Let's Get Contagious!

Last week's presentation was super fun and interactive! I wanted to share a little more about my experience making lessons memorable.

Week 7’s Key seminar on making learning experiences memorable, #makeitSTICKY, was truly insightful. As a former Intermediate/Senior student, I know how hard it can be to engage students at this age, and even getting them to remember a lesson beyond a week is a big feat. At that age, I remember my biggest worry was fitting in and being a perfectionist, so I wasn’t really learning to learn; I only cared about getting a 90% or higher. If someone asked me what I learned in high school, I wouldn’t even know where to start. 

However, two classes were the exception: Grade 10 History and Grade 12 English. Both classes included one or more of the 6 strategies listed in the Key presentation. In History, my teacher didn't teach in a typical lecture format; she shared many personal anecdotes and included interactive activities. I remember, in particular, that she had us play a group game about the “Roaring Twenties,” where we picked stocks and invested, but when the Depression hit, almost everyone ended up bankrupt except a lucky few. And this really showed us how shocking it was for people at the time. Moreover, this activity added an emotional element and let students reflect on people’s perspectives of the time.

As for my English class, my teacher made sure her lessons were relevant to students going into university in the next few months. She taught us how to annotate and engage in tutorials, which really came down to helping students participate, since participation usually makes up about 20% of a university student’s grade. The tutorials made me feel more prepared to speak in front of strangers because I was already used to the practice, and they made the situation much less stressful. 

When I go into teaching, I hope I can make it #STICKY and help my students remember my lessons by making them relevant and valuable. To do so, I’ll make use of the 6 principles. I also really like integrating physical artifacts to engage students' interest and give them a more tangible, concrete example. 

Well, thank you for listening to my little speech; hopefully you got something out of it, and it was contagious lol ;).

~Please stay tuned for all my other future deliberations!

Iona McCorquodale