Avoid Boredom in Your Classroom With Creative Tools

The article initially appeared here

This morning when my dad gave me a ride to work (it was pouring outside), we had some chit chat while waiting in traffic. He was telling me about the start of the new university year and about the fact that he didn’t prepare anything for his courses with the students. I told him “Well, you still have some time left to put something nice together”. “Yep, or I could just go on with what I’ve taught until now, like many of my colleagues do”, he replied a little sarcastically. (My dad is a university teacher and has been putting his role into practice for more than 25 years.)

Sounds familiar? Whether you’re involved in the education sector as a teacher or not, we’ve all been there once, facing the routine, at least while being a student. I don’t know about you, but I’ve had several teachers during my Bachelor, who just came to class and talked about the same things over and over again, using the same old-fashioned dictation or slide projection. We all kept looking at the clock, hoping for that hour to pass, but sometimes it seemed like the time got stuck. They were bored, we were bored. Am I remembering those teachers now for providing me a unique perspective on their subject? Or for infusing me a thirst for their knowledge? Nope, I sure don’t.

Falling into a teaching routine that threatens to turn into boredom? Runasfastasyoucan!

The danger of sliding into an unproductive teaching routine shouldn’t be a new disclosure. Yet we bump into it from time to time, right? And it seems like no one can benefit of it, neither teachers, nor students. By falling into routine, teachers will lose their appetite for sharing their knowledge and their former passion for doing so will fade in time. As students generally have a well-developed criticism, they can sense boredom easily. And we all know it’s quite challenging to keep a student’s attention awake. Thus, I think we can all conclude that we have to keep/to bring back that spark in everybody’s eyes when talking about a school subject. (...) Read more