Make learning interesting
Learners do not enjoy reading, let alone studying. It’s unfortunate, because reading and studying form an integral part of learning. How on earth do we as teachers entice our learners into reading and studying? Should we be engaging learners on their level or continue following traditional teaching methods?
Learners do not enjoy reading, let alone studying. It’s unfortunate, because reading and studying form an integral part of learning. This becomes a challenge for us to search for ways in which our learners can learn and at the same time enjoy every moment of it, or any approach employed to make that learning process a success. The biggest challenge is how do we attain this. How on earth do we as teachers entice our learners into reading and studying? The way I see it is by sharpening their interest in such a way that learning becomes passive, yet their interests take an active role. As far fetched as it may sound or look like, it is probable if we delve deeper into what appeals to the present generation of learners.
Not very long time ago, I had attended a cluster meeting of all Life Science teachers in our district. Top officials in this learning area came together to try and find out how performance could be improved in this particular subject. Their starting point was to make a detailed analysis of the district performance, and as they went about in this analysis they found out that there were schools which performed well in aspects where the whole province fared poorly. They consulted the responsible teachers and questioned them how they got it right, when others were struggling or failing. Bingo! There it was! The teachers studied the learners’ interests and tried to develop ways in which they could incorporate their presentations into those interests. One was rap music. They shared the content with learners and instructed them to use concepts, processes and terms as lyrics of the song they would rap about. Teachers on the other hand searched for melodies they could download from YouTube to make it more fun for learners. Did the learners rap and learn the lyrics? Come exam time, the entire experience was bliss for them. Something that is conventionally boring was given a touch of their own style and genre.
It was not just music, singing and composing only, but there were also fields of interest like dancing. The old Afrikaans folk dance called sakkie-sakkie (presently known as the sokkie dance), was also one of the fascinating ways in which the concepts of DNA molecules could be taught to learners, including how the double strand of such a molecule unzips and zips again during the formation of proteins. It was very exciting for me to learn about all these findings the officials came up with. Not only did it assist me as the teacher dealing with this content, but it also opened my eyes that there are, after all, ways in which we can make learning interesting.
On Sunday, 30 May 2010, I read from the City Press newspaper that “Evolution” has been found to be less interesting to most learners, and as a result teachers had to come up with ways in which they could arouse the interest in their learners. They used acting, using the content material of this knowledge area. Though it has not yet been assessed whether this type of approach did yield desired results, learners’ understanding seemed to have been improved now that they got to view characters personifying and dramatizing the concepts which had to be learned. It is then a challenge to us to try and tame this mountain of learners’ less interested in reading and studying, by employing other methods that would appeal to their social and personal preferences – especially learners in the FET phase. Once the interest has been evoked, it wouldn’t be so monstrous for them to open up their books and read about it, would it?
What do you think? Leave a reply below.
Teacher's Monthly experience
Ms Rapudungoane
I wish to commend you on this great article.
I fully agree with the submission that learning needs to be conveyed to the learners in the manner that both appeals to their interests and generate enthusiasm by blending the academic substance with the current societal trends and personal preferences of the learners. This is on point.
However, I have a few challenging questions. I am by no means saying that you have the answers just because you wrote that article, because there are different dynamics involved. I am merely seeking to be intentionally antagonistic, and also bring forth another twist to the key essentialia of your submissions.
Lack of interest in reading and studying
The content of your first paragraph tells me that you have already concluded that the challenge lies with the manner in which the learners are taught. You are hinting that there is something terribly wrong with the manner in which these learners are taught. I wouldn’t know whether this is true or not… I’m prepared to give you the benefit of the doubt. However, I fail to understand the criteria that you used to arrive at this conclusion. I struggle to grasp with the fact that you are attributing this “lack of enthusiasm” on the part of learners to the manner in which they are taught… how did you establish this, especially in view of the fact that different schools have different dynamics and different teachers who were trained in different methodologies but the level of enthusiasm for the learners is still at its all time low? Or is it your view that the problem can be traced back to the way in which the curriculum itself is assembled? If that’s the case, how then is it that other schools are faring better than others without the use of “interesting” means? What makes Tsoselletso Secondary School (which uses no spectacular means to enthuse their learners), to out-perform many schools? Is it possible that the problem lies beyond the curriculum itself, but is deeply rooted in the hearts and the minds of the teachers themselves, who have this victim-mentality that has no source?
