I have just started another PIDP course and the instructor posted this YouTube video in the online discussion forum. It was interesting that some thought that the students in the math class from the video did not learn anything and that it was a waste of time to use this technique in the classroom.
While the instructor in the video might be perceived as a buffoon for some learners, I beg to differ especially having spent most of my education learning about numbers and formulas.
I must admit that on the first day when I step into the class, if the instructor is boring, I would have to dig very deep to motivate myself knowing that I have to sit through 3 months listening to boring scientific formulas and financial jargons.
According to Provitera-McGlynn (Barkley, 2010), ” “Most students come to the first class feeling some level of anxiety, and studies show that two of their greatest concerns are whether they will like the teacher and how well they will get along with their fellow students. The first days of the academic term set the tone for the remaining weeks of the semester, so it is essential that teachers make efforts to foster a sense of community right from the very start”.
If I were a student in this math class, did I learn anything about the subject matter? None. Or maybe a tad if I try to stretch my imagination a bit, i.e. where the instructor made himself disappeared to convey the message of “imaginary” numbers.
Even though the students did not gain any valuable knowledge on the subject matter, the instructor’s actions in the video suggests that he might be a fun-loving, approachable instructor. Because of his personality, I would be more likely to warm up to him and not be afraid to ask him stupid questions in the future. In some ways, his silly actions removed my fear or anxiety from day one in the class.
In this particular instance, the instructor not only put the students at ease, he also connected with the students through humour. I think the instructor was trying to get students to be interested in learning a dull subject such as math and therefore used humour to get their attention. In short, he achieved his objective as most students applauded at the end of the video lesson.
Instead of using humour to promote a sense of learning community in the class, there are other icebreaker activities, some of which focus on the students’ personal information while others are centred on the subject matter.
It has been almost 30 years. To this date, I still remember this event vividly. The finance professor at the university I attended would always start the class with some learning activities that were not only creative, but relevant and current. In one of the classes, he brought in the Wall Street Journal where the words “stock market crashed” were flashed across the front page of the paper. He went on telling us that one of his college schoolmate’s brother committed suicide as a result of the collapse in the financial market.
Financial investment is all about the trade-off between risk and return. The incident struck an accord with all the students at that time. Most of us would be graduating from college soon and would be stepping into the real world of business. It certainly had a profound impact on all students as it made us realize that our professional conduct in the financial market place would have a major impact on the everyday lives of ordinary people.
Whether it is humour, storytelling or any other social and course content related ice-breaker activities, when used appropriately, “teacher-student interaction affects not only the classroom atmosphere but also individual student’s learning, self-esteem, satisfaction, career choices….”, according to Sandler, Silverberg and Hall (1992).
After watching this video, what do you think of it?
References
April Fools 2011: Complex Numbers in Math Class. (2011, March 31). Retrieved from YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aP4fWMLofvo
Barkley, E. F. (2010). Student Engagement Techniques - A Handbook for College Faculty. San
Francisco: Jossey-Bass.