subject: Christine Gillions: 'Remember To Put FUN Into Every Teaching/Learning Opportunity' [print this page] Christine Gillions: 'Remember To Put FUN Into Every Teaching/Learning Opportunity'
Christine Gillions says:
'Fun' is a key ingredient in the recipe for successful teaching/learning. If a student does not enjoy the learning opportunity then they are unlikely to gain the desired outcomes. All students require fun/enjoyment in the learning process, regardless of their age or level of previous academic achievements.
I was reminded of this important fact several years ago. At the time I was a university lecturer working with some visiting international educators who wanted to learn more about our education system, along with improving their English. As the program progressed I felt that everything was going well. That is, until one of the visiting educators, a Korean professor, took me aside and asked if I had once been a primary school teacher. My immediate reaction to her question was a flutter of inner concern, because I had once been a primary school teacher and now I was wondering if I had slipped back into that mode and had been treating these important adults like children. However when I confirmed to this professor that I had taught in primary schools and then quickly asked her if I had been teaching down to my well-educated adult students, this professor laughed and assured me that her question had been one of compliment, not complaint. She then went to explain that she had an impressive academic resume, but that until she had been in my program she had not had so much fun and enjoyment in an educational setting since she had been a young primary school student. This professor then thanked me for remembering to include in my planning and delivery of a course to highly qualified academics, the often overlooked important teaching/learning ingredient.FUN!
