Focus Cards
Overview:
The following ideas are aimed at involving students in the teaching and learning process.
Whenever you actively involve students you will:
Hold their attention and interest in the subject
Improve retention rates
Deepen learning and comprehension
Keep them awake
Years ago I saw the stage version of ‘Whose Line Is It Anyway’, the popular improvisation comedy show. For the first half of the show the cast did their thing, and we in the audience did ours, happy to sit back and be entertained. And then one of the performers turned to us and said, with wicked grin, “And now it’s your turn…” If he’d wired us up to the electricity grid he couldn’t have charged the atmosphere faster. From that point on, we weren’t audience, we were all part of the show. This was active involvement in action!
‘Active involvement’ takes the teaching process one step further by removing the invisible line between teacher and students. The following ideas are designed to help you get your students become active participants in their own education.
This particular activity is particularly useful during lengthy, didactic teacher-talk/lecture sessions.
Directions:
1. Give each student several (say five or six) index cards on entry to the room, or split students into groups and give each group a pile of cards in the centre of the table.
At the start of the teacher-talk session the teacher gives the following instruction:
“Take one of your index cards and write down three things you want to learn about this lesson (topic). Put a big ‘number 1’ at the top of the card and then put it on one side.”
Give the students a few minutes to complete these cards.
2. About ten minutes into the session, once the first concept has been covered, give students the following instruction:
© 2011 Behaviour Needs All Rights Reserved
www.behaviourneeds.com
BEHAVIOUR NEEDS ENGAGING LESSON ACTIVITIES