Interests and personal preferences
Has it occurred, during the course of constructing this beautiful article, that the learners are human beings who also adhere to different value-systems and are informed by different, sometimes contrasting, outlooks? Since this seeks to bring forth the fact that they have different interests and preferences, how would a teacher strike a balance between these competing interests? For example, if I do not have any interest in music and dancing, wouldn’t I be challenged when I have to learn through artistic means? Are we simply aiming to suggest that as the “youth”, they ought to be painted with the same brush and share matters of common interest? If the majority does, do we just smile all the way to 99% pass rate and dismiss the 1% that “drowned” as an unfortunate matter of academic coincidence? Or would each learner’s case be treated differently in this regard?
“Come exam time, the entire experience will be bliss to them….”
This is what really caught my attention, and what really made me think about the entire education system and the manner in which it is designed.
Why is it that we are more concerned about making these learners CRAM the entire textbooks and regurgitate them on the exam papers? That’s literally true, because that’s what the “lyrical” and “theatrical” part of the whole experience is seeking to advance!
Doesn’t it concern us….in fact, doesn’t it concern you one bit when a learner is able to cite the entire textbook from inflated memory and cruise through the exam, whereas he is devoid of critical intellectual capacity and will at some stage end up on the dumpsite of intelligentsia because he failed to make the grade at tertiary level? Has it never occurred to us that we need to investigate why most learners who pass with distinction at matric level evaporate into thin air and end up not breaking into the scholastic mainstreams of seasoned intellectuals, while some end up doing some lousy jobs in the public sector where they are inflating the quotas and not there through merit and competence?
Is it so challenging to produce well-balanced adults who are taught to make use of critical thought-technology as opposed to being distinction-wielding prima donnas who have no substance beyond their capacity to cram?
Possibilities….
On a more harmonious note, it is my submission that:
1. Most of the problems are with the teachers themselves and not the learners. It is impossible to generate learning enthusiasm in the learners when there’s no teaching enthusiasm in teachers. Learners do not learn through being bombarded with methods and artistic endeavours, but by example and tacit persuasion that stems from the teachers themselves.
2. Instead of looking for interesting ways and means of making learners “memorize” better and therefore sail through comfortably, it would be in our interest to delve deeper into the personal lives of these learners and try to sort out the challenges that impede their academic progress.
3. Instead of trying out the spectacular methods of teaching (which I’m not necessarily against, but I think they address the manifestations on the surface and not underlying problems), we should be busy cracking our brains trying to bring back the culture of learning; creating an environment that oozes enthusiasm, commands academic respect and discipline; as well as providing a chain of support structures for these learners through co-operation and cohesion on the part of the teachers and the parents.
4. Instead of a united focus towards attaining credible matric results and thereby gaining incentives from the government and maintaining a “passing” record as a school, the objective should be towards building success stories out of your learners. Teachers need to recognize the learners not as numbers on forms and figures in a sequence of soulless statistics; but as people who are out to seek a better life for themselves for the present and the future. For this reason, it is key to build them in spheres that supersede the academia, because responsible adults in the making would easily realize the importance of learning and paying attention without being “inticed” and “hypnotized” into doing so.
The learners still have choices. But teachers should stop that victim-mentality of crying about their conditions of employment and salaries and start “hypnotizing” themselves first (maybe through those interesting theatrical antics!!!) to generate passion and enthusiasm for the privilege of being entrusted with the future of the kids in your hands. Read my lips (in fact, the fingers that are typing this!): if you earn anything above R7 000 but you are literally working less than 8 hours (which are also flexible!) excluding breaks and free periods (some even unauthorized), have extensive holidays apart from the days of leave provided for in the Basic Conditions of Employment Act and the Labour Relations Act; then your reasons for complaining about your salary as a teacher are a bit dubious. There are those who have plenty of reasons to complain about almost everything under the sun, but they choose not to. They attempt to live within their means and do not subject their learners to nonsense. They even go an extra mile to be people of standard-bearing character who inspire interest and academic respect within and beyond the classroom.
I know I might have stepped on a few toes in this, but I’m also glad that I’m addressing seasoned professionals who are frank about issues, and have the foresight to make a permanent difference in the lives of these learners.
Regards
Johnny Modipa: LUA
Wow! Johnny, this is an article itself, and I just love it because in it there is a myriad of possibilities, suggestions or even solutions. The crux of the matter is that we both agree that there is something amiss in as far as the present learning performance of learners is concerned, especially the township schools. At present the curriculum is the thorny issue (OBE-being faced out), you on the other hand feel it’s teachers with their undeserved packages which eventually end up being their focal point, instead of learners’ interests. Whatever an issue it may be, it’s worthy to be brain stormed to a point that we all, finally crack it to bring back learning performance, where it used to be.
I thank you very much for your input and I must say you are very passionate about education of all African children, something we have in common. As we are conversing, am making a print-out of this response so that I can share with other seasoned educators. The struggle to attain a common goal continues, and to make that a reality we should all join hands. Thanks again for being part of it through contributions like these.
Lunko