Title: Teaching Content Outrageously Instruction in the Era of on-Demand Entertainment
Abstract: What do you do when students are bored? How do you explain content that seems too abstract for most students to understand? could rely on the old standby: You need to learn it because it's on the test. could make the lesson and tell students, You'll understand why this is important when you're older. But the best solution is to convert those lessons into learning experiences that are so fascinating that students cannot help but be drawn into them and hang onto every word and gesture. That is, you can teach the same content outrageously. Outrageous Instruction links teaching specific objectives to students' sense of imagination and how they view the world. The techniques of Outrageous Instruction make it possible to draw all students deeply into any content. These techniques work on even the oldest and most jaded students who are the most resistant to learning, particularly learning that requires thought and active participation. These techniques evolved from my work with teachers in the Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) and Supermath programs (Pogrow 1990, 2004, 2005). These programs used imaginative alternative contexts for teaching content and for developing both basic and problem-solving skills. In Outrageous Instruction, the teacher uses a dramatic, humorous, and suspenseful storyline to create an imaginary context in which the need for the content objective is critical to solving a problem of interest to students. When the storyline taps into students' sense of imagination and self, it is then Creatively Authentic. The creatively authentic lesson or unit then becomes the primary method for teaching that content objective. This is a departure from traditional uses of dramatic techniques in education, which tend to focus on self-expression for its own sake, for learning about theater, or for the reinforcement or enrichment of content already learned. The best way to understand Outrageous Instruction is to observe a lesson. Meet Dwight. Dwight's Outrageous Lesson I had observed Dwight's high school sophomore class several times. It was a difficult class to teach because the majority did not like to participate and some delighted in being unruly. Most students looked bored, a group I came to think of as loungers. Whenever Dwight tried to teach new content, 15 minutes were lost to student groans, excuses, requests for pencils, requests to go to the bathroom, and so on. Sound familiar? Dwight was getting frustrated with teaching this class, but he agreed to develop an outrageous lesson and use it to teach a critical learning objective. The lesson begins. When the students finally are settled, a supervisor announces that Dwight is home sick, but there will be a special guest who will make them an exciting offer. Dwight then comes in disguised with a huge, bushy, white beard and an Amish-style black hat. He is dressed in overalls and carries a real tree stump. He emphatically puts the tree stump on the floor and announces in a booming voice: I am a master salesman and have heard that all of you in this room have wonderful social skills and would make great salespeople. I am here as part of a national search to find the next generation of salespeople to sell a new, exciting line of products, the next great product, a complete line of stumps! By now, the students have recognized Dwight and are starting to titter a bit, though they are also curious. Dwight continues: I see that you are skeptical about the importance and sales potential of stumps. Well, let me tell you all the things that you can do with stumps, and I am sure that in five minutes you are all going to want to know how to find out where you can buy one. Dwight then talks like a TV car salesman for five minutes. He gives a confident, nonstop monologue about all the benefits of having a stump. …
Publication Year: 2009
Publication Date: 2009-01-01
Language: en
Type: article
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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Cited By Count: 3
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