I like to relate real life experiences with my students to show them how the material we will be covering will relate directly to them in the field.
Letting students discuss what excites them about the course and work that as discussion in class find a way to each week to apply this to a each lesson.
Hi Mary,
I like to share stories about my administrative position when I worked for a lawyer as they apply to various business courses I teach.
Patricia Scales
I use my past experience to allow me to include stories that relate to the course content. This keeps the lecture interesting and allows students to understand the relevance of the material for theur future career needs. When the students feel that the material will be beneficial to them in their future career they are more excited and engaged in the material
Relevance is the key. The student wants to know WIIFM before they will give you their complete attention. That's why I relate every topic in a course to real world situations in their field. The students will immediately see how important each topic is to them and how it will contribute to their future success. Also, the student will be able to see the development path of the subject matter and how it fits into the big picture. This encourages the student to build a solid foundation in the subject, helps create interest and a path to the more advanced courses in the field.
I like to have students share why they signed up for the program/course; then I try to "match" their reasons with an industry benefit or a personal experience that I can share. If they say "I want to work from home" then I counter it with examples of people that I have known that worked from home in the industry. I also let them know the caveats of their goals by interjecting that it means you will need to focus on marketing yourself and your skillet so that physicians feel comfortable with your taking their claims out of their offices to work on them at home. I want to show them the glimpse of what they perceive to be the "good life" but I want them to recognize that they really have to commit to their work in the program and more to get there.
Since I teach Massage therapy it easy to relate the information the student will be learning to their career path. I use touch exercises as ice breakers and interactive games about the course the first day.
When I want my kids to get excited about something I make sure i make it seem fun and handout rewards for things that actually like to do and have.
I also agree! I tell my students personal experiences in their field so they see that the information I'm teaching them is for "real-life" situations. I get their complete attention and they try harder. It lets them know why I am teaching this information to them and its not just words in a book/powerpoint or why we're doing this lab activity. It also helps the students visualise the senario in their minds while learning the information and they retain it better. It also give them a chance to discuss something that happened to them or ask any questions they might have been shy to ask before. I like to keep communication open so my students feel comfortable asking me if they don't understand something or they are confused. It gets the students comfortable with each other, too! :)
I make different ideas to keep them excited such as, do group projects play some games or try to set up a work environment to show them how to incorporate their knowledge of the course.
I was a professional in my field prior to teaching, and I find that describing how their specific courses, and the program that they are studying for helps to meet their end goal, aka career.
It is rare when I don't hear a complaint about any assignment, but if I meet those complaints with specific details of how that particular assignment applied to my career, their complaints are usually replaced with understanding, engagement, and excitement for their assignment/course and field of study.
Just using messages and announcements to engage students only goes so far, I have found using questions to challenge the students about the material and have them think of real world examples or situations helps. Using visual aids like video or diagrams helps but only the students that are visual learners will get motivated by these teaching aids. Having students challenge or support each other in their assignments also builds momentum if the material is not very exciting.
I am currently teaching surgery/anesthesia to veterinary technology students. I like to let them see that if they do their job well things usually turn out well for the patient and if they don't well.... We recently went over a case (not from school) where things started going badly for the patient in surgery because of a complication. It turns out that the complication could have been avoided if some one had taken a better history on the patient prior to surgery. We worked through the case and my students asked the questions that should have been asked in the real case. They saw how by doing their job and taking a good patient history, a major surgical situation could be avoided.
We run through these case scenarios often and it has been keeping them interested and on their toes.
When I taught Dental Assisting courses I would bring in real forms from a dental office and incorporate them into the class. The students really enjoyed researching the information that was being requested and why it was important for them to know this information.
When commencing my courses, usually A&P courses, I have a set objective that must be completed for the students, but I also want thei feedback on it. Students have a better interest and thus a better approach to material they want to learn about. I modify and ask them want specific areas on my objectives they want to lean more about. This does get them excited in that they have input in the class.
The module already mentioned it; students can get excited about the course when they see how the information they are about to gain can benefit them in their professional success. I always try to illustrate the lecture material with real-life experience. Doing so makes the students aspire to become just as much of an expert as the instructor (and the instructor is model/motivator/mentor). The single hardest thing for me is to get excited about a course when the course itself is really not all that exciting to me...The students can sense that! By taking these courses, I hope to be better able to hide or disguise my own feelings about the course, and find new and appealing ways to elevate the students to new levels of knowledge, and ultimately professional success.
It is very helpful for the students to know how they will benefit. How they will be more sucessful and financially fruitful.
I play review games with them
To get the students excited about their course, at the beginning of the session, I try to find out the career goals of each student and tie their careers to the course being taken. I discuss the topics that we will be covering in class and how they may benefit from them. I try to give the students an overall picture on what they will learn and accomplish by the end of the course session and how the current course help their professional goals.
What are some of your real-world stories?
