One way would be to invite a guests speaker into the class to talk about his/her career and the relevance of the course to his/her job. The student could also go to the site and observe someone in the career. This is done in an internship. It is amazing how often a student tells me how relevant my course was after they are much further along in their program.
I have taught A&P, pharmacology and presently teaching two clinical courses to my students. As a registered nurse, I have used "real world healthcare" examples to show students that the courses they take can be appropriately applied to scenarios and cirumstances encountered in the doctor's office and hospital. Throughout my courses,I share situations that I have encountered clinically and ask them to use the knowledge they have gained so far to "critically think" how they would approach the problem and what solutions could be offered. This approach seems to help them through areas of the course that they may not think are "relevant" to their career choice.
I believe that two of the keys to teaching are the ability to demonstrate to the student the relevancy of the material that they are going to learn to their and the ability to create analogous relationships to their existing knowledge base. Failure to establish the former will result in boredom, tedium and exasperation for the student, if not the professor as well.
The absence of the latter will result in increasing levels of frustration, as a student ties to acquire knowledge for which they have no empirical point of reference, and therefore not way to anchor it into their hearts and minds.
Add to this process the feeling that the need to learn this information has been imposed upon them, rather than planned deliberately to insure their success, and you have the makings for a disruptive and chaotic class.
The subjects that I have been teaching, so far, are Anatomy and Physiology, Microbiology and Pathology.
I demonstrate the relevance of these subjects by using the students own health an bodily concerns for discussion, the health of their friends, the foundational importance of these topics to their future line of work and my own clinical experience as a Doctor of Chiropractic.
I also relate these topics to their ability to literally function effectively in their jobs. Most people like to look and feel competent, rather than the reverse and this too can become a major motivator for my students to acquire the desired body of knowledge before them.
Jonathan D. French, D.C.
September 10, 2010
It is important for students to know the relevance of a course. It can be done in many ways. By giving examples of procedures performed in the classroom and discuss that discuss how these procedures are done in businesses. Viewing films of material covered in class applied in real world situations. Students will take ownership of their education by knowing the relevance of material presented.
Give the students examples of how the course (English 102) will help them in life and their other courses.
Show samples of poor English usage in the newspaper, on signs, and in TV ads. (What is wrong? Correct these errors.)
Read a sample of the process by which Stephen King (from his book) writes to demonstrate that EVERYONE has to follow the seven steps for writing an essay.
Relevancy of ( in this case) a medical course can be determined by providing realistic, "real world" training so that students have the skill sets to work in thier chosen career field.
Students need to know the instructor posesses the credentials and the experience in the field to impart his/her knowledge and that that knowledge is pertenant to the students quest for a career.
As a vocational instructor it is not only important, but necessary to make the students aware that the skills they will be learning will assist them in becoming more hireable upon completion. For example, a VN student who is always on time, accepts her/his assignment with enthusiasm and has practiced the skills that will be needed for patient care will be noticed and could possibly have a greater chance of being offered a position at that facility.
Help them to understand how they will use the information in their particular field of study. I try to use real-world examples and stories or situations of personal experience.
I have done the same and have discussed with the students the requirements especially with looking at level of experience and certification for medical coding. I believe it helps them understand the job search when they are done with school.
As an instructor of Business English and Composition, I use workplace and real world situations as daily writing assignments. Students will write business letters, memos, e-mails, and respond to letters, memos and e-mails as well. Clear and articulate oral and written communication skills are essential in today's work environment, and are important in writing applicant cover letters and resumes. Correct spelling, punctuation, use of parts of speech, sentence structure, etc. are all woven into daily writing assignments that I go over individually with each student.
Hi Barbara,
I like how you put the responsibility back on the student to show/understand the relevance of the course.
Patricia
I often invite speakers from the industry to talk about their jobs and experiences.
Hi Joseph,
I concur! Passion helps tremendously! Students can tell when you love or don't love what you do.
Patricia
Yes the dollar speaks very loud to students and enjoying what one does is a close second.
joe knight nmti
i teach a massage therapy classes from age 18 and up half the morning is anatomy and second half is hands on massage .The students then see and feel their craft coming to life,with their final goal helping people and making a comfortable living.
Thanks
JOE KNIGHT NMTI
Read suggested material; because it will help you to understand when I do the demo in class.
Write the problems you had completing the assignment.
All questions are good because some one else may need the same information repeated.
Text for construction must be clear, outlining steps to follow if the student is working alone.
I teach tax courses and the first meeting I have an "ice breaker" activity that has them break into groups and read a case about a typical tax client. It tells them at the end of the case that the family would like to hire them as their tax preparer and would like to know what information will be needed to prepare their taxes. While they are discussing I put on the board the tax forms that we will be covering that quarter. When they reconvene for discussion they contribute what they think the client will need to bring them and I put it on the board next to the form it is reported. By then end, we have all the forms listed with items and I tell them this is what we are going to learn this quarter and by then end - they will be able to prepare the tax return for this case study. It really shows them the relvancy of the material we will be learning that quarter.
Hi Elizabeth,
Money is a super motivator. Talk it up every opportunity you get.
Patricia
Agreed! Money is the biggest motivator I've seen in adult learners.
Showing relevancy will or at least should encourage the student that they are in the correct course and it will have application in their job. As adult learner, they usually don't have time to take interesting courses, they must have application to their career.
