great point and not much more can be said. Giving a student the why is the reason to do the what .
that is great in building once technique is established.Foudation once laid individual vision can be built.
Thorough demonstration of tasks to be performed is key to the success of my students. I feel that it is not enough to how to sequence prepare a certain item but why steps are done in a particular oder and how to identify areas for improvement that are based on solid factual proceedures and techniques not just preference and ease of implemntation. The how and the why for somehtnig must make sense. I spend a lot of time on the why, boht in the demo stage and inthe critique. Repetition of these fundimentals leads to mastery.
-I have implemented various optional projects depending on the capability level of individual students as well as class as a whole.
Hi Anne,
You are doing something that many instructors fail to do. You are keeping value associated with the assignments. In many cases the instructors make the assignments and give due dates but they don't explain the benefits of these assignments and how they contribute to the total education of the students.
Gary
By relating my experiences in the business to what I'm teaching helps students to understand the importance of what I'm showing them
In this class alot of hands skills are needed. I first make sure that all students understand to ask questions when ever and do not be afraid to ask questions. This needs to happen to relax students and know that they are not being ignored. I adjust some lecture to students on an individual basis when needed. The diversity in my classes is usually pretty much not an issue since I see these students when they are almost finished. Issues still need to be addressed. The individual hand skills is what is more challenging. This just requires being very proactive and keep moving so that I can help the students with hand skill abilities or the lack there of. I also make sure that students who dont do so well are assured that they did just fine and more practice is needed. To ask a student to do something correct the first time I believe is too much.
The career college where I am a design instructor specializes in the following areas: interior design, fashion design, game design, interactive media, graphic design and merchandising management. I teach a foundations course, design fundamentals, that every student who enrolls in the school has to take. The course roughly has 15 assignments throughout the 10-week course, some small, others large. I make certain either in my explanation of each assignment and/or on the assignment sheet that the assignment can be geared to each of their disciplines, and therefore should be treated as being very applicable to their fields. For example, the line assignment is relevant to floor plans in interior design, in textile design for fashion, in the mapping out of game design, the background designs for websites, creating interest in advertising in ad design, and background graphics in stores for merchandising. Emphasizing the relevance of each assignment has helped the morale of my classes tremendously.
It varies on the calss. Depending on the type of class it is, I may use a variety of lecture methods. However, if it ends up being a class where demonstrations and application of equipment are necessary, I tend to have the students work in small groups or by themselves to work "hands on" with the equipment.
because the content is the materials course
In my classes each student has varying skill levels, so I approach each student differently. They all get the same assignments, but how i implement how they approach and tackle the project to each student is different. I use a lot of one-on-one instruction in this case
Hi John,
Well said. Everyone should strive for excellence in their work. In the case of your students their work is judged quickly by dinners. The feedback received should be very valuable to them as they progress through their training.
Gary
What strategies have you implemented for making a course’s content relevant and applicable to the learning needs of students?
I think that first an foremost you need to put in real world experience. If you are lecturing, use examples that have happened to you. If you are doing case studies, they should be real situations.
I try to vary my delivery so that I am meeting all the learning styles. Even heavy lecture courses can be manipulated to do interactive tasks to engage students.
With my prtofession this is easy. When you teach cooking for a living everything you do is graded by customer stisfaction. You need to relate this to culinary students every chance you get. It is easy for them to understand that if they dont prepare good food they will not be in business very long. Excellent food as apposed to average food is the difference between a chef and a cook.
keeping my own training and knowledge up to date
The most important strategy I use for making course content relevant and applicable is to provide real world examples of how the material we are learning is actually used in the field. Because I work full-time in the area I teach, it’s not difficult for me to find examples of how the knowledge/material was necessary for us to solve a problem. As a class, we then discuss whether they are likely to confront a similar situation in their careers. I also try to use some of the good material my professors used when I was in school.
The other strategy I use is to have students find newspaper articles or other publications dealing with the topic they are learning. This seems to work particularly well in my subject area.
I hand out a brief questionnaire on the first day of class in order to find out the different levels of learning needs each student has and adjust my class accordingly.
Hi William,
One of the challenges instructors face is to make sure they are bringing the best and most accurate information to their students. When textbooks don't contain that information in relation to the topic being discussed then you do have to introduce the specifics. Textbooks are foundational and after that it is up to you and your expertise to introduce the relevant content. With your work as the operations manager you are an excellent resource for your students since you are bringing to the classroom content based upon what happen that day. That is current content for sure.
Gary
Dr Meers,
I am the operations Manager for a small distributor business. I am responsible for all aspects of the business except sales - the sales manager is in charge of this side of the business. I bring a great deal of real world experience to the classroom. Whenever possible, I use examples from my business to illustrate/expand on the text. Sometimes what I use agrees with the text, sometimes it does not. What I do say is that the text is general, what I do is specific and cannot be used as a general example
Hi Erik,
Way to connect the dots. I hear the complaint all the time that students don't need to be able to write well in their careers. A writing class is a waste of time, they should be in the lab learning something real.
You are helping them to see that their career success depends on their communication abilities. Keep up the good work because it makes the job easier when the students are in their career areas and can express themselves or develop a work order, etc.
Gary
