Surprise
Your Surprise section helped turn a light bulb on. Adding brain teasing activities at the start of class can warm up the minds of students to prepare them for the lecture coming it. I like the idea of dividing them into groups to solve the problem. A reward could be added as extra points for the day, or letting them go a little earlier than the rest of the class.
Mary,
Thanks for sharing this activity with us. This is a fun and engaging activity that shows the value of what you are teaching them in your stats class. You are making the content come alive and giving them a taste of reality and application.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
When we were having a "slump" day in my statistics class, I asked my students to grab students (not in the class) during break and persuade them to come to our classroom for a few minutes. We then collected a variety of statistical data from the students, like age, program of study, shoe size, height, arm span, eye color, etc. Once we had the data, I asked students to come up with at least 3 statistical comparisons of the group of students and examine them with the tools we had learned to date. It was fun and really gave my students a sense of what they had learned and could apply to date in the class.
Darrold,
Not uncommon. Students have selective memory retention, as in they can never remember due dates even when given multiple times or that they were having a test on a certain day. They make me laugh sometimes in relation to their dismissal of important items within the course and then are surprised when they are held accountable. Also, having taught on all levels from elementary to Doctorial Seminars I haven't found a lot of difference.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I am constantly telling my students to read the whole test before answering the questions. This is to get them to focus on the task at hand. Once in awhile I will change one of the questions near the end of the test to "Do not answer any questions". In 11 years I've only had 3 or 4 students follow the directions.
The find a solution under pressure and explain your decision game has merit. This will be an opportunity to involve everyone in the process. This should be an ungraded effort. An exercise in communication and being involved.
Louis,
Show and tell worked in kindergarten and it works in adult classes. Remember adults are just taller children so they enjoy seeing, touching and experiencing learning objects just like when they were in the elementary grades.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
In many cases I use show and tell, using a piece of equipment or a picture, to keep the students engaged and encourage them to talk about it.
Elaine,
These are fun activities that really get the students engaged and focused on the course. I think you will like the results you get with case studies and other problem solving activities.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
