How can lessons become enjoyable, relevant and practical? The Learned Talk compiles some methods

Team TLT

Teaching is a challenging task. How can the teacher ensure that students enjoy the lesson so that they can understand it better? The challenge is multiplied in times such as now when the pandemic has forced schools to stay closed and lessons are taught online, as best as the teachers and children can manage, balancing various concerns and government directives on online teaching. Strategies that can benefit classes inside real classrooms can benefit virtual ones too, and perhaps are more
necessary in the face of the constraints posed by virtual teaching.

Storytelling is one such strategy. There will be very few children who do not like stories. Stories can teach lessons, ethics, principles, language, history, maths and science and much more without being burdensome. And when the storyteller is the teacher who links the lesson to the story she is telling, or a classmate, it serves to ignite curiosity among the students. Stories can be used to introduce and illustrate the topic being taught. The teacher can narrate a story/anecdote from her own life or experience so that students can easily link the lesson and its applicability to real life. The lesson
will move from the domain of the ideal to the real and the practical. All the more so if the text is abstract.

For instance, if the lesson is about New Delhi, the Capital of India, the teacher can talk about her visit to the city and the sights that she saw there. The introduction/discussion in storytelling mode need not be restricted to the teacher’s own experience. She can borrow from that of her friends, family, a famous person, current events, historical events or even fiction and cinema. For example, if the lesson is the play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, a fun activity to introduce or discuss the subject would be to talk about how the drama inspired a multitude of movies based on the romance theme across the world. The objective is to humanise the lesson and make it relatable. It can make the lesson more engaging, all the more so if the students are also asked to contribute. The teacher can start (or
end) the class by encouraging the children to tell their own stories about Delhi, if they have any, or, say, ask them what they know of Delhi and how they know it. The knowledge being imparted will be easier absorbed by the children when textbooks and classroom activity are linked and a personal connection is made to them.

Of course, stories exist in many realms. Within teachers, books and movies. Science teachers could weave the stories of scientists and their lives into their lessons narrative to humanise the subject, the scientists’ learnings and their discoveries. The accidental discovery of penicillin, by Sir Alexander Fleming in 1928 is one great example.

A visit to a museum can be a storytelling opportunity. There are many books and movies that can serve as springboards for discussing maths and science personalities as well as concepts. Eg: The Imitation Game, A Beautiful Mind, A Brief History of Time, 2001: A Space Odyssey. Videos where
teachers ‘demonstrate’ mathematical problems such as the ‘boat in the river’ question that deals with speed can help students ‘see’ the problem and relate better to it than just with paper and pencil.

Podcasts are another strategy. To begin with, they can be a means to train the students in listening and comprehension skills. They can be a novel and fun way to extend learning. As with storytelling, students too can be involved by being asked to create podcasts on the lessons they are being taught. If vocabulary is the lesson, the teacher can create or ask students to listen to the relevant podcasts to understand the meaning, its spelling, pronunciation, its antonyms and its usage in sentences. She can then ask them to make their own podcasts using those words or others and share it with the class.

Teachers are vouching for the entertainment and effectiveness quotients of podcasts. One method of
employing them is to ask students to interview others on a given topic. For instance, if the topic is Computers, students can be asked to interview their grandparents or great-grandparents about life before the advent of the Internet. Another type of podcast is a sound tour. For example, if the lesson is ‘Home’, an associated activity would be to ask the children to record the sounds of daily life at
home for a day – the pressure cooker hissing, the sound of the fan whirring, the hum of the air-conditioner, water falling into the bucket, the television, parents talking.

The duration of the podcast has to be specified and limited to suit attention spans. Podcasts are also a good way to teach students how to research a topic, write about it, speak effectively and manage time.

Theatre skills also come in handy to involve and engage children. Role play is a common strategy employed by teachers. Children take the part of someone else, say, a character in the lesson, to bring it to life. It can also teach them to view a subject from a different perspective. It can involve drama, real-life simulation and games. Children can be taught how to, say, conduct themselves in a restaurant by acting as waiters and customers. This also necessitates writing a ‘play’ and rehearsals. It can teach them life skills such as confidence and teamwork. Mock Parliament, a common activity in schools, is an example of role play. Science lessons too can be taught through role plays, where children can don the roles of planets of various sizes and colours. All these activities should be carried out subject to some rules and precautions to ensure children are enthused and to minimise any discomfort that may defeat the purpose.