I talk about specific cases in my career in which the course content was vital. It gives support to the reason for having to study and shows that these situations actually occur. The more exciting the story, the more engenged the students become and the more excited they get to learn the course.
This is what in my college education courses were called 'hooks.' You need to do something to hook the student into an interest in the course content. They need to be emotionally involved and see how the contents of the course will effect and affect them.
I am new to the teaching environment, but I just graduated from college and liked having teachers who were relateable to me. By having Professors who are on the students' level and that share life experiences with their class, the students identify themselves with their instructor and relate more to the material. I will keep that in mind when my time comes to teach.
Hi Eric,
I agree! Every time a graduate lands a position, I share the great news with my Professional Development students so that they continue to stay motivated and encouraged. Students need to know that things are hopeful for them.
Patricia
Hi Debby,
Instructors must believe 100% in the subject matter in order to get students excited and fully involved.
Patricia
Hi Reagan,
When students realize that what they are learning will be utilized in the workplace they grow a fond interest in what is going on.
Patricia
Ways in which I try to show relevancy to course content is to provide concrete examples of how they would use the information I am providing in the hospital while doing patient care. Since I am a nursing instructor, allowing the students to visualize how they would apply the content to real life situations allows for increased understanding and retention of information.
You have to believe in the relevancy yourself
Well teaching Massage therapy for the past few years I have found that being intertwined with career services helps. Knowing what past graduates are doing and what they have accomplishing is something that show students the light at the end of the tunnel when I comes to career planning/goals. Also I find that it reaffirms that relevancy to share my experiences in the classroom as well.
Hi Stacy,
Great! I like to show course relevancy by bringing in current classified ads as they pertain to the course based on the skill(s) the students will obtain.
Patricia
I believe that I can show the relevancy of this course, in my classes, to my students in several ways. First, I will make a more vivid attempt to develop a rapport with each and every student. This can be done by learning their names in a timely manner and using their names during class. It can also be done by demonstrating a presence such as meeting them at the door, identifying students that are more needy of attention than others, and focusing on each students strengths and being in tune to weaknesses as well. Second, I will incorporate tactics in the classroom to diminish disruptions. This will be done by implementing more group activities and spontaneous quizzes and quick writing reviews. Thirdly, I will management the classroom with closer attention to monitoring the students. This will help me to be quicker to respond to issues before they escalate, to keep students on task, and to, once again, develop the rapport needed to gain respect from students. This course gave me a lot of insight into meeting the needs of each individual student, and also how to deal with these special concerns such as the silent, the inattentive, and the angry student, and the center stage student. Like most of us, I have had them all.
I may show relevancy of the course by relating real life topics to my students. I may also challenge the students thinking by responding to their post on discussion questions. I feel as if this really helps the students think outside of the box.
Barry
I really like that approach. I think the real life examples are particularly important for students who may be taking the course as an elective or are otherwise not that familiar with the subject area in order to help them see the relevancy to their lives.
Dona
To illustrate course relevancy I try to highlight situations in which the knowledge can be applied. For example in a course on risk assessment I gave an example of how a local agency had difficulty responding to an emergency because they had not identified the potential risk event prior to an emergency taking place. This prompted students to relate experiences from their own professional lives in which risk was not property identified and planned for.
Hi Miguel,
Students love knowing that what they will be learning applies to the real world. They make a connection once they understand the application.
Patricia
Give the students real live examples and how they relate to what they learn in class. How I and others have deal with the problem.
We are not only helping that person but also helping his/her family, too.
Hi John,
Try using a graduate as a guest speaker. Students love hearing testimonials from graduate guest speakers.
Patricia
Hi Patricia,
Yes I agree. In one area I've found they sometimes tend to listen to their peers more. When we talk about job placement and the real world I find they are very interested in the stories of recent grads.
Hi John,
It serves students well whenever the instructor is very knowledgeable in their subject matter. Students love learning from those instructors who know their stuff so to speak.
Patricia
Hi Emily,
Students really get a kick out of it when we can share applicable stories/experiences as they apply to the lesson.
Patricia
