"SEC | S19W4: Active and Fun Teaching Strategies"

Here we go up up up; Here we go down down down. Here we go, forward and backward. Here we go, round round round.

This is what made Agric class in my primary level of education interesting. It was never boring, like in my mathematics and English class. The teacher factor contributed to the class being so dull, and I didn't really have passion or interest for these subjects.

Most times, I'll just leave the class because it's so boring, and I feel it's a waste of time sitting down for hours in such a class. There's no experiential learning, no teacher-student interaction, no jokes. Learning is just too strict and formal. This wasn't my type of approach, though. I needed something that would make me have an interest in learning and school in general.

The playway method is a teaching strategy or method used to make learning active, lively, and fun. You get to know a student and his or her problems better, and the student gets to be more open to you in terms of their problems.

In a situation where you're always strict in class, you may stumble upon a lot of students who may find education boring. That's why you find some students perform better in a lively class than in a strict and more official class.

When teaching in a classroom, **you don't have to be too strict or make learning boring as if it's a lecture. ** You need to awaken a person's interest in what you're teaching, which will likely make the student learn fast, understand certain concepts, and have an interest in education as a whole.

Anytime I'm teaching someone, I usually integrate the playway teaching method to enhance learning, especially among those full students and those who dislike sitting for hours to attend a particular class. These are some ways to create an active and fun learning environment. Though I'm not a certified teacher, I've tried this teaching method, and it has been beneficial to me and the learners.

• You won't lose your respect if you make the class buzzy with a short joke or laughter.- use of videos or simulations can make students very active and even more focused than when the theoretical aspects were deliberated on.

• Rewarding students who answer your question will spur the class to action and make it fun. There'll be no room for distractions and dull moments.

• Diverting to other areas aside from your subject area, like asking them things relative to which they can express themselves, is one way of making the class lively.

• asking questions and integrating teacher-student relationship.

A smile can't be off the list

These are pictures of ways you can make learning active and fun among the students you're teaching, thereby improving learning and teaching.

I'm not this type of person who loves cracking jokes always. That's why I thought of using simulations and reward factors as a way of making students actively involved in the learning process. This is my experience using this teaching method.

I was sent to a school to create an impact and teach students in SS2 class. This is a government school with about 100 students per class: students who dislike education, people who dislike long classes, people who find pleasure disturbing in class, and the like. These are the kind of students I saw in that school, and it was quite funny to know that teachers there don't even go the extra mile or try different approaches to make learning interesting and encourage active participation in the learning process.

	Student sleeping
	Students making noise

They teach even with noise, lackadaisical attitude, and indifference shown until their period for teaching elapses. I observed all these and thought of my case. If they are displaying these attitudes toward teachers that are capable of giving birth to them, how much more about me, who is almost their age mate? I thought of the reward factor strategy. Who doesn't like better things?

I integrated Steemit money to enhance learning in this school. **I'll tell the whole class to keep quiet and listen to what I'm about to say, and when I'm done, I'll give an assignment and reward 10 students who do well. ** You need to see the level of activeness shown by these students. They don't make noise in my class because they know I usually compensate them when they do well in class.

Everyone would want to do well so as to get appreciated, and I don't just focus on the brilliant ones. I did this throughout my stay there and discovered that there was a huge change in these students.

• Students who were withdrawn came out of their shell.
  

• I got to know the problems of most students because I created a friendly atmosphere using the reward factor.

• Reading was enhanced and taken to the next level, as I'll tell them they'll do presentations the next day and that they need to read a particular topic. Whichever group wins will get a huge prize. Their reading was enhanced.

Concentration in class became positive, and no one disturbed the class till I left the school.

• Most of them began making inquiries about their future careers as I made some sense to them aside from academics.

At the end of my program, I did a charity work by rewarding 50 students who passed my test well. The dull ones, as I assumed, made their way to the top 50. I never knew that people needed a little bit of motivation to get a sense of realization. The impact was so impactful.

The reward factor strategy I used was quite helpful as it changed the formula once created by the school and her teachers to a different formula, where students found their interest in education.

They believed that whatever you work hard for, you'll always have a fruitful end, and that's what I taught them using this reward factor. You'll always be rewarded for excellence. All you have to do is do your best. So in terms of strength, it brought people out, facilitated reading and active participation, etc.

In terms of weaknesses, some of them may stop doing the needful if that reward incentive is not available. They are just reading and participating in class because of the reward attached. These are the weaknesses, though it's very effective.

In conclusion, when teaching, you need to use fun teaching strategies to enhance the learning of the students you're teaching. Nobody loves a dry class or a class that's boring. Integrating this will help you bring out the individual in a person. I invite @ruthjoe, @soulfuldreamer and @whizzbro4eva.

All pictures are mine