I have used games in the past and students had fun, but the biggest mistake I made was not using them often enough. In planning my lessons for this year I have already made a huge effort to divide the information into smaller "chunks" and review the information more often using some of the suggestions. Can't wait to use the football review. Also thought of purchasing a few tubs of letter tiles and have students compete in small groups to see which group can contruct the most terms within a set time limit.
I find that when I use activities in the classroom the students are very engaged and they seem to retain the information a lot better.
I find that there scores on their tests are higher as well.
So they are happy and I am happy when I see those scores :)
I like using activities because, I have experienced in workshops taken myself, lectures can be boring.
Variety Is the Key !!
Activities with added fun give the students a better chance to retain material and enjoy school and retain the material more effectively.
In the past, when using activities, I have found to have more positive feedback and this is what we all need to have a great Positive Learning Environment.
Any activity that is used has a way to reinforce what is being taught. It greatly helps the students who are more hands-on learners however every one learns from it
Andrea, sometimes students need to see success before they feel positive about activities. They work!
Michele Deck
I have found that when I incorporated activities with my lectures the students retain more of the information. At first, they did not enjoy the activities because they felt it was taking time away from the lecture and was a waste of time. However, once they notice that they were remembering more of the information and that their grades had improved because they remembered the material. They were more receptive of the activities.
Caryn, you and I both know that engagement is the key to learning.
Michele Deck
Anytime I use games to break up the monotony I find that the students are always more engaged.
Kathy, I hope you start using these in your classes as soon as possible. If you wait, you may not try.
Michele Deck
I can visualize the ball toss, flip chart and relay in my classroom. Love learning all these techniques for engaging the students, can't wait to start using them.
ELIZABETH, there are "Nurse Toons" and other sites if you internet search that will allow you to either by rights to use the cartoons or give you permission for free depending on the site.
Michele Deck
Thank you very much for sharing what works for you when teaching medical terminology. I would like to try using cartoons but how do I get these? I have been using flashcards and so far they have worked well with me. I will also try out games when I get younger students, but so far, because I teach mature and older students, I will leave out the games for the time being.
Mabel, to most students, any change is a good one if it refocuses them.
Michele Deck
Usually I get the typical "bell-curve" responses, i.e., some really enjoy the activity, some hate it, and the rest appreciate the change in modality.
I like the ball toss because the students never know when it is coming to them next which keeps them engaged.
Pilar, I'm glad you are personalizing your activities to the group you are teaching. That is a sign of a great instructor, not someone who teaches as if "one size fits all."
Michele Deck
It really depends on the class. I need to be able to match the personality of the students with the task. A group of competitive students will like the "ball game " format, but I had a group of introverted non-competitive students who just wanted to help each other answer the questions. They did much better with developing review questions as a group, while the competitive group was really bored with that format and needed some goals to achieve.
R. Maurice, it is good to model how to work with others effectively. This helps students to work as team members, which will be valuable when they are in the job market.
Michele Deck
Relay races are good. Make it that each participant must answer three questions. If a student does not know the answer, he/she must return to the group and obtain the answer and go back and write the answer (this is like a dropped baton in a relay race). If one does not know the answer then they will have an interaction with teammates to obtain the answer.
I am new to the educational field and have not had a chance to utilize the activities from the modules yet, but from a student's perspective, instructors who use learning activities always appeared to be more enthusiastic about the course content and seemed to care more about the students. It was so nice to get a break from the monotony of all-lecture courses. Sometimes instructors forget that learning can be fun.
