Would love to say Easy, but even as an instructor in a Nursing Program students don't always see the relevancy of the material. So getting buy-in is sometimes a task that must be achieved.
Mark,
It is critical to get buy-in from students and you have spoken as an experienced educator when you say it can be a challenge in even high interest areas like nursing. It is fun to work at being creative in getting students to buy-in to the course content and seeing them progress in their learning.
Gary
One great tool is student feedback I am always tweeking my del methoed based on student evals that are given out at the end of each course
Kerry,
We need to always be seeking feedback for improvement. The more we listen the more accurately we can improve in all areas of our teaching.
Gary
As a culinary school instructor, my students expect to leave class each day having learned an effective way to prepare restaurant quality food. My method for making the content relevant is to first discuss with them the fact that they will be expected to know how to prepare these things by the chef they are working for (or by the customers who will be ordering and eating their food), then I demonstrate to them how to prepare a certain recipe. Immediately following my demonstration, my students go into a kitchen classroom and prepare the recipe on their own. I taste the results, and offer constructive criticism to each student on things they did well, and things they can improve on the next time around. I believe this strategy effectively meets the students' needs and expectations.
Students appreciate having a heads up on what they will face once they enter the work force. I find video clips which mirror authentic situations and call upon the learner to use their newly acquired information create relevancy.
Mike,
You are right on with your strategy. Immediate use of newly acquired knowledge helps to "seal the deal" in terms of content retention. They are going to be able to build on your feedback and continue to improve and expand their abilities in food preparation.
Gary
I teach culinary students how to bake. This can be challenging because the typical culianry student does not want to focus on baking but rather cooking. Baking is a bit more precise than cooking. If a student is cooking soup and they find that the seasoning is off, they can adjust the recipe as they go along. For a baker, sometimes discovering that the baking soda is off does not occur until the cake is in the oven and we see it is not rising. This requires a bit more accuracy and precision for bakers to be successful. It is this concept alone that can drive a culinary student in a direction away from baking.
I am challenged every day to help find the relevance for a culinary student to learn how to bake, even if they do not want to be a baker in their career. When they are complaining about having to learn to how to pipe "happy birthday" for a cake decoration. The student may reply, "but Chef, why should I learn how to do this, I will hire a pastry person to write "happy birthday"? My reply is usually, the skill of piping can be used in many facets in cuisine, what if you wanted to pipe a savory herb cookie to serve with your fish, would these piping skills come in handy? Or what if your pastry person called in sick and you had a VIP guest requesting to pipe "happy birthday" in chocolate on the rim of a dessert plate. Wouldn't it be nice to have this skill set come naturally for you? If you can somehow make the student realize how the skills will apply in their specific field, then they are more apt to want to learn the skills.
Tracy,
Good strategy in developing the piping skill set. You are showing both application and relevance of your area within the culinary arts field. This way the students can see value to what they are being asked to learn and use.
Gary
After a lecture or demonstration I'll call on several students to tell me "how will you use this information 5 years from now"?
Ron,
I am sure this results in some very interesting discussions. Way to go in helping them to see the future in relation to the course content.
Gary
As a DA Instructor I encouraged my students to volunteer their time at a Free Dental Clinic ,and while helping people in our community my students can apply the skills and knowledge taught in class,and understand that everything taught in school it's not only "FYI" kind of thing, but something that they would apply in their chosen career.
I also took my students in field trips at nearby schools to teach children about oral hygiene (toothbrushing techniques ,for example).These field trips are lots of fun for my students applying what they've learned in class and for the children .
Holt,
I agree with you about the value of these field trips. I make service learning a part of my classes because it gets the students out in the field and using some of their newly developed skills. It helps give them a picture of the work world they are about to enter.
Gary
The most important methods for doing this in my opinion is to a) ensure the material is current, and b) the subject matter relates to something that can be practically applied.
First I role model. As an instructor I can wear whatever scrubs I like...but what I realized was that every group of students complained about their uniforms. Now I wear what they are wearing (with the addition of a white lab coat), and the complaining has virtually become non-existant. Being on time, organized, and providing a plan with goals of learning for the day. Tying in what they learn today and the importance/relevancy of the process with how it is preparing them for the end desired goal. Helping them connect the dots and motivating them to achieve their learning goals for that day.
Melonie,
Isn't amazing how a few simple things, in this case dress makes a big difference. Good example for other instructors to think about in relation to their own class settings.
Gary
I feel that when teaching adult learners it is extremely important to know what their ultimate goals are. Once you find out what their goals or expectations are for the class; you can tailor your teaching style/lesson plans to better accommodate their needs. This can be achieved by highlighting real life situations or experiences that you or other professional have had. By doing this, it helps to bring relevance to the course or subject matter for which you are teaching.
I am fortunate in this regard because I work in a clinical setting and I have multiple opportunities with my students to have them tell me about their assigned patients and what they learned in the classroom regarding this particular disease or body system. Frequently, the student will tell me they recall that the subject being covered, and they passed the test at the end of that section, but now they can't recall the specifics of what they were taught (and supposed to have learned.) This gives me an opportunity to give the student an assignment to review the relevant sections from their classroom material, and answer my questions regarding the patient at our next clinical meeting. And I advise them that when they are licensed and fully responsible for the patient, they will need to recall and utilize the necessary information at the bedside, which will make them a more effective healthcare professional.
