Posterous theme by Cory Watilo

Sticky Teaching

Nov. 26, 2011 I love the article "Teaching That Sticks" by Chip Heath and Dan Heath. The first time I read this article, it "stuck" with me (as cheesy as that sounds). The idea that to make something stick in our minds it has to fall into one or more of the following 6 categories makes perfect sense to me. Ideas must be 1. Simple, 2. Unexpected, 3. Concrete, 4. Credible, 5. Emotional and/or 6. Linked to a Story. Think back to your own life as a student and what you remember about any particular class or teacher or learning experience and you should find that there was some event or connection that made the topic, idea, skill or experience stick in your mind. I especially feel connected to the story that Heath and Heath describe about the history teacher having the students experience the emotional impacts that war has on people when they cut the cow bones in a simulation representing the life of a wartime medic. Those students would have had a full sensory connection that brought on the emotional connection to the topic being studied. In some subject areas this would be a challenge for sure, but storytelling, along with numerous other strategies discussed in this article would certainly help us share our knowledge with the students in our own classes along with helping the students make personal connections between the curriculum and their own lives. This would help them in seeing the relevance in studying these subjects as well. Have you had a student ask you "Why do we need to know this?" or "How is this going to help me in the 'real' world?". Perhaps creating this bond of relevance into our lessons from the beginning would help engage and attract those students who feel this way. Thinking further along these lines, what about the three different types of engagement?? At my most recent PD session for Learning Classroom Teachers, we took the time to look at the different ways to be engaged or why a person might be disengaged. I think I will save that discussion for a future blog post, but think about Intellectual Engagement, Social Engagement and Institutional Engagement. Please feel free to post some of your "sticky" teaching moments or moments where the teaching "stuck" for you as a student.