricia Scales
I agree, I am a Clinical Instructor for Dental Hygiene and I try to reinforce what was taught in Pre-clinic didactic courses and interrelate it in Clinic settings relating to patient care. This will build the students clinical skills and reinforce what was taught in didactic portion.
Virginia Carrillo
I like the WIIFM model, as it helps students gain their own perspective of what they can obtain from the course and apply it to their educational and career goals. It can be beneficial to insert another perspective into the course content, such as real world examples or experiences. If students understand how the material pertains to their career or how to use it in the workforce they may be more engaged in learning the material. For example, using a blog instead of having students keep a written journal can be more engaging and seem more meaningful.
Hi Joseph,
Students tend to really be interested in hearing how things are in the real world. They get excited from our stories based on personal experience.
Patricia Scales
I stress the importance of the material and relate it to their life. The more relevancy they see in the material the greater the degree of buy-in.
I like to give the students real world/ work examples of how the information in the course can affect their everyday work life after they graduate.
Hi Allison,
I love it! What a great way to get students to bond with each other and to intrigue them about the course.
Patricia Scales
I like to open up with having everyone to write down the 5 C's.
What car would you buy, if you won the lottery?
What country would you visit?
What cuisine would you order on vacation that country?
What celebrity would you want to share that dinner with?
What is the one Certain Fact you know about this course?
They are then placed into groups and share their answers with a partner, then I have them introduce their partner to the group.
What I find is it intrigues them on what and how the rest of the course will take place?
