I believe if a teacher promotes their teachings in the formal manner, the student will be able to learn more from the material. Students will also be able to perform better on tasks if they know how to do it the correct way.
Although students will be more engaged in the teachings if it is presented in a fun manner, they really will not benefit from the lessons if they do not know the proper ways of doing so. Once a student does know the proper way of completing the task, he then can transform his task in a way that will allow him to have fun with it. In other words, once he knows how to do the task the correct way, he then can change it so that he enjoys doing the task.
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ReplyDeleteI can see your point, but I believe there is a way in which you can have fun unstructured assignments and lessons but still achieve the goal of promoting proper mechanics. An essays' topic can be the fun and unstructured form, while the teacher requests a formal and well argument-ed essay. This accounts for both idea. Furthermore a teacher can give an assignment on criticizing a written work that can be turned in as any type of prose, whether satire, poem, or essay. ALTHOUGH, this is not to say I disagree with the need for structure and mechanics.
Looking at this issue I guess I can see where you’re coming from, but I feel like more than just a black and white issue there needs to be some sort of middle ground. A teacher can’t just drone on for an hour and expect the students to pick out any information, there really needs to be some sort of human interest thrown in there. Some teachers can get away with straight lecturing because they’re naturally interesting, but those teachers who have the monotonous tone to their voice really ought to think about highlighting main points with videos, or tasks, or questions. Really anything to switch it up and keep the student focused.
ReplyDeleteI have to disagree. I feel that if a teacher incorporates a lesson with something fun it’s easier for student to remember. In elementary school we played lots of games. I remember specifically throwing around a ball with multiplication problems on it to help us remember our times tables. I was never good at them but since I'm a competitive person I always wanted to win. I would go home and make flashcards and I memorized them in one night so I could win that SpongeBob pencil the next day. So in my eyes playing games helps students remember and motivates them to learn more. But on the other side of the argument everyone learns in a different way so to some students playing games isn't helpful, which is why a classroom should have a good balance of fun and work.
ReplyDeleteYou make a good argument but I personally would have to say I disagree with your statement. I believe that when the students are presented with a boring and time consuming lecture, they are more inclined to pay less attention, fall asleep, day dream, etc. instead of learning the material they should be focusing on. When a teacher shows passion in what they do and are able to make the lesson fun and exciting, while still being taught correctly, I believe the students will be more willing to pay attention and comprehend the materials taught better. I have experienced this personally since starting college. My American History teacher doesn't seem very interested in what she is teaching us and tends to read quickly off of a piece of paper. This causes me to become bored, lost, and unable to comprehend the material as well. On the other hand, my psychology teacher is a very upbeat person who is passionate about what he teaches. He is able to give the class fun, but informational and correct lectures that we are more inclined to listen to and interact with.
ReplyDeleteI believe that everyone learns differently. Some students like very structured classes whereas others like fun classes. I feel that if the teacher can present the class in an exciting way with visuals and stories, the audience will be much more attentive. I know from experience that I enjoy classes that present information with visuals so that I can understand what is going on. I really dislike when teachers ramble and no one has a clue what the lecture is about. As long as you can understand the concepts then it really doesn't matter how you learn. There will always being boring and exciting professors. We just have to learn to deal with their teaching styles and make the best of the situation.
ReplyDeleteI have to almost completely disagree with you, and the only reason i don't completely disagree is because there are some things that you can't learn and have fun while doing it, but then again it also depends on the person and what they like/enjoy. I personally have learned more from doing hands on things that were fun for me than doing things that are "formal". Also you can definitely teach someone formally while having fun. I have learned more about building cars, engines, airboats, and doing metal work while having a great time than i have ever learned about anything else. I've also absorbed that information too. Now some people may claim that building cars, engines, airboats, and doing metal work isn't educational, everyone who does these things at a professional level has an engineering degree of some sort, so i beg to differ. So you can definitely have fun and learn at the same time it is just a matter of the subject and the person.
ReplyDeleteI'm on the fence with topic. Personally, I've had my experiences go both ways. For instance, my drafting classes that I took throughout high school were presented in a fun manner. Everything we did was hands-on and the teacher presented the material in a manner such that my entire class learned the craft in detail. Miraculously, we all passed the certification exam and set a national record. On the other hand however, my experience with AP History was not as successful. My football coach was the teacher, and in his honors history class, many excelled and grasped the material very well. However, an AP exam is a completely different monster in comparison to your average high school final. Needless to say, I, along with many others, received a 2. Only 8 out of the 33 who to the exam had passed it with a 3 or better. I think what I'm trying to say is that the results will vary with the instructors. I also believe that course rigor plays a factor; No matter how hard you try, Calc will never be fun. It's all a matter of personal experience as to which side you may take
ReplyDeleteI think the teacher should be the one that makes it fun in the first place. It is difficult sometimes to think of fun ways to make an assignment fun. I think our teacher here has done that so far. In most of my other classes the assignment are not fun per se but easy because it's stuff I know how to do. It will be interesting how I handle stuff I don't already know.
