Tangents
I have learned that a good method to keep students engaged is to explore tangents in the subject matter that come up during class. I teach Anthropology and Environmental Science though most of my background is in Biology. So when an interesting question comes up, it is sometimes fun exploring it even if it does not directly relate to content. It sparks interest in the class and gives students something to remember.
Tangents are used often in my classroom as a way of bringing the bigger picture of a topic into play. It often times let me reinforce how tangential subject matter can be influenced or related to the topic we are currently discussing.
I also use tangents to allow real world" stories and working experiences to illuminate how topics can overlap and interconnect in the day to day workplace.
I use tangents to my advantage as well. Sometimes there is time during my demo when food might be cooking or whipping. Instead of silence, I ask students questions like "who baked last night?" Or "what is your favorite flavor of this (full in the blank)? It gives us an interesting, semi related topic and we learn about each other in class. Sometimes it leads to bigger topics for discussion, but I keep it fairly light so we can go back and forth throughout the demo.
Jeremiah, such tangents are called mind trips or mind tripping and by engaging the students' interest you bring their attention to bear on the topic you are focusing. You than can make use of their new found attention to refocus on the main topic of the lesson plan. Great post and thanks for sharing.
James Jackson
