It helps for the students to hear the struggles that other students have gone thru in their lives. Anytime they think they are having a bad day all they have to do it look around. The odds are that someone within that class has gone the same situation. if it is an issue with learning styles i make sure that I speak with each one, one on one and learn their learning styles. I use lecture, demo, and return demo.
Recognizing a student’s prior knowledge and life experience contributes to new learnings in the classroom and helps the instructor build motivation and interest for the subject. It helps make those connections between theory and application that are so important for long term learning. Rather that rote memorization, students who can make these connections will better understand and retain the practical information from the classroom.
Being able to use life experience in the classroom helps students talk about a concept through relating it to there experiences. Sometimes you understand something better when you put into the context of your life. Many times when I was reading Greek plays in Grad School, I would not understand what was going on in the play until I thought about it in terms of my own life. Then, explaining it through my life experience helped other see what I was trying to explain.
When you draw apon a students life experience, you have the ability to take a concept that may be very abstract to them and make it familiar. When I teach about muscles, instead of telling them the actions each muscle performs and trying to get them to memorize it, I compare them to something they already do like swinging the arms when walking, checking out someone on the other side of the room, or even dance moves they may have seen or performed and then the concept makes sense to them. I also find that if you can connect it to something that is not only familiar, but humorous, you have the greatest chance of solidifying that information for them.
Life experience in the classroom can be incredibly inspiring, especially when a student can connect directly to a specific example. Good preachers understand this concept very well. They are able to tie together the sermon message with contemporary personal or current experiences.
Adult learners can related to life experiences.
Ron I agree whole heartedly
Everyone learns including the instructor. A major pitfall however is the student/participant who nearly always goes back to the same scenario no matter what the situation presented in a learning environment. The rest of the group immediately tunes the speaker off when they hear places or events that they have heard over and over again.
By using life experiences students have a foundation to support additional learning. By being able to use a life experience as an example in the class, students gain respect from their peers and feel relevant as part of a learning team.
In online discussions, I will often ask students for a real life example or if they don't have an example I will ask them for an article on the subject. This way every student gets to participate.
My students will try to find the best article on the subject and it really becomes a competition with a learning outcome.
Great question!
Kent Dolasky
The hands-on experience of the instructor is just as important as the text content, just don't over use it.
I use my own work experiences and those of my students. It helps by holding the students attention, showing how what they are learning applies in the real world and it brings the students together so that we have a more harmonious classroom
Hi Richard!
Since it takes some focus on you as the instructor, when you do continue with the instructional portion, they are more apt to listen. The student knows that you value their input and that will have opportunity to share more!
Good job!
Jane Davis
ED106 Facilitator
Or - Richard - it provides learning opportunities for the younger, less experienced!
Good job!
Jane Davis
ED106 Facilitator
Hi John!
I have a friend who recently returned to school after about 30 years. As could be expected, he is typically the oldest in the class. What he is discovering is that the younger students seek him out as a study buddy - he has wisdom and they have youth. What a wonderful combination for learning!
Good job!
Jane Davis
ED106 Facilitator
Non-tradtional students get reasurance that they are knowwledgeable and can succede. That life is alearning experience and school is just another chapter. It boosts there confidence.
Shows the common connection between each other
Life-long learning is an important part of learning and is very useful in the classroom. Good or bad experiences can further the teaching points in the classroom when presented in support of the lesson. I also try and draw on the student's experiences too. Sometimes they bring the "point home" better than I do, they have applicable life experiences too.
I couldn't agree more, Earle! It also helps prepare them for the workplace especiially the less experienced student.
Good job!
Jane Davis
ED106 Facilitator
Hi Shane!
Good thought! But don't you think it's more about transferring that knowledge to the workplace?
Keep up the good work!
Jane Davis
ED106 Facilitator
Hi Mark and Dan!
Excellent point! Nothing better than sharing life experiences (unless it's gaining the actual experience)which we can relate to "book learning".
Keep up the good work!
Jane Davis
Ed106 Facilitator
