I hated high school
Having graduated from high school in 1966 I can tell you I was bored to death. How things have changed. Keeping the students involved is very important for their learning experience. Having been a professional soccer coach I was the master of improv. You learn how to adjust.
That is how you need to run your classroom now.
Lecture if you must but make it exciting, keep the students involved by asking how they would apply what they just learned and don't wait for the lecture to end. Jump in anytime with a question or example.
I totally agree powerpoint and youtube are essential in todays classrooms...our institute is still using overheads and vcrs...hopefully we will get new technology soon
David,
I've seen that video & you're right, it is hilarious. And really this is a great point that you make. Sometimes the best lesson we can teach our students is how to pull themselves out of these kind of negative thought patterns.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
I don't show YouTube videos that often, but a couple week ago my math students were becoming their own worst enemies. A couple of them shared with me that on a quiz they understood and followed the procedure I had gone over with them to solve a problem, got an answer, decided for no good reason they did not like that answer (which incidentally was correct), erased it, and arbitrarily wrote down a different number as their answer. I walked them through that decision-making process, which we unanimously decided did not make sense. The next class period I showed a video of Bob Newhart on Mad TV where he plays a psychiatrist with a very simple solution. When a patient tells him her illogical fears, he simply shouts at her, "Stop it!" Now when those students go down a thought path they know they shouldn't go down, their classmates tell them, "Stop it!" (Check out the video - it's hilarious!)
All 40 of us considered becoming chemists in 1961 because our high school teacher allowed us to take ownership of the lab experiments he designed.
We could have gassed the whole school, but he hung with us long after 3 o'clock for us to achieve the goals he set. We had to be auditory learners to receive safety instructions. We certainly read the directions and observed the intricate numbers. We manually released tiny drops of liquids. We teamed up to reach shared goals.
I agree. It's all about state of mind. As mentioned earlier in this course, if you are not excited about a topic why should your students be?
PS I loved high school, except for that one Chemistry teacher.....
YouTube is a great way to relate learning objectives to students. When explaining the volatility of Hydrogen gas, the students do not understand until you show them a YouTube video of the Hindenburg approaching Lakehurst NJ.
I have just recently started using this idea and I find it to work out great! I also get my students attention more.
My mother graduated in 1966 and she was forced to model a green dress that she sewed in Home Economics. Needless to say she sunk it to the bottom of the lake with a rock and got a 0. Things have changed since I graduated in 1992, I had a similar exam but was able to place the pants on a model. I believe change is good.
Lauren,
I too graduated from high school in 1966. Except for the electronic aspects, my teachers were exceptional in their ability to use most of these techniques in the classroom. Could it be that since you hated high school, you may not have been aware of these techniques?
I have found this to be true too. Now what I have to remember is that not everyone will be excited by exactly the same thing in a course that I am, so I need to be balanced in my approach.
Ryan
The most useful strategy I have found is that if I am really interested or enthusiastic about the subject, the students pick up on that and become engaged. This realization has made me to identify the important concepts and generate genuine enthusiasm about it. An additional benefit for me is that I enjoy teaching so much more.
Absolutely! Another great idea is to utilize youtube or other media sources to break up the lecture with quick little examples or illustrations of concepts being taught.
Ryan
