Without a doubt, it is a difficult task for teachers to make school and the classroom a fun environment for students so as to promote and encourage learning. While no method is perfect, there are means by which a teacher can increase a student’s enjoyment and attitude towards learning in order to provide for highly educative experience.
Above all, teachers should consider and thoroughly analyze their own classroom approach. Rather than banking on the old, traditional, and ineffective method of dictation styled lecture, teachers should offer to their students problems that are in need of a solution. This method puts the power in the hands of the students when it comes to discovery and learning. Through the facilitation of the teacher, they are able to get the most of the learning experience.
Teachers should make the classroom material relevant to students lives. This does not mean that they should teach entire lessons about American Idol or Twilight. Rather, teachers should get to know their students and their interests as best as possible, and incorporate them here and there in their lessons in such a way that abides by the curriculum time frame and guidelines. If teachers are able to do this, they will encourage learning among their students, capture their attention, and provide for an overall effective learning experience.
Activities within each lesson should be taught at various paces. It is critical that teachers don’t make an entire lesson overcharged and too fast for students. At the same time, it is important that teachers don’t make the lessons too dull and slow in a way that would bore the students. Instead, teachers should adjust each activity as they deem appropriate, and perk their students interest in order to encourage learning.
Teachers also shouldn’t be afraid to acknowledge that each of their students are different. Each student has a different learning style, and some simply learn faster or slower than others. When teachers are willing and able to recognize the different styles, limitations, and capabilities, they will be able to take a more effective approach to the classroom. Teachers can thus scaffold lessons as they see fit, making the classroom effective for all students. It is recommended, however, that teachers should check with their principal and superintendent, and even wait until tenure to start scaffolding. With that said, it has been proven to be an effective model at stimulating learning for all students, and not just a chosen few.
Finally, teachers should keep a journal detailing the successes and failures of each lesson. If a lesson was a great success and achieved its targets, then teachers should document why it did as such. At the same time, if the lesson failed miserably, teachers should note why it did not achieve its desired goals. This can help teachers plan accordingly for years to come.