Keepin it real
what a means by engauging your students, keepin it real. Often in career colleges we see students referring to the "real" world vs. the Utopia of the learning environment. This is very relevent to this module. Without seeing the connection between these two worlds the student will seek their knowlege elsewhere, thats bad for admissions and retention rates. So how does one make the connection? In my trade it means keeping current in industry standards and trends. It means I have homework and must keep abreast of changes even before they become popular in the industry. Once a trend takes hold if you are teaching to that level then you are teaching outdated materials to the students. By the time students enter the real world that trend is done and gone leaving our students struggling to learn the next trend. In all honesty, it is teaching our students about life long learning and it is done so by example of the instructor.
I agree. As an instructor I feel its important to share our stories of success and failures. Try to show that this class room learning will eventually lead to real world doing.
DJ,
Yes, it is. The more real world examples and experiences that can be given and the more application opportunities provided the better prepared students will be to enter into and be successful at their chosen career area.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
kepping it real brings an important part of informational success and failures in order to learn ina real world setting to learn.
my students not only get the knowledge from their textbooks, but, they also get labs, community events, etc. in which to practice their newly acquired skills. They also have the opportunity to ask questions of myself and other instructors about how things are in the real world of licensed massage therapy. They learn of our successes and our failures and how they apply to real life. It seems to help them understand that while ours is a wonderfully helpful and useful profession, it can also be a demanding and topsy turvy profession at times.
Jackie,
You are helping them to get a realistic picture of the career they are going to enter. They need to have this information as it will ease the transition from classroom to the real world and reduce the shock factor.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I worked in the field that I teach sense 1968 so I can let the students know how it is. I let them know that their boss is more likely to be my age so I let them know they have to prove themselves to them so doing there labs is very impartment that they do them
James,
I like the dose of reality you are giving your students. You are helping them to see what they are going to face when they graduate. They need this reality check so they will have an easier time transitioning to the work world.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I agree you wouldnt want students to have a false hope of what to expect in thier field as they begin thier career. How discouraging to work toward a goal only to find out the reward is not what you thought it would be
Sharon,
Good point and one that is necessary to make. The media has done a good job of skewing the realities of many different careers to the point that students decide to go into them based upon misperceptions rather than reality. For example culinary arts and criminal justice to name two areas that many students are doing a rethink about once they find out what they really will be doing and what the pay is. Nothing wrong with either field but neither of the fields offer constant glamour and easy working conditions.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
In my classroom, I always like to share stories about the "real world" and encounters Iv'e had out in the field. The students really seem to enjoy this part of the lecture and seem to retain information better when applied to real life situations.
Lindsey,
Student like real life stories or examples because the stories reinforce the value of the content that is being shared and gets them excited about the field they are going to enter. Keep sharing and the students will keep enjoying.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Keep it real ,to the way it is in the real world,this works for trades student , and for me
Michael,
The more accurately you can do this the more valuable the course content becomes.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Many times when trying to make a transition from theory to practice, I find it helps to employ the use of "real world" story telling. There may to things not related in the written examination of a certain topic that I can clarify by using my industry experience to explain further. For example, what happens when a pan gets to hot and things are cooking to quickly...instinct doesn't always kick in because they don't have the relavent training yet...so, I can tell them things like, "to slow your pan down, you should...". I helps them to better understand that at a career college we tend to teach things that apply in real time, real world settings.
I have found that basic, applicable "story telling" introduces the students to what to expect in the "real world". They tend to associate more to certain issues once a real story is attached to it.
Cheyney,
Students really like real world examples and stories. They help them to make application of the content and see the relevancy of what they are learning. You are showing as well as telling them through your stories because you know how your efforts did or didn't work so you can share with your students the end result of what was done correctly or incorrectly.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Mignonne,
Stories are powerful motivators as well as examples of how the content being taught can be applied. This is a critical part of each student's learning process.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I agree. If I allow students to saunter into class when they feel like it with no consequence it doesn't prepare them for when they have a job. If they exercise that behavior while in school and it's accepted they will see no reason why they can not do the same thing in the workplace. I had a student who said an instructor sent them home because they were texting on their phone. I looked at her and said "Well, you sent yourself home. You chose to use your phone when you know the consequence of doing so is indeed being sent home". She said, "you are right".
Lindsey,
Thank you for sharing the texting example with us. It illustrates your point perfectly. Students have to assume responsibility and as a result they need to understand consequences to their behavior. This student "got it" in terms of it being her fault and that she had to live with the results of that action.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
