APU Careers & Learning

Relate the Class to Real World Experience

Do you know how the concepts you’re learning in class directly pertain to real working examples? Instead of flipping through your textbook for the answer, compare your mental notes to your job.

Even if you’re not employed at the moment, you can still examine the lesson plans in class and your industry. At some institutions, like American Public University, the instructors are practitioners as well. This means they’re in the field working and teaching at the same time. The great part about this is that they’re able to apply working concepts to the practical outlines being discussed in the class. If you ever took a foreign language in grade school, and tried to talk to a native speaker then you know what I’m talking about. They may have taught you how to speak from a textbook, but not in a conversation. It’s like speaking Elizabethan, it doesn’t translate to today’s society.

Make this a regular exercise as you move through your degree program. Relate the more pressing and emphasized topics in your class to your industry, or current position. If you find a discrepancy than you have something great to share in your next classroom discussion.

By J. Mason

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