I do the same things in my classroom. I also use factoids and let my students tell me an experiance that help them to remember as well.
I have been a nurse for 30+ yrs. I have lots of experiences i share with the students according to what I'm lecturing. I agree that my past experiences enlighten the mood and attention I receive. It appears to help students focus on the subject I present.
Memorable examples are valuable in helping students remember content because it applies a personal aspect to it, which aids in the learning process. Life application is a great way to retain information.
By using memorable example you can excited the student on the topic that you are about to be taught, you can related to a student’s background and personal experiences of how the material will benefit the student in the future, and finally you are able to related an example of how the material that will be presented is used or applied. The memorable example will also help the student remember the material after the class has ended.
I love using my past experience that directly relates to the topic we are discussing. The stories break up the lecture and gives the students something to relate to for the sake of retrieving the information later. I also incorporate student experience and thoughts. Learning through discussion, collaboration, and past experiences really make for a great class.
I am also a dental assistant instructor. The students are afraid of pronouncing some dental terms. I have a Spanish accent and it makes them feel relieved that it can be a little difficult for me to pronounce some terms also. They actually start sounding out the words and smiling while doing so.
I have discovered that students retain the information better if they can relate it to a real life experience. We all have favorite field stories to tell and I think students enjoy hearing them.
Gayle,
and these stories can help them recall the information when they find themselves in a pressure situation.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
This works well for me. I talk about my experiences in the field. Things i have learned good and bad. They can learn from mistakes i have made. And also things that have worked well.
This helps students apply course content to real life, relate to it, understand it, and therefore, remember it! It's a great tool to use during lecturing.
I teach massage and have been a licensed massage therapist for many years. I think it helps when I tell my students something that happened me, positive or negative, and what I learned from it. I have learned that each client has been my teacher as well as a client.
Having worked in the medical field for many years, prior to teaching, I have been able to share successes and failures with my students. One thing about "technical schools" is that the educator has been in the student's shoes and has been able to work through many different types of situations where we had to critically think. Sharing this with students is always great, because it brings the field that they will be working in soon into reality. It helps if we can make it funny, but sometimes sharing the "real" moments where you had to be quick on your feet, helps them to understand the importance of where they are going.
I have found that by sharing memorable examples it is not only easier to engage students, but their retention of the subject is improved. Often in my classes I share vivd examples on the subject and students will recall and understand better.
Using memorable examples is a great teaching method for nursing. Nursing students get very excited hearing about real-life situations because it increases their awareness of what nurses do and what they will be doing in the future. While giving these examples, I always throw in some information based on the lecture from the day. For example, I might tell them about a patient I had who had a major head trauma and then ask them what diagnostic tests they thought would be done for this patient. They become engaged from hearing real-life stories but also learn key points for the day.
If you can give them examples from your career it will help prepare them for how they may be using that content in the field. Also, if it can be memorable for them they may retain it much longer than if it were just stated as a fact.
If you can give an example that has more meaning then students can relate to the material better. In Anatomy and Physiology it is sometimes easy to find examples that will be memorable and other times it is difficult to find something that student can relate to. I use relationships alot, especially in the cells and tissue level. These are things students can not see or touch or feel so they have trouble "seeing" it.
David ,
yes & these also really help them see how the content is applied outside of the classroom.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
Offering our own experiences adds does add value
As the lesson noted here in ED106, "memorable examples" are valuable in helping students to remember course content because students will better understand content material when an example that relates to them helps the student to understand the lesson, and also provide them with additional time to take notes.
In my experience, students tend to respond to "memorable examples" that relate to their individual lives. Hence, providing examples assists students in connecting their worlds to the lecture/content at hand.
As a consequence, when students are charged with reviewing content material, or, are charged with developing an independent thought based on the content material, students' tend to tap into their metacognition of "memorable examples" to retrieve lecture material shared during class time.
The question I have is, how do you know that the "memorable example" will be memorable for all students? As research continues to note, no two learners are alike, nor do they bring the same background with them to class.
Nancy, I agree with your approach of "not perfect." Students appreciate that their instructors are human just as they are, and in turn, become open to suggestion and experiences of their instructors as specialist in their fields of study; and as a consequence, students open up to learning through lectures and examples their instructors have to offer.
