It is motivating for students to see relevency in the learning activities because it makes them feel as though the learning and all their hard work was worthwhile. Appreciating real life applications for the content causes students to experience those "Ah Ha!" moments discussed in the module.
Hi Billie,
What a great way to engage the students. I like the use of the incomplete emails and directions. This puts the students on the lookout for them so they are making applications of their newly acquired knowledge in their personal lives. This is what learning relevancy is all about.
Gary
Having taught English for 25 years at our school, I am always working with my students to help that understand that good communication skills are important in both their professional lives and their personal lives. We talk about clarity and conciseness in messages often. Today where everyone uses technology and seems to be pressed for time, I point out that the extra time it takes a person to proofread the message for spelling, grammar, and clarity is so important. You send a message because you want someone to understand on the first read what you are trying to tell them. It seems that everyone feels the pressure to get numerous things done each day. If you learn to get that message right the first time, you will in the end save a lot of time that you can devote to another task. It is very easy to find examples of incomplete emails and directions. The students will soon be sharing examples that they have found with the entire group.
When students understand how to apply material that they are learning, they see the benefit and are more motivated to learn it. This translates into better effort doing the homework, attention that's a little more focused. And, sometimes it seems that it's almost as though they go through the application in their mind, getting the benefit of additional repetition.
I couldn’t agree more, Jan. I once read a statistic that has really stuck with me. We as learners retain something like 70-90% of content that we actually use and apply in real life vs. with passive learning of reading or lecture, we only retain 10-20%. You make a really good point about finding ways to relate the content to life experiences and find active ways for the student to apply the material.
I know that when I was a grad student, it helped me tremendously to be able to apply what I was learning to my job. My retention of the subject matter was definitely higher for the courses in which I had a project that I could easily tie into my work, and in one case, a project was actually used for online faculty in-services, giving validation that I had successfully learned the concepts. The more we can find ways to encourage our students to do the same with the content in our classes, the easier it will be for them to feel as if they are on track toward the right career.
Relevancy and application of content allows students to not only feel successful in the course because they are able to attach meaning to concepts more readily and thus have a better performance in the course in terms of a letter grade. But they are also able to take this newly acquired information into the workforce or personal life and succeed in that environment as well. So not only will the student achieve success within the classroom, but also outside the class as well. I’ve found that once a student achieves a little bit of success, that it can motivate them through times of struggle. It gives them a bit of confidence in their abilities. A small amount of encouragement goes a long way. On the flip side, if a student fails to see the reason that they are studying the material and that it has no practical application to them, they might lose motivation, possibly fail or drop the class.
Hi Dolores,
Good point about the value of being an instructor. When they compliment you by saying what you taught them was valuable and worthwhile then it makes coming to class that much more valuable.
Gary
If these students come to a career school because they want to learn what they need for careers, then they do not want any of the "fluff" that may be included in a liberal arts school for instance. If I want them to learn a concept or a process, I need to be able to pull them into it by asking how this can be or is used in the workplace. Case studies are excellent for this because I can work through a case study with them in class and then ask each to do a real case study on something at their place of employment. I might even consider giving them bonus points if they actually present the case study to their bosses.
When students come back to the classroon and tell me that they used a skill that they learned in class in the workplace, it feels like the learning has come full circle.
Dolores Kiesler
Hi Mark,
I call this "connecting the dots". We have to do this for the students or the value they associate with their classes will be greatly reduced.
Gary
It brings the topic to reality. Until you have relevancy that can be followed by application the information is abstract and will not be full understood example in the video with the professor teaching someone how to serve a Tennis Ball. The example was irrelevant and there had to be some application.
You have to be on topic with all the information you provide if not it is one step forward and two steps back.
Many times the experiences of students in the real world have been negative. They've had bad bosses. I try to teach them how to be a good boss. Sometimes that means asking them to provide a bad example, then asking them what they will do when they get the opportunity. This way they can relate. It really helps put things in perspective.
Hi Clay,
Students really enjoy hearing personal stories about what their instructors experienced when they were in the field. This helps to make the content real because you used the same content to be successful in your career before becoming an instructor. Sometimes students don't realize that we all worked in our fields before we became instructors. That experience is what helped us to become instructors.
Gary
I always give personal stories about things that have happened to me in my profession. I feel this helps motivate students and gets them excited in the area of study. I always get more questions when I share a personal story.
Hi Alan,
You are right about students liking to hear stories about your life experiences in their field of study. The fact that you were successful and now have chosen to enter teaching to share your knowledge is a powerful message that needs to be shared with the students. The more examples of how you were successful the greater the understanding by the students of how they themselves can be successful.
Gary
If a student is taught just by the use of lecture, they become bored or uninterested and will not retain much of the lesson. On the other hand if you give them a short lecture, maybe a short demo, and show them how this pertains to the real world thru a guest speaker or possible a field trip into the field, they well be more alert as to how this is going to affect them in the real world. It will make them realize they are going to be doing this once they graduate and it looks fun, thats motivation in itself to learn.
Our students must see the relationship between the subject matter and their priorities. Before entering the world of Eduation i spent thirty years in world of business. I have held a variety of managerial positions in addition to owning a couple successful businesses.
This background has provided me with a variety of business experiences. So, when I am explaining a concept pertaining to business I am able to convey numerous real life examples of how this concept might affect the students in their business careers.
The students seem to enjoy these stories and I beleive it helps them understand the material better. Because I can relate these personal real life experiences it adds to my credibility as an instructor. Therefore, when I do emphasis a point they tend to beleive what I say rather than question the validity of my comments.
A very common question I am asked by students is why do they have to take 'gen ed' courses like math or speech, when what they really want is to learn the knowledge and skills related to their chosen career path. Right up front, they're making the point that they want to focus their time and effort on the work that will get them to their chosen destination. Being able to see the relevance to the type of job they seek is incredibly motivating for them. In fact, it's sometimes more difficult to get students motivated for courses they feel they 'have to' take for their degree that the student does not see as directly applicable for them. When teaching our math classes, for example, I'm sure to incorporate examples and uses that are relevant so students will see how these skills are actually needed - and will be used. When working on percents, I show how this relates to credit card finance charges or interest rates.
In another course, I studied John Keller's ARCS model, which indicates that Attention, Relevance, Confidence, and Satisfaction are all important aspects to motivation. Orienting the knowledge or skill being taught to the goals and motives of the student provides significant motivation to learn and retain what is being covered!
Hi Joan,
This is so true and so important. Without application and relevancy students see no purpose to their classes nor future. Your points are critical for all instructors to understand and then work to achieve.
Gary
I need to develop a new "beginning" to each class that will incorporate the "why" as well as the "what" we are learning. The course I teach is often one of the first courses they will have and I must remember that, just because it makes sense to me, it may not have that relevancy to the student yet.
