Using life experiences in the classroom allows adult learners the ownership of their unique experience and the opportunity to assimilate that experience to their currrent academic environment.
Life experiences in the classroom help student relate to the material and apply it to the information being presented. Life experiences make students feeling comfortable with the material and increases retention.
Using life experiences when lecturing helps them to understand the concept better and also may give them the chance, (if they had a similar experience) to share their experiences.
It brings real life experience into the classroom setting. We can take that life experience and make an important teaching topic real. For example, I had a student bring up how he is having trouble getting health insurance because he is listed as having pre-existing conditions when in fact he does not. I was able to bring this to how coders needs to be careful when billing icd-9-cm diagnosis codes because if these codes are not documented or are not clarified with the physician by way of query it can follow this member. I also trickle this down to tax payer impact by way of higher negotiated rates for high risk members to the employer which can lead to lay offs or higher premiums for the employee etc.
Using a life experience is more valuable than any knowledge gained from a textbook. Practical world knowledge passed on to a student can help students apply knowledge gain from real word to classroom theory.
Most of my students have had some sort of life experience that got them interested in the field that their now going to school for. Those past experiences obviously excited them and sparked an interest in a new career path. Sharing these experiences keeps that excitement going and gives them the hope that entering this new field will be sure to provide them with many more of those great feelings and experiences for years to come.
The students realize that their past experience isn't "all for nought" and that they do bring something "to the table" that is useful to the class to hear and useful to themselves to build upon.
I really enjoy having students that offer life experience stories in the classroom. It helps the inexperienced hear about possible future scenarios, and gives the student with the experience the confidence of adding to that knowledge base. I can usually use their story to build a concept around as well. In a nursing class, I can ask what my working students would do if they had a patient with a particular disease. Then I can explain more about the disease and why they are treated with a certain drug. I can build on this example and eventually teach them the mechanism of the drug. This is easier to memorize once they can apply it immediately to a patient experience. My students learn faster and better with this teaching method.
It is important for adult learners to use their life experiences in the classroom because it is a source of pride in themselves. It helps to reinforce the fact that they have accomplished many important and wonderful things thus far.
It is very important for adult learners to use their life experiences to help them feel that they can be succesful and other students enjoy hearing these experiences.
for student motivation i used to tell them life experiences with is very helpfull
As a professional in my field, sharing my experiences along with my lesson plan helps the students understand how they will use what I'm teaching.
Students sharing life experiences can feel validated by others having similar experiences.
While learning new subject matter and concepts, the students can point out where to apply the learned information.
They can help each other to see where new learning experiences pertains to them
It helps to make them feel comfortable in classroom, it helps them share with their classmates and can be used to help them in theri career field. I always talk about using their common sense as a way of helping them once they get to their career. Use your life experinces to his or her advantage.
Their life experiences are what they bring to table, and are basically what they learned from the "classroom of life". If the student is allowed to draw from these experiences and apply them to newly learned related material, the information will be better assimilated and used to enhance the student's overall knowledge base on the topic.
Being able to use life experiences in the classroom reinforces the material in a way that the students can comprehend.
I encourage students to share their life experiences with others as some may have had similar occurrences, but are afraid to share while others may have been confronted with totally different situations. It gives me a better read on a student's perspective; how did they handle things, what was their attitude etc.
Laura,
Those life experiences really do help with the "why" of the theory, etc. And this is vital for truly understanding concepts.
Dr. Ryan Meers
they enjoy talking about there knowledge that they have already aquired and gives them confidence that they can continue to learn even as adults
It is very important because it will help the learner to explain a topic in a way that may help the instructor understand the student better. An example I used before in another posting was about a grade I received in an A&P final. After the final grade was given I realized that I missed passing the couse by just a few points (a C- is failing in some college programs)so I went to the professor and asked what areas did I miss on her essay question. She was not the person to correct the essay, she had given an outline to her TA that gave the points for the correct answer. After reading my answer and listening to my justification through my experience as an Army Medic, she realized that I had answered the question correctly but through my example and not hers.
