War Stories
Sometimes if I feel I may be losing some students during a lecture I will insert a "war story", from my time in the field, that is relevant to the subject. If I can tell it in a somewhat humorous way, it can bring the students back and maybe show them what it can be like when they are working in the field.
Sandra,
I think sharing your experiences from the field, both good and challenging really motivate students. The stories help the students to see the value of the content being shared and how they will use it when they are in the field.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I also share with my students my own experiences in the field. Sharing mistakes you and others have made not only shows that you are human, but allows them to see that mistakes are going to happen, they are overcome and we learn and succeed from them.
This kind of conversation often would bring me back to the focus of the lesson.
Autumn,
I think this will be a good motivator for your students as they will be excited about telling someone about what they have experienced while in clinic.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I think this is a great idea of asking your students about their "war stories." I think that after my students have been at their clinical sites for a block I'll make sure to have them share their stories with me and the class. It could be a very educational exchange of information and probably very memorable.
Robert,
Students to enjoy "war stories". They help to make the content come alive and have application. So keep telling them and helping the students to see application.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
I think the students really enjoy the war stories. They like to get a feel of what to expect when they get there. It opens the door to the subject at hand and why it is important to learn it. If a war story gets a student to buy into the lecture or the lab it is worth its weight in gold.
I like the idea of asking the students for their "war stories". I think they learn form each other as much as the person running the class. It could be very open ended but on a subject to keep some focus. Very intresting idea. Thank You.
Mike
I like this methot as well,
Since I teach Health related subjects, I look for stories regarding this or that diagnostic method, how it help a patient, what other options are, what would be the next step, etc. If I don´t have one, I´ll ask the students if they have one, most do. So we are all learning about what is in our curriculum, the class itself, relate the subject to our life/ personal experience and methods on how/where does it apply.
Alongn the way we increase rapport and increase the interest/fun on learnig in the subject.
I really like this method as long as the story is related to the topic being discussed. I truly enjoyed hearing stories from my instructors. It made me realize they were not only teachers but also professionals in their field.
Anthony,
Key point that must always be remembered. If they are off topic then they have no value to the course content.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
Michael,
I do to. I like to hear stories about different situations and how they were resolved. They help me to see how my own knowledge can be better applied.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
Sometimes war stories are ok but they need to be real relevant to the course you are teaching
I agree that this is a great strategy to bring everyone's attention back to the subject material. I think humans are naturally more interested in real-life accounts vs. boring facts listed in a book somewhere.
I also think this strategy gives you a certain sense of "credibility" as well. You are not just relating a story back to the students that you read somewhere, you were actually there!
I think this is a very useful tool! When I was a student I would be more attentive when the instructor told "war stories." I made a picture in my head of this real life event and I felt a greater connection with the instructor.
Thank you,
Keith
Ralph,
Right you are about the value of such stories. Students really like to hear examples of what their instructors did in different situations. These stories help to show the relevancy and application of what they are learning.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
It creates a greater sense of relevance I use the same strategy
