Get Your Students Hired
It is like a puzzle, without the right pieces you can not finish the puzzle. Without the right tools, the job may not get finished or will take longer to complete. Our job is to show the students the tools they may need in order to complete the task at hand.
I am always speaking to my students about the importance of using Spanish in their professional settings. For the medical assistants I give them stories of people that have come in to the ER and have not spoken English. Since I am the only person in the ER that speaks Spanish, I can get their vitals, and other important information. I show business people the importance of knowing Spanish because of product marketing. I use Chevrolet's mistake of trying to promote the Chevy Nova, in Latin American countries. Nova in Spanish means no go. So the designers and engineers and marketing personnel who have saved a lot of time and money had they known what they were saying.
Hi Connie,
Students certainly need to know how the course is going to benefit them in order to understand course relevancy. When students become interested in the course you gain buy in from the students.
Patricia Scales
Hi Daniel,
You are right. I love graduate guest speakers they add the most flavor to any course than any other guest speaker because they have sat where the students are sitting.
Patricia Scales
An instructor can communicate the relevancy of course content to students by relaying to them how theories presented can be applied and translated into everyday practice in their respective career fields. Specifically, an instructor may prompt a class discussion by highlighting key elements of course material that are in alignment with workplace expectations. Successful achievement of professional outcomes will necessitate true assimilation and integration of background knowledge, and having students understand the real-word implications of course content can significantly rally their investment and engagement in the course. Moreover, an instructor can underscore how mastery of course content and breadth of knowledge will afford students with the foundation and tools they need to excel in their chosen career paths.
There are several ways in which students can be shown the relevancy of a course. first, the student should be shown how or why this cours eis significant to them personally or in their career field. Second, the student has to be shown how the course will have a direct relationship on their work performance and enhance their family lives by increasing their money making capabilities.
I usually have a speaker from the industry and in my case usually I try to book a recent graduate. A recent graduate has the ability to reiterate what I have told my students about studying etc but with more believability factor.
What comes to mind is providing students with real-life examples - especially those that touch on THEIR experiences. An example is when I taught about using money in fourth grade math class, we discussed having budgets, using their allowance money.
Since my course is veterinary medicine, I would think taking them out in the field is an excellent way to show them and have them make notes of what they saw being done and have them compare that to the course. I also like the idea of using video, God bless youtube, of people doing tasks and having the students then critique it.
Hi Nicole,
Yes! Students love hearing stories that are applicable to the course content.
Patricia Scales
I like to share stories of personal experiences with the course material out in the veterinary practice. It shows students they aren't just here to memorize material or to take a test, but that the information they learn is applicable to the real working world
Hi Carol,
What a super idea! Field trips are very helpful, and they bring book theory to real life.
Patricia Scales
Hi Yonnie,
Awesome practices to have in place. Students love hearing how it is going to be in the real world through the use of instructors and guest speakers. Guest speakers are priceless, and they add a lot of flavor to the course.
Patricia Scales
Our College encourages service oriented field trips so we have all the students participate in the field. New students are assigned to an older (earlier enrolled student) and participate in the job/skill required for that trip. Students are amazed at the skill of the more progressive students and cannot wait until they can learn the steps and apply the knowledge.
I teach with a belief of using building blocks. As hand skills progress more tasks may be done and the revelancy is in task completion and how it relates to the job/skill/career. We discuss how this skill and task may be applied. And then we move to the next step and refine this task/skill. Students get excited as they go through the steps and see the progress towards the end result.
One of the ways that I like to engage students in my course is to give demonstrations and real world examples, how is the knowledge they are going to learn be relevant to their field of study. I also use guest speakers as well.
Hi Jeffery,
You have it! There is really nothing like a testimonial. Students have a different level of excitement when they hear someone who speaks about it through the use of experience.
Patricia Scales
Hi Christina,
This generation of students love technology and of course hands on. What a great way to introduce the relevancy of the course through the use of doing and computers.
Patricia Scales
There are numerous ways to show the relevancy of the course, but I think it is important to use variety when doing so. Stats and written material are factual, but they do not convey as effectively as a guest speaker in the field or an accomplished past student giving a testimonial. Different things make the course attractive to students. Therefore, different ways to show the relevancy should be used.
I am also a new instructor I showed video clips and used hands on approach to some of my lectures which seemed to help students understand