Make difficult subject matter exciting
I teach very complex and often dry subject matter. I enjoy giving my students quirky facts that relate to what I am teaching, I.e. A different spin on the subject. My students become more involved when they discover the relevance of the topic at hand.
I love Object Lessons.
I teach Solar Energy. One thing we do to make the physics of the sun intersting is use beach balls colored to look like the Sun and the Earth. I throw the balls at innatentive students and have them come up and be the sun or earth while I explain Earth's rotation around the Sun and it's effect on the seasons. Everyone gets into it and the innattentive students usually have fun being the part.
Hi Francis,
I like making a difficult subject matter apply to the real world so that students can see the relevance of the course.
Patricia Scales
Often what makes subject matter difficult is the notion that it s difficult. Confidence that you you can transpose to your students will often allow them to do better in this setting.
I teach interpersonal communication and students think they are experts in it when they start the class. After several class meetings, I take them to a local mall and ask them to use class terminology and concepts to describe various behaviors that they witness. They are always astounded at how much their perspective has changed. It is eye-opening for them (and invigorating!).
I try to make difficult subject matter easier by trying to connect it to something the students are interested in.The main thing is to find something in common between the subject matter and what they are interested in. This seems to work for me.
I teach Medical Terminology. Medical Terminology can be compared to learning a new language. Many students at first are intimidated. I put students in groups to study the term. I play games with the students to help them remember the meaning of their terms.
Relevance is a major factor in the success of the course. I am teaching accounting to non-accounting students. Showing that what I am teaching is relevant to their success is not easy.
I just taught a class where we discussed psycho-therapy medications, which is very intense with medical terminology (hard to pronounce words, chemical structure, and brain functions). After explaining the signs and symptoms of a psychological problem, I shared an anecdote about an individual with that particular medical condition.
It's amazing how each student positively responds to these anecdotes!
One of the classes I teach is an elective (environmentatl science)so some students come in with the idea that this is a waste of time and not directly related to their field of study. I try to make it relevent to their everyday life and show them how they are exposed to this subject on a daily basis. I have them bring in a current event each class about topics relating to the environment and require a project relating environmental science to their field of study.
