The
old adage, “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy” and the more recent
lyric, “ In every job that must be done, there is an element of fun”, are
classic examples for illustrating the need for using simple games to assist the
learning process. Yet most teachers dismiss this approach as being
‘childish’ or complain that they are not here to entertain the students.
Teaching, they believe is dead serious business. The former adjective is
probably more appropriate for describing their teaching skills.
To
prove a point, one should take note of the fact, that for a performer to hold
attention through a programme, he or she strikes a rapport with the audience, by
exercising creative, entertainment skills, and frequently invites audience
participation. Modern teaching methodology is much the same in this respect. The
teacher must have a strong rapport with the students and make the presentation
in as interesting a manner as possible, imparting knowledge with superior
communication skills. The introduction to the topic is vital, as it is often the
deciding factor for arousing interest. Student participation is further
encouraged by the use of interactive methods of teaching. For example, one may
introduce the topic of communication by playing a round of the popular game
‘Chinese Whispers’. For those unfamiliar with the game, the participants
arrange themselves in a circle and one person whispers a sentence to the person
on his left. The sentence is passed around in a clockwise direction (no
repetitions are allowed), until it returns to the last person who repeats what
he has heard and then the original sentence is revealed. The results are often
amusing, and are used to initiate a discussion on clarity of speech,
communication skills and even spreading rumours! Even
displaying a picture or cartoon sketch and asking students to make observations
that lead to the topic for the day, is likely to capture more attention than the
standard “Our topic for today is…..”
The most common form of using
interactive methods for teaching has been in the form of brainstorming or
solving case studies in groups. Other more innovative methods require meticulous
preparation, like using cardpaper templates and pinning them onto a polystyrene
sheet for planning the layout of an operational area or using the team quiz game
“What’s The Good Word?” for
clueing and guessing technical terms. A simpler suggestion is to devise a word
search or a crossword that can be solved individually or in groups.
The possibilities are plenty and
ideas can be adapted to suit the subject matter. The major drawback in
implementing any of these is the number of students in a class. It is obvious
that using this approach works better with smaller groups, but this does not
mean that it is impossible with larger groups. The use of interactive methods of
teaching serves to enhance the teaching-learning process and improve the two-way
communication channel that must exist between teacher and student.
It would be conceited as well as
presumptuous to offer advice, but it is my sincere belief, that one must use
every trick of the trade to capture the interest of students. Admittedly, it
takes a little effort to do this, but a teacher who is dedicated to this cause,
will soon have a constant flow of ideas to achieve this objective – if you
have the inclination, why not make the time???
Avril Sule (Senior Instructor) Institute Of Hotel Management Mumbai