Move and Shake With Interactive Lessons

While standing in front of a class lecturing your heart out seems to be the easiest way to educate learners, studies show that this is by far the least effective method of teaching. Let’s be honest, you should have seen that one coming. Learners are extremely attentive when it comes to everything BUT a teacher’s voice.

But if you can’t beat them, outsmart them at their own game. We live in a world where technology is at the pinnacle of everything! Interactive teaching methods are definitely the winners to connect with a generation of learners who need constant stimulation and entertainment. Before you start getting stressed out and think that your life is over, because you have to start a new way of teaching… keep calm and just check out what is in store for your sanity, curtesy of education professor, Kevin Yee. And the best of all, not all these interactive methods of teaching is purely technologically orientated.

Follow the leader: appoint one student as tweeting “chairperson,” and have that student be responsible for posting the most important concepts discussed in the lesson on Twitter. Have other students follow the Twitter feed and “retweet” any discussions or disagreements. Using social media can be a great way for students to feel connected to their classroom environments. Teachers can switch the Twitter leader each week or each day, depending on class size.

Total Physical Response (TPR): research shows that when physical activity is included in classroom settings, students retain more information. For a quick sitting break, have learners stand up and move to one side of the room to indicate their responses to a question. Instead of using this as a right-or-wrong answer activity, this exercise seems best suited for opinion-based responses. Learners can see the different perspectives of their classmates, which then can lead to a relevant and fun discussion or debate.
Opposite arguments: Pair students up who disagree about an answer to an opinion question. Have them debate, representing the side they originally believed to be wrong. If they debate about different topics, it gives them perspective about other people’s views and opinions. This will help them analyse various situations and force critical thinking.

Historically correct: after watching a film on a topic discussed in class, have students answer what the movie portrayed accurately and which points it dramatised. Another option is to divide learners into groups and have them come up with examples of their own movies that made use of an idea or event covered in class – and then try to find at least one example of how the film got it right and one of how the film got it wrong.

Test tournament: divide the class into at least two groups and announce a competition for most points on a practice test. Let learners study a topic together and then give your quiz, tallying points. After each round, let students study the next topic together before quizzing again. The points should be carried over from round to round. The fact that learners are super competitive, will automatically shift their focus to the material subconsciously.

Electronic role playing: learners create their own blogs and write diary-style entries while role-playing as someone central to the content being discussed.

Puzzle pieces: classes are sectioned into different teams, each with a separate goal to accomplish during the period. At the end of planning, the teams come back together and teach the other teams about the topic they researched. Another option is to remix the teams by including one “expert” on a different topic within each team, who then has to teach his or her new group. When students know, they will be responsible for teaching their friends, they are more likely to go into greater depth in their own research.

Pop culture statistics: instead of using abstract numbers to interest students in lectures, switch word problems with current events. For example, illustrate a math concept with a topic currently popular, such as, “What percentage of the time do Geordie Shore cast members spend at the gym?” Learners will respond more enthusiastically when presented with a topic they identify with, rather than generalised ideas.

And dear teachers, this is trial and error, if one method doesn’t work for you, move along to the next one and keep your teaching life interesting. It will only benefit you in the long run and your learners will absolutely love you for it!