Nurture Learning, Not Activities
Image courtesy of Beneath the Cover
Sometimes we teachers have a habit of preparing a lot of activities. We all dread that moment when we have ten minutes left in the class, but realize we don’t have anything else planned. So what do we do? We plan a bunch of extra activities just in case.
Here’s the problem though, a classroom isn’t about doing activities, it’s about learning. A successful lesson is defined by the amount and quality of the learning that occurred, not by how many activites were completed. Sometimes it’s a good idea to step back and look at our lesson and our lesson plans. Are they just a series of activities or can we visualize the learning occurring? Is our goal to take up space in the lesson or maximize the quality of the education delivered?
The next time you plan an activity for your class, take a moment to really look at it. Is it just a space filler or is something really valuable being done?
Tags: Activities, Goals, Priorities
ELT Basics, Teaching Strategies | turklis1 | 
March 21, 2012 1:40 pm
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