when i get my new class i ask them why they are enrolled in this school. money and new career. i tell them the opportunity is there if they listen apply what i am teaching them work hard because our trade isnt easy, very demanding but the rewards are everything they want. during the course i try to get a graduate student to tell them what they have achieved and what it took to be sucessful in our field. it motivates the students evem more.
When students see how what they are learning can be used in their lives, it gives them a feeling of accomplishment that allows for a more conducive learning environment. Students who apply what they are taught and see tangible benefits from what they are learning can be motivated to learn more so that they can do more. Students like the feeling that comes from doing something that they may have never done before. Seeing something created by their own hands that is good and works and is told so by an instructor is more apt to want to stay in class and learn more.
Richard
I find that providing real life applications to the course materials excites and motivates the students in the learning process. I feel it is very important for them to see the relevancy of what they are learning. Seeing how the materials apply to the kind of career they are seeking does that.
I assure students that rlevancy of the subject material is paramount in their career field. I explain to them that our portfolio projects are geared for them to create documents that their career field will be using every day on the job, for example a medical office patient sign in form. One I saw a student do I praised her immediatley for an outstanding form. I have never seen a patient sign in form with more professional formatting techniques in any office I have been to.
Melissa,
I like this approach because they are going to spend their lives in the real world. The better prepared they can be to enter it the easier it is for them to achieve career success.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
I am constantly using the term real world in class when instructing. I use my personal real world experinces and also use the term when discussing how they will use the knowledge we have discussed when they are in the real world. It continues to reinforce that there is relevancy in what they are learning. I receive reinforcement from the students when I hear them use the term real world.
My students are career students and they want to know why certain procedures, skills, techniques are used in their chosen fields. It will also reinforce the information and make the class more exciting.
Barbara,
This is where application of the content comes into place. The more examples and case studies the students get to work through the more relevancy they see in the course.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
If you give scenarios in the class room using what they have learned it really gets them focused on the material they are learning because now it is in formation they will use everyday in their career.
Jesse,
You ask a good question but the answer is hard to come up with because there are so many variables involved in giving the answer. If the students seem to reject the information you are giving them then yes, it is too much. On the other hand they need to see the value and future of what they are being taught and the skills they are developing. This is where the earning potential comes into their career planning. So just play it by ear and be responsive to how your students react the the standards you are pushing them toward.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
As a vocational instructor, it's the money that seems to be the motivating factor. Part of my spel, is if you make too many mistakes, you might work your self out of the job. Is there a point where placing too much emphasis on performing the best job they can do becomes detrimental?
It makes it real: that what I am teaching is actually used in the real world.
Tina,
You hit on two key words and these are relevancy and application. These two words are what give the students ROI for their effort. They see how what they are learning will help them shape their futures.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
Students are more likely to take the course and material more seriously and put extra effort into learning the information if they know how the information is relevant and applicable to their future career. Knowing the relevancy and application of what they are learning also lets them know exactly what will be involved in their future career and keeps their eyes on the prize.
Sandra,
Right you are. This is what it is all about for the students.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
Especially in my area of instruction; a student can readily apply your answer to their factoring. It is with the relevancy of the your course that they accept and apply the lesson taught.
Douglas,
Application and relevancy are two critical components of the teaching process. Your approach gives students a chance to see both and that increases the value of the content you are sharing.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
Hi! Doug Allen here
Students have to buy into the program and see the usefulness of the information you're trying to impart to them. A few years ago I was fortunate to serve on our state committee to rewrite the content standards for our state's k-12 schools. After writing the new standards, I reorganized my whole curriculum and assured my students that there was no "filler" in their lessons. I also rewrote most of my lessons to reflect the practical use of te material and established a reputation as someone who would not "waste the time" of my students. Such preparation has since built me valuable "street cred" with my students. They appreciate when I take the time to show them how what they are learning conncts to the real world.
Stacy,
My experience as well. I put my student in learning groups composed of a balance of life experienced and just graduated students so they can learn to work with each other while earning the respect of each other in relation to what each group contributes to the class.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
I have found that it is "easier" to teach life-learners than students that have recently graduated from high school primarily due to the relevant life experiences that the life-learners can use to apply the concepts to their lives.
