Shelley,
What some ways that you do this?
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
asd a nurse, I apply all my teaching to situations that occur from life experiences to the experience of the student nurse and what they have come up against
Cynthia,
Yes, it does and this is how you bring value to your students. The more applications they can see the more relevance they will associate with the course and your instruction.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I teach mathematics. Showing the manipulation of numbers is necessary to understand basic procedures, however applying these procedures to real life problem solving makes learning mathematics relevant!
Joseph,
There is because if the students cannot see a connection between what they are studying and the career they are preparing to enter then the students are not going to be engaged. The connections you can help them make the better.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I see a strong correlation between the workplace and the classroom.
Chemo,
You make a number of key points that reinforce why instructors need to bring passion and enthusiasm to their classrooms and labs. Passion for one's field and enthusiasm for teaching about it goes a long way in helping students to become motivated about what is being taught. Both of these emotions are catching so we need to spread them to our students.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I think anytime we can find an avenue to relate to our students other than strickly using our text books we are on our way to a home run. Applying examples and experiences that would correlate to their careers is relevant and the students will feel that, they will see in your facial and gestural expressions and hear in your tone.
Small projects work, case scenarios work and sometimes I do my own skit scenarios so they can visually see the differences.
Making sure what you say and how you deliver with much compassion and honesty - can only project confidence with the students that their own purpose is attending school and their studies is in fact relevant!
Michael,
I use pretesting so I can get a baseline on my students and that helps me to select the way I will present the course content. Knowing why they are taking the course and what their career goals are helps the instructor be able to provide support and reinforcement as needed.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I think the pretesting idea would work well for this. Not only could you ask for knowledge based questions but also what there goals and aspirations are for taking the class/program and then try to incorporate or weave this information into the classroom instruction.
Marshall,
This is a great strategy to use. Thank you for sharing it with us. I know it will be of value to other instructors looking for ways to kick off a new course. I am sure your students really like this approach and the fact they get to know about each other this way.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I've developed an introductory ice breaker for the students on Day 1 of classes where they get to introduce themselves and also fill out a brief bio, if you will, that tells why they chose our campus and what their future goals are after graduation. This offers me the ability to personalize learning in the classroom as I tie teaching to relevance with their expectations.
David,
This is what professional growth is all about. Keeping an eye on how to improve and striving toward excellence will result in improved instructional skills.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I like to include the short comings I had, as well as the fact that most of my co-workers also lacked the skills and knowledge we are learning. It then makes it easy to tie that back into how I might have done things different or more efficiently. This helps my students learn from my mistakes, and realize the relevance of the information.
All the subjects are relenvant in our course as we talk about specific componants, how they work,how to diagnose specific problems, how to correctly dissasemble them and most importance how to repair them.
Vanessa,
You make several very good points but your last sentence is right on in terms of how to engage your adult learners and have them use their life experiences. I use case studies a lot in my classes because it helps students to develop their critical thinking skills while letting them apply their life experiences to the cases.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Adult learners enter the classroom with prior experiences perhaps in education or work experience. This changes their needs for learning as they come in with varied expectations and learning styles. This should be the basis for course design and instruction to foster student success and ensure students are learning. Giving students case studies and hands on learning experiences can meet their needs.
Carlos,
Good point and something we need to remember as we do our instructional planning.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
That is a great way to keep the class organized with relevant information. It will help the student to pay more attention, keep focused and undestand better the information that is being thought.
Tammy,
I think this type of application is so important. The need to be able to analyze different situations and work with different individuals. The more you can provide this the more they will be comfortable when they are out in the workplace.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
