Hi Carmen,
Absolutely! Seeing is believing! The mindset is that if they did it, I can do it!
Patricia Scales
Are we protecting ourselves as instructors and the privacy of our students if we share work that just has the student's name removed? Is there a risk of violating the privacy of the student? How do you obtain permission? Verbally? Written?
By showing students examples of student work it not only makes the task easier to understand what is wanted. It also helps them feel that they can accomplish the task.
I find that by showing examples of acceptable and inadequate assignments, students are allowed to relax and just enjoy the learning process covered by the material.
Just yesterday I met with a student panicking about an upcoming project until she saw a neatly organized A+ example from a graduate. She scoured it. Then, handing it back to me said, "Oh, I have all of that information and more. I just need to organize it and turn it in I guess." Other students in the same class were more motivated by the startling contrast between the two examples as they now had a practical grid for where they needed to spend the majority of their effort.
Examples or demonstrations of what is expected give students a clearer understanding of what is expected and how it will be relevant to their career path.
Holly
Showing students examples will help new students coming in to feel more comfortable with the course material and the way my class works is it helps them to understand what they will apply to real life situations when they get out to their field of expertice by helping them connect the need of learning the material to real life situations.
Students will feel more comfortable and confident is they see examples of the work of their peers.
Students will feel more comfortable and comfident in their work if they are able to view the imputs of their peers.
We learn by example. Example help to clearly describe the message to the students.
Excellent point, John!
In addition, students trust their peers and see them as equals. Therefore examples of work from their peers, often puts their minds at ease.
By providing examples, instructors give tangible, concrete evidence of the finished product. Our job then is to facilitate the process of getting there, all the while restating expectations and assessing outcomes.
Hi Edward,
I concur! Students tend to be more driven when they know exactly what is expected of them.
Patricia Scales
Giving the students examples, allows the students to become comfortable with the class.They know what to expect and can come in with better focus and direction.
I also show examples of student work to alleviate the fear of the unknown and to clarify expectations of an end-result. However, I have also found that having students create examples of expected work by sharing their progress throughout the process (for projects) can serve the same purpose. The students see how their peers are progressing, I can take note of any struggles with applicable content and use such an activity as a group exercise, and also it could serve as an opportunity to monitor and adjust the delivery of specific information.
Hi Ginell,
When the students can connect to the course objective, the instructor has done their part.
Patricia Scales
Hi Cindy,
When the instructor does an awesome job of explaining to the students exactly what is expected of them. The rest is left up to the student to execute.
Patricia Scales
I totally agree with the comment you have to make sure the students are connecting this ensures that the information that is being discussed is covering your objectives for that particular subject matter.
It is helpful for them to understand exactly what is expected and then allows them to focus on their individuality in completing the task.
Hi LaShonda,
I concur! When students understand how the information can be applied in the real world they tend to get excited about learning the information.
Patricia Scales
Hi Kara,
When students can see what is expected of them they tend to have a better understanding as to what needs to be done.
Patricia Scales
