No Boring Lessons Allowed!

Perhaps nothing is more important to a lesson than the method in which the material is delivered. An interesting topic can be easily ruined by poor delivery, resulting in very little knowledge gain on the student’s part. On the other hand, a teacher can create an intriguing and exciting lesson on a dull topic, in which students will learn from on a much deeper level. As we discussed in AEE412 this week, there are many ways to make lessons more interesting and creative.

Generating effective objectives is the first step to creating an impactful lesson, as objectives help steer you in a direction and create focus in your lessons. The passage written by Susie Whittington brought up some outstanding points about objective writing. She stated that objectives should be based upon Bloom’s taxonomy. Using verbs that coincide with each level of the taxonomy will encourage students to learn on that level. She used a great example, when she said that an objective could read something along the lines of “list the parts of a ruminant digestive system”. This would result in memorization, a skill that lies within the knowledge level of Bloom’s taxonomy. Instead, an objective that states “describe the parts of a ruminant digestive system” will result in higher level thinking. It’s amazing the impact that changing one verb can make!

Another way to create an impactful lesson is to utilize interest approaches. An interest approach quickly captures student’s attention, and gets them excited for the unit or lesson. Because of the variety of interest approaches, they can easily be tailored to a lesson or unit. For example, an interest approach for a welding safety course could include the teacher or student dressing up in welding PPE. There are so many ways to create interest approaches… the possibilities are endless!

Finally, delivery of the course content is essential. Course content can be delivered in a variety of ways, as well. Lectures, discussions, demonstrations, field trips and role playing are some of the delivery methods that were mentioned in the reading by L.H. Newcomb. Although there are advantages and disadvantages to all of these methods, knowing when to use them and how to tailor them can help teachers successfully utilize them.

I have always wanted to avoid is being a boring teacher, like Ben Stein's character in Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Blank stares and sleeping students are my worst nightmare. Therefore, I am going to try my hardest to create engaging lessons. I know this might be tricky, but with these techniques, I know I can do it!