Good advice. More and more, employers require job applicants to note specific technical skills when applying for jobs.
The world today may still revolve around money, and IT is used to create wealth in many cases.
As an IT instructor I emphasize that almost all jobs today require a knowledge of a few software products such as Excel. Knowing how to use these tools adds to their resume.
I also encourage students to earn the beginning level certification for any particular software product, as this shows a current or potential employer they are serious and motivated.
Do you think that it's appropriate to have students think of ways that a class can be relevant to their field of study? I'm wondering about doing this for my last classes this quarter - sort of as a wrap up.
Hello Jennifer,
You have become really creative in trying to get your students to see the meaning of the course. Great work!
Patricia
Hello Eli,
Great concept to show the students the importance of taking the class. I address the relevancy of taking the course to all students on the first day.
Patricia
Yes - I too have had students, for example criminal justice majors, who are upset that they have to take a business class. With those students, as I introduce each area of our class, I talk about how that area directly impacts their major. For example, as I introduce diversity in the work place, I talk about the importance of respecting your co-workers and their differences in order to create a safe environment within a prison.
The student needs to understand how the course is relevant to them. One of the courses that I teach is environmental science for many of my students this is a required core course and many of them are not very happy because they do not see a connection between their major and the course. However, I have been able to help students see why this course would be good for a business major especially if the company was looking at developing an area. Also, I get each student to relate the information that we are studying to where they live or where they are originally from; this helps to create meaning for the class but more importantly begins to create this need for stewardship.
Hi Kimberly,
Students love to hear about money.
Patricia
Hi Dennis,
Great! You utilize your resources fully, and you take things to a different level by creating a newsletter.
Patricia
Hi Eli,
Students really become interested whenever they realize the course can benefit them both personally and professionally.
Patricia
It is important to show relevancy of course content by using "real life" experiences - professional and/or personal - as examples. In this way, adult learners are able to put into context some reasons as to how the course content can be relevant in their lives outside of school.
I teach a lot of computer security courses. In that environment it's pretty easy to tie topics into the real world - just find a recent news story show how that topic related to a hack, cyber-criminal, or other security issue. I collect news stories throughout the week and create a weekly security newsletter as well.
Hi Allen,
Learning objectives should be followed. Students want to learn based on the objectives.
Patricia
By giveing examples of customer concerns related to the course content,and polling the students on experiances they may have had with that subject,then demonstrateing the troubleshooting and repair techniques that address those concerns, the student can relate with and see the signifcance of the learning objective.
Hi John,
You're on point! If a student becomes a guru in the area, the chances are better at success. I like this approach.
Patricia
Hi Rufus,
Dollars bring on great excitement! Super approach!
Patricia
Hi Cathy,
I certainly understand! I teach Access. I use the example whitepages.com quite often. Students tend to get it.
Patricia
The relevancy of the course can be presented in terms of a broad knowledge base the student is better able to compete in the area of choice, ultimately better securing his/her future as a master of the subject and increasing lifetime earnings.
Patricia-
The course I teach most often is Database Systems. In this course, I explain the importance of databases, and give examples of how much they use them in their daily lives. At the onset of the course, most of them do not realize that search engines, (including their favorite: Google), are actually databases. I go over ways to optimize their searches and explain to them, that this is similar to how queries are constructed when we want to take data from the system and turn it into relevant information. Then, I ask them to discuss some examples of other systems they might encounter.
This works for other courses, as well, like Web Publishing.
-Cathy V
I show how my course relates to the student’s program of study. I research the current salary for these fields in the local geographic area for starting and midrange amounts. I incorporate this information in to my introduction presentation and show how the information presented in the course can be used on the job in each of these careers.