ReplyDeleteI see where you are coming from. I believe that the teacher does need to present things in a structured and formal way sometimes. A lot of what makes material more interesting is the teachers personality. If you have a funny teacher they can make it easier to get through a more boring topic. I think some teachers do not want to put in the effort of being really creative in how the present material because I am sure they are already busy. Not every lecture can be turned into something fun or interesting, but I believe it has to do a lot with the teacher and not so much the material.
ReplyDeleteI understand how you can believe all the points that you brought up in your argument. However, I don't agree with ALL of them. It is important to not have too much fun with things and learn them factually, but learning things the right way can be fun as well. This is especially true when the subject is something you are really passionate about. I think that passion is the ultimate deciding factor on whether a subject is fun or not to the individual. I could sit through a 3 hour lecture on how to properly master a professional's four mallet marimba grip and thoroughly enjoy it, while many of you would never want to sit through anything like that. Teaching the subject the fun way isn't the problem, the problem is whether the student can have fun while actually learning the topic.
ReplyDeleteI completely understand your point of view, but everyone learns differently. Some people need the straight to the point teaching with no "fun" added. But on the other hand, there are some people that need that fun teaching to better and fully understand the lesson. Also, what you think is fun could be boring to someone else. Most teachers will teach both ways, they understand that each of their students learn in totally different ways so they don't always teach the same way just so all of their students can learn the material correctly.
ReplyDeleteYou make a good point, but I have to disagree. Coming from a family with all teachers in it, I know that they want to teach their students the correct way. However, just because you use an alternative way to teach the material, doesn't mean it's not going to be beneficial to the students learning. In my opinion, it'll help the student remember the information given in a somewhat easier way. Everyone learns differently. What's good for you might not be good for another person but I don't think a "boring" lesson turned into a "fun" lesson will affect someones learning that much to the point where it doesn't help.
ReplyDeleteI believe you make a good point but not everything is so black and white. There is definitely a grey area in terms of assignments in strict formal ways versus fun assignments. For example a teacher could make you research ab out a boring subject and assign a long research paper along with it. However, the teacher could assign a broad topic and the students could choose a specific subtopic with long research paper on it. Hopefully, the student could find a topic he would enjoy learning about but it still has the strict structure of a formal research paper. So it would be formal yet enjoyable. Not to mention the student would benefit because he is learning.
ReplyDeletethere should be a balance between educational "fun" methods and the classic old fashioned way. I believe a lot of it has to do with the type of personality the teacher has. lets face it, you cant expect a grumpy 60 year old worn out instructor to always come in the room doing back flips and making up songs for every lesson. on the other hand a young teacher might relate more to the students and will less likely sit and read 9 pages of an encyclopedia relating to a topic. this is not always true by the way. students learn through different methods and i guess that's why we are all so unique and have our strengths and weaknesses when we compare each other intellectually.
ReplyDeleteI have mixed feelings about this. I do agree with this because I like when a teacher tells their students exactly what to do for assignments so that the students won't be confused when they go to do their homework. I personally like when things are straightfoward no matter how boring it is. However, there is still a way to convey mechanics without being completely boring. For example in my Macroeconomics class my professor gave the example of "Incentives matter" by giving the chance for anyone to get extra credit by singing karaoke in front of the entire class. I understood the point he was trying to make which was in a fun matter rather than a boring one. Lessons can be taught in a fun way without forgetting the basics.
ReplyDeleteI see what you are saying but I do not agree with you completely. I believe that students need the “fun” teaching sometimes because it allows them to explore limits and to use their creativity. When we are used to strict teaching we feel like we are in a box and are too scared to leave the box. Learning should consist of both strict and fun in my opinion. I guess in a way I can agree with you statement about once the student knows the proper way to do the assignment, he or she can have fun with it.
ReplyDeleteI agree, to a degree. I have a professor who makes the lecture very interesting, and I am thus very interested in the subject. However, when I look back at some of the materials we were taught I cannot for the life of me remember them. In classes with a more formal setting, I can more easily learn what I will likely be tested on, but I do not necessarily learn what I would like to learn, like how I can use this knowledge outside the classroom. I believe that there needs to be a balance of "fun" and learning the essential "mechanics" (hcs11f). Fun can make one feel more inclined to learn, but we must also be able to actually learn something in the process. Thus it is my belief that teachers and students alike, need to always look for balance in the work that they do.
ReplyDeleteTeaching should be some where in the middle. I believe that there should be a combination of the two types of teaching styles. Teachers should feel the need to keep their classes interesting so that students will be engaged and pay attention to the material being taught. I also believe that the teacher must throw in the facts and still be a stern leader in the classroom, so the class is not all fun in games. The perfect type of teacher is one who can keep the class interesting while the material is actually being taught in a serious manner.
ReplyDeleteI see what you are saying, but i believe that teaching should be done in a way where all the material is presented and taught, but in a way that does not people to sleep. Teachers do not have to crazy and do crazy things but they should have activities that keep the students interested and not falling asleep. You are right that the material must all be presented so everyone learns it because some teachers are fun but are bad at teaching. Also though, the material should be presented in a way where everyone grasps it and it is not boring.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if I agree so much. Personally if I like the teacher and I enjoy the subject I learn a lot more. If I find the teacher or the subject boring I struggle to learn. That is just me personally. I enjoy a teacher who is passionate about what they are teaching. If they aren't passionate why should I be?
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