having fun
I am a very fun loving ,sarcastic person so I tend to make a lot of jokes and have fun during class while getting the objective/subject being learned to the students. Students love it!
Hi Sherry,
Good comments about the need for instructional balance enjoying learning. This is what makes teaching fun plus it helps to keep the students engaged and focused during longer blocks of class time. Thanks for sharing these points with us.
Gary
I too believe that having fun in the classroom is a great approach to keeping the students interested and active in the learning process. Having fun can especially be a very useful skill for the classes that meet during the four hour block schedule. Incorporating fun also helps take the feel of being "lectured" from the classroom and creates a more engaging and light-hearted atmosphere for learning. I am a firm believer that if we work hard we are entitled to play hard. This is what keeps me balanced. :)
Sounds great. Be sure behavior is still professional. Also be sensitive to those students who don't understand sarcastic joking.
Hi Sarah,
Not exactly sure what you mean by losing a class. Do they not come back to order as you move to the next item? If this is the case stop talking and use silence to gain control. Students don't like silence. We are a culture of noise so silence gets their attention and you then can introduce your next concept. Another strategy is to move to the source of the distraction. Generally it will be a small group of students that continue on with a side bar conversation after you have shared a joke or funny saying with them. Move to their area and look them in the eye. This will quiet the noise and you can move the class forward.
If not of the above discussion is relevant please feel free to share a more accurate picture of what is going on and I will give you some recommendations.
Thanks.
Gary
Do you have some suggestions on how to rein in a class that has gotten distracted? I sometimes lose a class after trying a joke or a funny comment.
Hi Sandy,
I think this is a great way to generate creative thought and class discussion. Students love to explain things to others and to get to explain the meaning of a picture to the instructor is as good as it gets. I am sure you generate a lot of interest in your class content as a result.
Gary
In my Humanities Survey class, I often show a picture and confess I have no clue what the artist was trying to portray. Generally the students will compete with each other to "explain" to me what they think it means.
Hi Virginia,
I love hearing these stories about teaching and learning success. Thanks for sharing them with us!
Gary
Yesterday we gave group presentations. All members of each small group were required to lecture a few minutes to the class. Today we played jeopardy. It was fun!
I agree with this as. I have seen where this can lead to students lossing focus and getting way off topic. I know that keeping it light, helps the student not feel overwhelmed when the course is a hard one for that student. Keeping the story or jokes on topic may help to steer them back to where we as instructors need to lead or guide them to.
Hi Tonya,
I wish I had had you as an instructor when I was taking my math classes. My instructor was brutal which in turn created a very high level of anxiety for me. Didn't help me to develop an appreciation for math I can tell you. Once I was able to be out in the field and use math I was able to see application of it to my career and life. Keep having fun with your classes your students will appreciate it.
Gary
Hi Kenny,
I really like your saying. Many of our students are into blame shifting so to hold them accountable is important. Their success depends upon their efforts and dedication to their future. Otherwise it is best for them to "fold them" and go home.
Gary
I use self-depricating humor so it is clear that I am making fun of myself and not others. I also have used music in all courses to connect with my students. I will pick a well known song where the content relates to our subject matter for that class session and this gets everyone "pumped up". For a psychology class session on memory, I made a CD of television theme songs and conducted a sing along. Not only was this fun for all, it led right into talking about how information is processed and stored in short-term or long-term memory and how it is retrieved.
I teach mathematics so I find I need to keep the class fun to keep the attention of my students. The majority of my students fear math so I use humor to make them feel more comfortable. We joke around and talk at the start at class to ease the nerves.
Instruction is much like acting. It helps to keep the audience engaged. As 1 of the posters said it is much like a show. I try to keep it as light as possible, yet never losing control of the situation. A happy customer comes back to the same store again and again, a dissatisfied customer never returns.
As I tell my students all the time that like to give the age old "I keep getting dealt a bad hand", either you need to quit playing cards or you better find a new dealer. The only way to get a student to change a habit for doing something is to get them to acknowledge it first.
Hi Thomas,
I really appreciate your remarks about how you feel when students don't come or leave. It makes me sad as well because as we both know as experienced professionals in our field they don't realize the value of what they are missing. These are the same students that will later on in their careers feel disappointed because they can't seem to be successful or progress in their field. Of course, it never is their lack of dedication or knowledge and skills. It is just because they can't "catch a break". Thanks for your comments.
Gary
I quite agree. I more or less approach my class like I am doing a "show". I will do and say many unpredictable things during the class and I found many students will wait to see what will happen next. I suppose this is a natural progression of a former class clown, but I have often experienced sadness when when students didn't come or they left early. So, I just let myself go!
I agree! Studenst (especially adult learners) want to have the ability for their education to be more hands-on and active which is much more fun than just a straight out read from the book or lecture style. It is important to remember to have fun, but still have a learning environment so they feel that they are gaining knowledge and their hard work is paying off for their new career in the future.
