keep class exciting???

[Ponchik]

I think we all have attended classes and seminars that have been boring and we couldn't wait to get out.
I hate to be that boring instructor, so I am trying various things to keep students excited and keep the topic and the class exciting and fun. I will have at least 1 joke (sometimes 2-3) for every class, i have a candy jar and every time a student answers correctly he/she will get a candy.... tell/show horror stories/pictures.
I think teaching a class is 50% subject matter and 50% presentation style, in fact one has be an actor to keep the class excited about the subject matter.

I am wondering how you guys keep the class exciting? Or wht have you liked or disliked by attending national or local seminars.

Thanks.

 

[K8MHZ]

I teach classes to prep people to sit for the FCC amateur radio exams.

I always start the class with something anecdotal. Most of the times jokes, but other times discussions about current events. I target 15 minutes for the time.

I was a class clown in school so it seems I am a natural born comedian. During classes I teach I find myself zinging jokes every chance I get.

I also am very interactive with the class. I don't know of anyone that has enjoyed a class where the instructor is just reading out of a book. I encourage question asking and comments. My style of teaching is very conversational.

I like to bring stuff to show the class. I made and inductor out of a piece of wire and disassembled a capacitor to show the class what they really are. I bring in fuses ranging in size from a tiny 1/4 amp to a sizable 400 amp. I bring in examples of coax types. I bring in radios and we do direction finding. We also construct stuff in class, mostly various types of antennas.

I consider teaching to be a performance of sorts.

FCC law and radio fundamentals are both pretty dry subjects. I have found that lightening things up holds the classes attention very well.

So far, in the 6 years I have sporadically taught classes, I have yet to have a student that completed one of my classes fail the FCC exam they were studying for and have had a couple that also passed the next level up in the same sitting.

Before I started teaching, our local pass rate was around 40 percent.

 

[K8MHZ]

Another method I use I call the 'completion backwards principle'.

For example, instead of standing in front of a board and trying to explain what ionospheric propagation is, which is part of the tests, I will tune a shortwave radio to a station thousands of miles away. I explain that the reason we can hear them is because the radio signals are being 'bounced' off a portion of our atmosphere and coming back to earth, thousands of miles away. I then explain that in this case, the portion of the atmosphere responsible for the phenomena is the ionosphere, and the name of the phenomena is ionospheric propagation. If conditions are suitable I do the same with a VHF radio and tropospheric propagation.

Every chance I get I like to do a demo and say 'check this out!'. Then I go on to explain what is happening using answers to test questions in the explanations.

For rules, I would tune to several amateur radio bands and let the students listen. I would point out that there is no music, no commercials and no re-transmission of other radio services. All because of FCC rules. Then we would tune around and listen and make note of the fact that the people we were listening to were saying their call signs periodically. Again, due to FCC rules. Hearing the rules being followed before we get out the rule book makes it easier for the students to remember them.

 

[Rockyd]

Knowledgable and beiing intersactive are winners. Had to go to Crane and Rigging class yesterday. Instructor was a lineman. The guy was good because we didn't spend all day in the books. We spent about a 1/3 in the book, 1/3 on interactive and multi-media, and 1/3, being physically involved, and testing (wanted to make sure we were getting all the hi points of the course outline).

 

[Electric-Light]

Boring professors often allocates a substantial amount of grade to attendance and takes attendance. I've had some that took attendance randomly. Sometimes at the beginning, sometimes after break, sometimes five minutes before class is over.

Look around and you see half the class watching something on the internet video and texting.

If you see a lot of students texting in class, that's a sign they're bored. Boring professors usually control this by putting in syllabus "texting is not allowed"

 

[cowboyjwc]

I agree that the teacher has a lot to do with it. Knowledgeable with a voice that drones, just puts me to sleep. Keep the jokes flying.

Second is subject matter. I get to pick and choose the classes I want to go to, but some are just boring no matter how good the teacher is.

 

[mikeames]

I will catch crap for this but i am putting it out there. I first want to state I know the dangers and posibility of death.


To teach voltage, current, voltage gradiants etc, I do a demo with a pan of distilled water, a keyless fixture wired to a cord with the circuit broken so I can put two of the wires in the pan of water.

After oure lessons and discussions about various aspects of electricity anf theory I poll the students and ask what happen if I put a non GFI protected cord in the water........ I tally the results on the board then do it.

I do the same with the keyless wires in the water poll then demo...... First time no ligt comes on.

I put my hand (only one) in the water poll then demo.....

