When do we learn best? It's always when we are personally involved in the subject matter. When my cousin was diagnosed with Leukemia I learnt far more about the disease than I ever did in my biology classes. I have a fascination with science fiction, so I often find learning about science interesting, it captures my attention and imagination.
Obviously this is a dilemma in the classroom, we just can't reach all our students on this level, they're not all personally interested in every topic.
So how do we engage them on this level given this obstacle?
How about involving them personally in the project of learning?
Perhaps Young Jenny doesn't care much about how to calculate the hypotenuse of a triangle, but she probably likes making movies, so how about Jenny and 2 of her friends making a movie to show not only how to calculate this (a meaningful learning experience), but also the application of this formula in real life? To give this project more meaning, make sure that it's going to be posted on the internet, or used in other classes, students love teaching each other.
Reaching our students can be one of the hardest parts of teaching, but if we want to ensure that learning is meaningful and successful it is vital.
Thank you to Doug Spicher for the inspiration for this blog entry.
Melanie.
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