Students may remember the subject or content better if they can relay it to a story.
Memorable examples also let the students know what kind of experiences you have had and relate the subject to real life situations.
Hopefully it will allow students to understand what may occur in the practice of their career.
Kimberley,
yes, the real life stories help the students connect the theories with reality.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
I believe the student with remember the example or story before he/she will remember the textbook concept. More than likely, the example involved people who lived through or navigated a certain situation. Once the example is remembered, then the concept will come to mind.
Recently, in teaching medical terminology to my students, they advised that I said something really funny that helped them to remember the use of a certain term and they use the term where they work. In exchange, the students liked the concept of using funny scenarios that includes course content and advised that I should do this to make the learning aspect of medical terminology easier.
Using memorable examples helps the students to retain the information by keeping the students engaged in the lesson by making it entertaining and interesting. I always try to incorporate a funny anecdote into the lesson from a personal experience on the topic for this very reason. It seems to work because it gets the students to laugh and hopefully when they are being assessed on that particular concept, they remember the story and are able to remember its significance to the concept. It also encourages them to share their own experiences which in turn also helps them retain the information because anecdotal memory is proven to be better than rote memory. I know I am always able to stay focused better when the teacher makes the instructional time fun and makes me laugh throughout the lesson.
Memorable examples are valuable in helping students to remember course content because it provides relevance of course content to real world experiences. Students enjoy hearing memorable esamples or stories that pertains to course what they are learning. Storytelling has long been an effective educational tool to make a point of relevance.
It shows course relevance to real life which creates excitement and lasting memory for what was learned.
Chris,
this is exactly why I think it is so important to give those real world examples whenever possible.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
Memorable examples are more important than I thought. I use them frequently in lectures and over and over I can see in student comments after they are done with my class that they all like my real life comparisons and the way I tell them.
It makes it fun for them and they actually remember the subject
walter,
and they really do help sometimes abstract ideas or concepts become more concrete.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
They make the content a bit more tangable. It is going to stick better if there is something that they can relate to by providing a mental picture to the content.
Stephen,
these stories & examples really are great "pegs" that the students can hang concepts on throughout the course.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
Mr. Meers
I have also used memorable examples in my class because the examples of life experiences provide an connection with the students. And if I think anyone is "disconnected" in one of my examples, I ask that student to provide me an example. This process of engaging this student then tends to bring other hands up in class to share their experiences in related to the topic on hand. My goal is to always let my students they have a voice.
I have not completed this course....yet, but I never looked at the way I present conversations as memorable examples...this makes sense.
I use current newsworthy cases that the students are interested in as examples. When I refer back to the cases at a later date the students almost always remember the case and wish to discuss it further. If they don't remember the case I ask a student volunteer who remembers the case to tell the class the details. That further discussion tends to solidify the students' memory of the case and its application to course material.
Chemo,
yes, the life experiences/memorable examples is one of the best ways to communicate the concepts/points.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
Sometimes I’ll take a short break during the middle of a lecture and interject something funny from my life in the shop that pertains to what we’re discussing. The students seem to remember these things and it appears to reinforce the lesson.
I agree. In my critical thinking class, I like to share how often newspapers have misquoted my own research, as well as written the wrong headline on an op-ed piece I published last year, as examples of how even seasoned reporters misinterpret things according to their own biases.
Association is the key to Memorable examples. If you tell your students something that touches them in a humorous, serious, emotional, or thouht provoking way they will remember that example.
