Teaching from the respect of my personal experience in the field of Cardiac and Vascular Ultrasound. Keeping a sense of humor also helps.
Hi Rebecca,
Students enjoy hearing and learning from applicable life examples.
Patricia Scales
Hi Heidi,
I have found that selling the certification exam helps students understand the importance of the course.
Patricia Scales
HI Dennis,
This is amazing to me as well. I took every course as a way to learn something from it when I was in college. New generation has surfaced, and they will question things in a heart beat. I let my students know on Day 1 how the course is relevant before they even ask.
Patricia Scales
Hi sheree,
Students get it when they understand how the course pertains to their career.
Patricia Scales
I often use life examples of the information as we are going over a lecture or activity. The students will be able to relate to similar situations in their career.
My students are very focused on passing a national or state exam in order to practice the profession that they are learning. I try to show them that each course will help them toward that exam, but also, that they need the course information to be good at what they do in the work world. Sometimes the exam so overshadows, that it is a hard sell.
I find it odd that I encounter students who question the relevancy of aspects of their education on a regular basis. I try to emphasize that the accumulation of these small details is what forms us into comptent and confident professionals. The lack of knowledge that may seem irrelevant today, could affect your job performance in the future.
The information presented in the course is relevant to their future career choice as a massage therapist. Each lesson adds on to their invidual skill set on the way to becoming a professional and competent massage therapist.
As an instructor, I also need to know that what I am teaching students is important and relevant. I have brought in former students from my class who are still in their program to reflect on relevancy. Also, I invite former students who are working in their field and have taken/passed the licensure/certification test(s) to come in to discuss relevancy.
Hi Karla,
I like to talk about their potential income in field every opportunity I get to promote course relevancy.
Patricia Scales
Hi Cynthia,
Awesome! This is what should be done; we have to get it to where our students FULLY see the big picture.
Patricia Scales
I also share my own professional and educational experience with my students.
Hi Cynthia,
Super! I like to fully explain to the students how the course is going to help them in their career.
Patricia Scales
As a new instructor, I have, from the start of the class to relate the course material to the workplace and the students future career. There are times when they don't see "the big picture" and I feel this helps them to connect what they are learning to what they will use on a daily basis in their careers.
On the first day of the class, I begin by explaining to the students how and why I enjoy the subject matter (how it relates to my professional life and how it will impact their professional life too)
The most common method I use to show course relevancy is to point out where and when in their work life they will need to know this information. I give real-work scenarios, asking them to imagine a situation, then helping them to see that the information covered in this course will help them handle that situation.
I try to give work examples of why they need to know certain information in the course. I relate it to specific situations that can occur and how they apply the knowledge they are learning to each situation. We can't teach them how to handle every situation but can teach them how to apply critical thinking skills to address each situation.
Hi Leigh,
Students like it when we make theory real as it applies to the real world.
Patricia Scales
By showing them real work world examples, and how the course will help the student to gain the knowledge they need to suceed.