I add idonized salt to the water then poll and demo....light comes on.

I put my hand in this water poll then demo........

I take voltage and current measurements at different points

Then I put the circuit on GFI and place a ground in the water. Agin poll then demo......



I knwo this is extreamly dangerous but if done correctly in can be relativly safe and the student lean and UNDERSTAND the concepts better than they ever would. All the misconceptions go away..... We also discuss stun guns as a way of illustrating the difference between voltage and current.

These are some of the demos I use that spark interest and teach the concepts. Not for everbody not recomended but never the less effective...... Ok let the bashing begin.

 

[zog]

I am going to pretend I did not see that last post.

Back to the OP. Keeping the class involved is the key. Demos, or better yet hands on training mixed in with classroom. You can blab all you want but if you are teaching at a plant for example, teach the material and say, OK now lets go look at everything we just talked about in your facility and how you can apply what you learned to your job.

 

[K8MHZ]

I am going to pretend I did not see that last post.

Back to the OP. Keeping the class involved is the key. Demos, or better yet hands on training mixed in with classroom. You can blab all you want but if you are teaching at a plant for example, teach the material and say, OK now lets go look at everything we just talked about in your facility and how you can apply what you learned to your job.

I got a post deleted once for describing something much less dangerous. The reason was that someone may read it and try it.

 

[renosteinke]

Let's remember our starting point ....

Everyone in a class, at some point, thought the material would be useful and interesting. Unfortunately, much of the way things are 'usually done' seems designed to frustrate this open interest. They WANT to learn ... not be entertained, lorded over, or insulted.

So, your first challenge is to make the material relevant. Having an instructor say "you just need this for the test" really kills your enthusiasm. Putting things into everyday terms makes a difference.

Next, you need to have an honest enthusiasm for the topic. If you're bored, the students will learn ... to be bored.

Imagination is a wonderful thing, but you need to make things as visible and real as you can. "Current inrush" makes a lot more sense if they can see it happen on a meter. "Impedence" suddenly becomes understandable when you "short out" a spool of #14.

Be creative. There are always those whose attention will lag, for whatever reason. Others have learned to be invisible. I found that a great way to keep everyone on their toes was to use two decks of cards. Here's how it worked:
At the start of class, everyone got two or three cards. I kept the second deck. I would call on students by drawing a card from my deck. Since no one ever knew what card would come up, and having been called once was no guarantee of peace, no one was able to drift too far off.

A 'reality check' is also a useful tool. I took a typical floor plan from a new development, and referred to it throughout the year. When we studied services, we did a service calc on the home. When we studied circuits, we mapped circuits. When we encountered a code requirement, we applied it. Thus, the 'plan' was constantly evolving.

 

[Ponchik]

Thank you all for your replies. I will probably try the card trick for next semester.

 

[donf]

Tough following a dull instructor

Tough following a dull instructor

The setting is a hot afternoon in Lexington, KY.

The students had just finished lunch and the prior instructor droned on and on about the differences between one product and the newer model.

I was scheduled to teach several communications protocols. So when I hit the podium, I calmly introduced myself, mentioned that I was level three staff and indicated that the class was nothing but college pukes.

I had everybody's attention.

 

[Ponchik]

I have thought about taking a magic class where they teach you magic tricks. This way i can do small tricks in the class to keep their attention and keep the class fun.

 

[K8MHZ]

I have thought about taking a magic class where they teach you magic tricks. This way i can do small tricks in the class to keep their attention and keep the class fun.

If you are serious check out Youtube. There are tons of videos showing how to do magic tricks there.

 

[Strife]

Analogies.
I don't teach classes officially, but I have trained quite a few people.
A lot of times teaching concepts gets boring on the receiving end because people can't relate to them.
Weather you believe in the bible or not one thing can not be denied. The reason Jesus's teachings became so popular is because the analogies he used. Fables and parables are so popular and easy to digest because they use analogies.

I think we all have attended classes and seminars that have been boring and we couldn't wait to get out.
I hate to be that boring instructor, so I am trying various things to keep students excited and keep the topic and the class exciting and fun. I will have at least 1 joke (sometimes 2-3) for every class, i have a candy jar and every time a student answers correctly he/she will get a candy.... tell/show horror stories/pictures.
I think teaching a class is 50% subject matter and 50% presentation style, in fact one has be an actor to keep the class excited about the subject matter.

I am wondering how you guys keep the class exciting? Or wht have you liked or disliked by attending national or local seminars.

Thanks.