Get Your Students Hired
Crossing over from the industry to teaching has its own challanges besides the obvious. Doing and instructing are to different animals. While a Chef and/or Cook my know the short answer of why a technique is done the student will want to know all reasons behind the idea. So just having that short answer is not always enough to satisfy the students curiosity. Having background information and history to tie everything together makes for a more engaged student and better overall learning experience.
I agree Mr. John. Knowing the short answer to why is commonly not enough and a more thorough and in depth answer must be provided to students.
Marcus
Karen,
This is an ongoing challenges for most instructors. I know I struggle constantly with keeping the content engaging, making applications and not boring my students in the process.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
I've worked in my field for 30 years before becoming an educator and, without a doubt, the students learn best when I am able to link the information to real life experiences. Those related questions on the exam are usually answered correctly. Trouble is, there just isnt enough time in the day to do that for everything that needs to be covered in the course. Some things just have to be lectured in a somewhat more "dry" manner,then reinforced at home by the students by studying. I just can't get some of the students to review the information on their own often enough, or in the right way, for it to sink in.
Karen
Richard,
"Shop talk" can be a very important part of the teaching process. Coming from a technical field I remember well having experienced workers show me quicker, and better ways to do certain operations. In many cases theory is great in a lab but doesn't work so well out in the real world.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
What about "shop talk"? how much is too much? If we present content/skill in two different ways like, this is a short cut that you will make this more easy or here is the hard fact written procedure for this job, we all remember the written in concrete way took longer and both ways work and have the same outcome and we all wanted an eazier way with less time how do we as educators present this.
Linda,
You make a very good point and it is one that is a challenge to most instructors. We know the importance of what we are sharing because we have used this content/skill in the field. We know what is essential for career success but sometimes the students don't see the value of the content in the same way. We have to be creative in finding ways to build a connection for the students from the classroom to the career field.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
Yes it is true that we must be enthusiastic about our the subject matter and I'm sure we are otherwise we wouldn't be here. A problem I see is that what we take seriously is not what students take seriously. We know how important certain concepts are in a real life situation but students aren't taking this seriously since they think this is a school environment and therefore it is not taken as serious as a work environment.
Chris, you make a great point. The best professors I have had in my experience worked in the field before they became educators. They were able to reflect on their experiences and build interest in the subject. Adding real world application to the classroom is a great asset for the students to develop their learning and critical thinking skills.
Bryan
I agree with John and Chris,I myself have been in the trade for a long time.The things that I notice about the students are,if you're enthusiastic and know the subject very well,you can communicate to your students in a manner that even the sixth grader can understander.Sometimes illustration and hands-on will enhance their knowledge.
I agree with you John, having many years in the industry myself I have been able to link theory with real word action, this link creation helps the student to determine wether they want to learn the subject matter or not.
Thanks,
Chris Fersch
Diana,
Right you are. I have taught with many individuals that are passionate about their field and the only way they can be in it is to teach it. They love the subject but unfortunately they have to teach "students" to earn a living in the area. I am thinking about a subject like ancient world history. I had such an instructor. It was a very long semester to say the least. I felt sad for that person because it was obvious that he hated teaching and he was awful at it. He was not a happy person as a result.
We need to have passion for our field and enjoy having the opportunity to share content with our students as we help share their futures and career. This is one of the rewards of teaching.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
I agree with you. The fact that a person might be very good at his/her occupation doesn't mean he/she is going to be a good instructor. Teaching requires a set of skills which are different that the ones required to actually perform the subject activity. Besides, not everyone has the kind of personality, or perhaps I should say character or interpersonal skills to be able to communicate effectively with the students.
Daniel,
You make a good point because the students do need to have knowledge about the "whys" of certain functions and/or methods in their field. This helps them to develop into more knowledgeable and competent contributors in their field.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers