Make learning FUN!
A good group activity, time filler, or active learning tool is to have the students make the class kind of like a gameshow. They can throw it together in five minutes, or you can plan ahead and have them plan it for a later class period. They can write questions, or answers, and play it like Jeopardy. Candy makes great prizes!
Another thing is to have them work together to make up fun mnemonics to help them remember things. Prizes for the best or funniest ones can be distributed. It can be pretty entertaining.
Hi Jason:
This is a great way to get the students involved in whatever activity is going on. Discussion can definitely be a fun way of making the class more robust.
Regards, Barry
Hi Jeni:
The best idea when selecting course material is to employ as many teaching styles as we can in order to address as many learning styles as possible. Selecting material and presenting it in a visual, audio, and kinesthetic way is considered the most efficient method of delivery.
Regards, Barry
Hi Lillian:
ANd the outcome of trying new things is that it may be an effective method of addressing as many learning styles as we can in the classroom.
Regards, Barry
Life lessons can also be fun at the same time as providing that "DOH" or "Wow" factor. The "school of hard knocks" is a very able instructor.
I make classroom discussions part of every day course material. Everyone gets involved and it give them the opportunity to express their thoughts and opinions on the materials presented.
Hi James:
Another idea similar to what you described is to break the students into groups, give them a friendly challenge to disect, then have them report on their findings.
This approach can also help strengthen weaker students when they are teamed up with stronger ones.
Regards, Barry
Hi Mary:
Activities like the one you describe can be a great way to break up the flow of a class that has become monotonous.
Regards, Barry
Hi Cindy:
Discussion groups are a GREAT way to break up the monotony that can occur with any kind of instruction style, especially if the main style is primarily lecture.
Regards, Barry
Hi Kathy:
Usefulness attained from these modules that result in improved student performance is really the point. I'm glad you've found some benifit and something useful and practical for your classes.
Regards, Barry
I like your ideas! My imagination is now in gear to prepare for next term's courses. And specifically, it will change things up for those students who are repeating a course so they're not sitting through the same old mnemonics that I have devised and previously presented. In addition, it may assist the repeaters to avoid feeling self-conscious about not having been successful if they feel they are being helpful in "leading" a team over a concept that's not brand new, but that they weren't able to master originally. I can just visualize the chapters of the text right now where this technique will be most appropriate!
Utilizing simple, fun activities creates a little breake from all the heavy material and at the same time can be used to review some of the subjects previously cover or to introduce a new topic.
peter, Students love games! I find the important (and sometimes difficult) thing after a game or fun activity is pulling everyone back in for a de-briefing. I want to make sure they learned what they were supposed to. One of the activites that students like a lot is campus scavenger hunts. They love competition and running through the school. They also like to build or construct things. Sarah
Taking a topic and breaking it inot sub-topics works well for me. I then put my students into small groups and assign each group to make 3-5 power point slides in the computer lab.
This activity not only gets them out of the classroom for a break, but it lets them participate in "teaching" the rest of the class.
We then combine all the groups slides into one power point for eeryone to use.
Any activity where students have to engage with the material in a manor that would allow them to reteach it to other students has been very successful for me.
An Instructor should make learning fun. There are trivia places everywhere, it's a great tool to have them students get to know each other for study groups and for review and learning in general.
Hi Peter:
I find that incorporating a role play activity is a good tool, the students break up in groups of two's, and they interview one another I find this activity is exciting to the students and it get's them back on track.
I like the idea of students making up mneumonics and also the "game show". I also think that the personality of the instructor can really make or break the "fun" aspect in any class. really love teaching and have fun with the students (verbal bantering, sharing cute stories etc)...when the teacher enjoys what he/she is doing..it's often contagious!!!
In our practical exercises, I break the class into teams which then compete in the various training exercises. The incremental scores for each task are tallied, and then the lowest scoring team must recover and restore the training items and training area whilst the other teams are dismissed. Each day, a different student is assigned to each team to act as safety officer and to award scores.
My main task then is to assure no cheating or shortcutting, with a little conflict resolution thrown in.
I like the game show concept. I utilize the this in test review for my class. I have a CD that goes along with the textbook that provides a "quiz show" that tests the students on the material for that chapter. They enjoy it and it provides a good review.
