Get Your Students Hired
Instrucros can help empower students by giving the appropriate assignments, by encouraging students to take responsiblity for their educationand and by encouraging students to truly invest in themselves by taking ownership of their education.
Students can take more ownership of content if they see how it relates to their career goals.
Student ownership was a big takeaway for me. I find that students do tend to blame the instructor when they do not meet the course expectation. This information was valuable.
It is important to engage with the students and help them see the value in an assignment, activity or interaction they may see as unnecessary while stressing ownership in their education. This philosophy is essential for future success in whatever profession they choose later in life. The process of working one's way through the higher education process very simply, are the building blocks for the foundation of a successful professional career. Small exercises in a class are only one piece of a larger, more comprehensive picture of one's overall education that should soon come together.
When students have the opportunity to take responsibility for their own learning. It helps them recognize the WIFM ( What's in it for me). Give the student clear objectives and tasks to support their learning.
The student needs to understand that taking "ownership" of their learning will help them to be more successful in their career goal.
Student empowerment is extrtemely important so students can share learning goals and take ownership in their learning. The students need to understand that they are responsible for their learning and they are active participants.
It is important to continue to switch up teaching techniques so you can reach all students individual learning needs.
The students can learn better if they understand the material and apply it to life situations
I learned that for students' good learning outcomes instructors need to set shared goals.
Students do need to see how each course is part of the big picture in their learning. In this day of covid, students are not allowed to be in a clinical setting and it is difficult for them to use their knowledge and skills. Sim labs are great, but not the same as real patient contact.
Design library instruction that demonstrates how research leads to empowering any claims students are making.
For example, for RN students, I could give them the following exercise: "The charge nurse where you work insists on doing ____________ procedure with ______technique. However, as a new graduate, you were taught that this technique is no longer valid and that is better to do _________ technique instead. Do you share this information with your charge nurse? Why or why not? If you do share it, how do you go about doing so? If you do not, why? What role, if any, does research provide in this example?"
Or, if it was for a student in cybersecurity: How do you present to the CFO of your organization that the company should spend ____ dollars more on a superior protection software instead of the less expensive software the company is currrently using? What do you say if the CFO replies: "We hired you. Why do we need this software?" What role, if any, will research play in helping you make your case and answer the CFO's question?
In order for student empowerment to occur there must be meaningful student involvement. Student involvement is built upon student ownership and investment. Learners need to be invested in themselves and their learning success. They need to make connections with their schools, programs and instructors.
Not just ownership but pride of ownership is so important for student sucess. When a student is proud of their school then they will strive to do better and be better.
Faculty must facilitate learning and must provide relevance to what is being learned.
This way students see the value why they need to learn the course activities and will face up to it.
By empowering the students to take ownership, they become more vested in their learning experience and have a tendency to succeed at a higher rate.