Sharing Professional Career Experience
I find that real life career experiences help to motivate my students. They are eager to understand the career field to which they are committing themselves with their professional course of study. Linking my "in the field" career experiences to course content delivery has helped to motivate my students, and help them understand the reason for the focus on certain content. This is done through sharing anecdotes and case studies.
I agree with your statement. As an art instructor and an artist I am able to relate how art functions inside and outside the classroom. My students are more motivated to learn and participate in the classroom.
I am a nursing instructor, and use clinical examples from patients on the unit each day as well as in my vast work experience.
Hi Shari,
Good point! They have to have exposure to the "real world" so they understand what is going to be expected of them when they step on the floor. Many students have trouble making this transition so the more help they can get the easier such a transition will be.
Gary
I have taught both the clinical and theory aspects of nursing. In the classroom, providing real-world clinical examples helps them understand the different conditions the students are learning about - it gives them a mental picture.
I absolutely agree with the above statements. In my classes I use real world experiences as a designer for avertising firms all the time. I think it helps reinforce the importance of professional workflow, and client expectations and relations.
Hi Louis,
I agree that real life career experience can motivate students. It allows you to take the theories and apply your experiences so that the students have an idea of what to expect when they enter the field.
I teach in a clinical setting for nursing students. I share professional experiences because it helps to give a picture of what can transpire to patients when nursing care is given. It shows the importance of applying what you have learned to actual practice.
I teach Management Principles, where many of the students are Criminal Justice majors I find that practically the only way to keep these students engaged is to relate every chapter to real life experiences.
Shearing professional experiences helps the students bridge the gap between the theoretical and the practical.
I would have to agree that our experiences in the career field can be used to help motivate students, especially those who may be just begining their studies and those who are somewhere in the middle and are literally and figuratively tired of school.
