W.B. Yeats said that : "Education is not the filling of a bucket, but the lighting of a fire." So the question to ask is how do we do that? How do we make our lessons more interesting and 'light a fire'?
For many years, I have been able to use stories as a versatile medium to keep younger kids interested in science, world cultures, health, nutrition, yoga and creative movement. We "tell" the story together by using the postures in a sequence. I use interactive movemment games that mirror the story themes, and imagery of the characters they can relate to and these characters overcome challenges and solve problems just like we all do in real life. They identify with those qualities they want to emulate and remember the lesson better this way.
As they get older, I have have noticed that they want time to 'zone out', so I place them in a relaxed but active listening state and give them time to 'zone' on a specific imagery that I lead them through verbally and musically. They come out of the imagery relaxed, full of creative ideas and insights, and fully aware of their inner and outer worlds. (This is also known as meditation.)
Maybe none of these methods will work in your specific environment, however there are some other techniques that you can use. The key is observing and knowing your students. Below are some ideas that can be adapted to a traditional classroom or therapy setting:
- Develop a Unexpected Introduction: A riddle, a joke, or an effective warm-up activity that can draw interest into the class content is one key to keeping students engaged. The first five minutes are crucial and should draw students into the lesson and set the tone for the rest of the class.
- Incorporate a Variety of activties: Use varied activities to meet the diverse interests, sensory & cognitive levels and learning styles of your group. Think of the sensory systems and use visual, auditory and movement based activities or props and imagery to keep the group engaged. (Example: one student loved challenges & she also enjoyed video games-so I created a yoga set based on her favorite, "Zelda" .)
- Find the element of Fun: Find anectdotes and the element of fun in what you are teaching and infuse it into the lesson. I like to use modified games and stories. For example, if you are learning about dinosaurs, play "Freeze Dinosaur" (variation of "Freeze Dance") or have the children go on a "Dinosaur Dig" in some sand; or have them create their own dinosaurs out of clay, sidewalk chalk or colored pencils. Games bring learning to life, reduce stress, encourage cooperation & are more effective in teaching lessons.
- Remain Flexible: Always allow some flexibility in the lesson plan. If you planned for 3 objectives, but you only got to one, and the students are enagegd and having fun, that's okay! Children are spontaneous and energetic when we create the right environment for learning. Let them lead you sometimes.
- Link activities to the topics in a meaningful way: Incorporate multi-curricular and multi sensory activities, such as reading stories while practicing yoga poses or journaling or doing an art project while listening to relaxing music. This will not only add variety and interest but will help concentration, attention span & overall success.
- Allow Full Participation: Let your students take attendance, select a topic (within reasonable choices) for the next class, and lead the class in a portion of the content.
- Gather Feedback: Listen to your students! Learn about what they like to do for fun, what interests they have, who they look up to, what music they like, sports they play etc. Ask them to assess your lessons with a informal survey so you can see what's working and what's not.
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