Thursday, October 12, 2017

Teaching Tip #31


Teacherscribe’s Teaching Tip #31


Luckily for us, there are a few ways to lift the curse of knowledge.  Here are the last 4 (of seven) ways to make learning easier for your students.

4.              Narratives.  Tell a great story.  This one is all me.  Students might not recall much about MLA formatting or what sources they used in their MGRP, but they sure will recall my story about Barney or several stories about “Jack ass” Lance.  Build narratives into our lessons.

5.              Analogies and examples.  Another one that is right down my alley.  Analogies and examples simply aid our abilities to latch on and retain a concept, especially abstract concepts.  I’ll never forget one of my science teachers using an analogy of bowling balls on a trampoline to explain the concept of gravity in our solar system.

6.              Novelty.  When you give students a rush from something original or unique, you are activating dopamine which gives us a rush.  This is why every time I have a scavenger hunt, kids never walk orderly down the hall.  They are in a mad rush to accomplish the challenge!  But I need to do far more of this!

7.              Teach Facts.  Or as Dr. Reynolds put it back at BSU, activate schema!!!  I don’t know if I do this all that well, but I do know that one thing I do well – or one thing I have a knack for – is being able to connect anything back to the lives of our students.  I don’t care if we are reading “Young Goodman Brown,” “The Yellow Wallpaper,” The Dip, or Outliers . . . But I can make it relatable and connect it to the every day lives of my students.
How do you use narratives, analogies/examples, novelty and facts to make your lessons more engaging?



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