Student have responded really well when I use class activities to get and keep them engaged.
I could not agree with you more because if they do not like the activities then they will not participate.
My students have responded positively to activities in the past. They like the pneumonic devices I give them, they like working as a group, and they like to play games. It makes class time more enjoyable and time also passes more quickly.
Donna, you have discovered the secret of involvement and learner ownership of the class. Bravo!
Michele Deck
My learners love games. Whenever I tell them we are going to play a game they get very excited. I am finding they like jeopardy the most! I am going to incorporate a matching game for med terminology as well. That seems fun and good for visual learners.
Jacquie, thank you for sharing your gaming success story. Keep your active methods new and exciting.
Michele Deck
I have used games in the past like "Drug card Bingo" as well as "Jeopardy" with anatomy. Generally it goes well unless someone gets upset if they don't win. I generally reward all for playing.
therese, I agree that sometimes it is best to reward all for learning. In my classes everyone gets a gift, but winner pick first.
Michele Deck
Our favorite review game uses different colored fly swatters as "buzzers". I ask a question and they must be the bottom color swatter on the "spot" to answer. If that student misses the question, the next color down gets a shot. It gets the students up and out of their seats, and relieves a little stress in the process.
Kelli, I like the stress relief (and fun) aspect of this activity. Thank you for sharing it with us.
Michele Deck
Activities have resulted in better student engagement because is prevents them from becoming bored with the delivery style of the material.
Michael, I agree that boredom is the worst enemy of the classroom. Teachers must strive to deliver content in multiple engaging ways.
Michele Deck
Idont know why but everone likes the foot ball quizz and I use it alot Its a lot of fun for the students and helps them remember terms
William, it's great that you have found and used a strategy the class likes, and you know it works.
Michele Deck
One of my favorite activities is vocab pong--using similar rules as beer pong. The students form teams, 2 if you use 1 long table, 4 for 2 long tables etc. You can use odd numbers of 3 if you move tables around to fit.
Any way, you fill the Dixie cups with rice or sand instead of water. The number the cups with point values so that students can aim for higher onts to keep it interesting.
If the students bounces a ping-pong ball onto the table so the ball lands in the cup, the student gets to spell a word from a pile of cards lying face down on the teacher's desk. If the students spells the word correctly, their team receives the point value on the cup that the ball landed in.
When we finish students have learned and laughed. The best thing about this activity is you can use the spare Dixie cups to serve up root beer floats, then you actually do have beer pong in the classroom.
To sum up, the students love it.
Taryn, thank you for sharing your adaptation of this college game. I'm sure your students are interested and entertained by this way to review content.
Michele Deck
My students love the games in the classroom and they are also very engaged in the activities. I played a bingo game in my pharmacology class and they loved it. Afterward we took a quiz and the scores were excellent.
Jacqueline, there is no more proof needed that a teaching strategy works then to see the test scores rise.
Michele Deck
i have used similar activities, but the relay and soft ball activity will be greater fun for the student. I plan to use them in my next class.
olaolu, I wish you the best of luck using is new teaching strategy. I know your students will benefit from it.
Michele Deck
