Knowing your student needs and expectations can really assist in your instructional delivery. For instance, in my commercial driver's license course I found out my students were all planning to be long-haul drivers. I was able to cater my classroom content to the needs of that particular realm versus the local driver demands.
Todd,
I am sure you have noticed that your students really perk up when you share stories and examples from the field with them. This is because you are helping them to connect the content to their career area. They get excited and their motivation levels increase because they start to see themselves being successful in the career area and that all of their hard work is going to be worth it.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Sherry,
I teach a gen ed course so I can relate to the challenges you face with your students. You are right on target with your approach in using the examples. The more you can connect math to their field and how math will help them be successful the more engaged they will be. It is at times a tough sell for some students but it is great when you see that you have won them over and they see there is value to what is being taught.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I teach mathematics to students, who are majoring to a variety of different fields. The majority of them think my course is irrevalent to their career. So I give many examples of where you would use the math I teach in the many different careers of my students.
Their expectations need to be addressed through relevent information and guidance on how the content will be used in their chosen career. I always give real life examples with personal experiences.
Jennifer,
This is important to do because students need to see their future opportunities especially when they are starting to wear down and get tired midway through the course. Ramping them up with stories and examples about employment opportunities and financial rewards gets them going again and excited about what is being taught.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
In the massage therapy field, we discuss the different types of locations a student can go after they are licensed to be a massage therapist. Even the different classes can change a student's mind on the direction they may had coming in to the program that they may not have thought about prior. Even using our own experiences with massage endevours both positives and negatives of the industry.
Terrie,
"War stories" are get in getting students to see the value of the course content. These stories help to make the content come alive and be relevant to their career growth. The more they can see that the more engaged they will be.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
My most successful strategy are "war" stories.These can come from me or other students. Examples of how past situations help prepare us for successful outcomes in future situations i.e., asking questions like "Have you ever" and then relating the answers to situations they may encounter in their future careers. This approach emphasizes the value of adult learners past experiences.
Brian,
Your blend of real experiences via the videos and your own experience in your different roles as sheriff deputy and military police officer help make your content real. This increases the value of the content to your students and increases their motivation in terms of acquiring the needed knowledge and skills.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I like to demonstrate how important it is understand how criminal and security procedures are to performing private and public police operations. My experience as sheriff deputy and military police office has allow me to show how these learning objectives are important to real world issues. I like to show actual video footage of law enforcement operations by myself. This allow them to discuss and see how law enforcement are put into action; the good and the bad. Such video really simulates learning interest in the student
Linda,
This is so important for career development. This is where being a critical thinker is so important. Students need to learn how to take their processing skills to the next level. Your efforts are helping this to happen.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Adult learners in their very existence are adults. For the most part, they know what they want and understand what is needed to get what they want. They may not however know exactly how to go about achieving what they want! Adult learner needs and expectations are the foundation to relevant instruction. If an adult desires to receive and education from an institution it is more than likely to advance themselves in their career. Their needs and expectations are that foundation to relevant instruction. The adult learner understands their needs, they understand their expectations and that understanding becomes their base. It is the very thing propelling them towards advancement in their career, in which relevant instruction is a necessity.
Specifically, the first step to strategize instructional content/delivery that is relevant to student expectations is to know the student’s outcome. If I understand that a student is in a program that requires them interpersonal and communication skills, along with flexible thinking and researching skills. Then I will add lessons to my course content that will require them to practice these skills. Once I figure out what it is that the student needs in relation to their potential field of student, then I can fine tune further strategies and methods.
Each class I teach I try and relate it to what an employer will expect from an employee. You can't just learn the steps, you have to understand why you are doing it.
Anyone can follow exact instructions, but do you understand enough to complete a project with just a general outline of what needs to be done?
If the student can complete a project using the combined knowledge I feel I have accomplished something.
Robert,
Like the way you "connect the dots" for your students. You are helping them to make real world applications early in their educational endeavors. This increases the ROI value and results in greater student engagement.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
In writing courses like mine, it can be very difficult to make the course content seem relevant to adult learners focused on their career - the inevitable "Why do I have to learn this?" is perhaps more common in adult career colleges than it is in high schools or middle schools when it comes to writing and literature.
I sometimes reinforce the value of writing and communication by using materials they'll use in their career as writing samples and scenarios. I may or may not draw attention to it - if I do, I run the risk of it being too obvious and students tuning it out because they think they've "caught on" to my clumsy attempt to make the material relevant.
So I'll simply put a letter to an investor up on the screen and ask students to identify uses of various mechanical concepts (active voice, passive voice, etc.). I'll casually say something like, "Let's take a look at a standard letter to an investor like you may find yourself writing some day. Let's look at how powerful active voice sounds when you describe your plan for what YOU will do and not what will somehow get done." By doing that I reinforce that real application of the material to their career and their future without it being a clumsy lesson in "This Will Be Important For Your Career!"
Paul,
This is great because with built in relevance you have the foundation already in place for motivation to occur. This makes teaching fun because the students can see how everything they are learning fits within their career development.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
In our situation everything we teach is pertinent to their future in our industry. Our relevance is automatic.
It is very important to make all information taught relevant to the subject because any extra information will result in the loss of students attention.
Beginning with the objectives and goals for the lesson seem to help make content relevant.
