Real Life Examples
I am an instructor in the legal department of my college and I have come to realize that students react much more enthusiastically to real-life legal examples that I provide to them, rather than the same mundane exaples provided in the textbook.
I do the same. Have had feedback on course evaluations that they appreciate this.
Rob,
War stories help to make the content come alive and gives value to what is being taught. They also are interesting to hear and this perks up the students.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
My students tend to perk up when it comes to " WAR STORIES". I only use them when class material leads me to the topic.
Elaine,
I think we owe it to our students to be realistic in our sharing of knowledge and potential in our respective fields. This way the students can develop their own career action plan for where they want to take themselves.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
As a music / audio tech teacher it is very important to make the students aware of the reality of things in this economic climate, and there are very few realistic examples of creative ways to carve out a music career in our modern world in textbooks!
Daryl,
The more you know about your students the easier it will be to make connections with them. Your point is a good one and we instructors need to develop ways to get this information so we can use it to customize our instructional approach.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I also believe this is why it is so important to know the backround of the student. This will give an instructor the best chance to relate the content to their real life experiences.
Melissa,
This has been my experience as well. This is why I have a series of stories or examples that I can plug in at the key points of the content to reinforce what is being taught. Students really perk up when you share one of these stories and give them examples of application.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
In my days of being a student real life examples have always helped me engage more in the subject i am learning. It is so much easier to see things in a different light if it is something that i can relate to on a life experience or a day to day basis. Also i have noticed that if you use examples that are not from the text book the learning processes goes up.
Harold,
Thank you for sharing this example of what real life is going to be like for students entering this field. They need to have a realistic grasp of economics, time, and working relationships if they are going to be successful. The more examples like this you can share and have them work through the better prepared they are going to be.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I agree that real-life examples help students understand the relevancy of what you are explaining to them. I teach Digital Photography and Fashion Studio Photography and at the beginning of their freshman seminar students have to do a worksheet on Time Management, something college students are notoriously bad at. I show them how you have to learn to manage time in 'the real world' by using the example of a fashion shoot that encompasses 4 hours (with 2 models costing $200/hr. each) and you have 20 garments to photograph. How long can you budget per garment/per model? And, oh yeah, you need an hour to set-up and a half hour to pack up. You need to manage your time. This kind of example helps to make it real for them.
Lisa,
The more of these examples you can share the better. They help the content to come alive and have value to the students and this increases their motivation.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I agree, I teach medical billing and coding, and providing real-life examples of how to manage patients and insurance representatives generates more interest and motivation to learn than simply reading about it in a textbook.
Brenda,
Students need to be offered examples so they can then draw upon their own experiences to see if they are making the needed applications of the course content to their career development. Keep sharing those examples as the student grow in their knowledge of the content and applications.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I agree. there is a much clearer connection with my students when I give concrete and very visual "real life" examples which they are aware of and then they tend to become more involved. Otherwise the textbook examples fall on "deaf ears" much of the time. I ask them for examples too, so that they are actively involved in the thinking portion and learning through their participation.
Eric,
Good observation. Real life examples show both application and relevancy to students. This increases the value of the course content being shared and increases the ROI of the course to the students.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
