Education Just Got Fun! 10 Amazing Tips To Make Learning Enjoyable For Your Students

Education just got fun!

That is not a phrase I thought I would ever hear, but do you know that teaching has grown wings and gone beyond stressing on how to make your students enjoy class?

This is the revolution that Education has been clamouring for. Gone are the days of sleep-inducing lectures and a mountain top of static textbooks and handouts. The game has been switched up and the new rule reads: “the learning you dispense must be fun-filled or you try another profession”.

It has been approved, so, as a teacher, you are no longer a custodian and dispenser of knowledge but a Chief enjoyment officer, tasked with infusing fun into the learning experience of your students.

So sit tight, fasten your seatbelt, because we are going on a joy ride of levelling up your teaching with our top 10 secrets.

Note: They are all tested and trusted👌

Fun Ways to Spice up your Teaching

1. Change your Teaching Methods

Have you considered teaching that formula with a song? Cool, yeah? Why use only the “lecture method”, when there are so many other teaching styles that can make your class interactive?

Shake up your teaching methods today by using styles that will engage them. Check out the various interesting teaching styles and incorporate them today.

2. Rewards Over Punishment

There was a time my lecturer promised to give out 1000 naira to anyone who answered his question and right before my eyes, he gave the money to the lady who answered the question correctly. After that day, I desired to win some money too and in order to achieve that, I’d always read before attending any of his lectures.

If you are the type who believes punishment is the only way to motivate your students, then you are not yet a teacher. Reward brilliance and watch how it will encourage good behaviour in other students. Give out gifts and watch them thrive to be better than before.

3. Make Storytelling your Friend

Storytelling goes beyond telling stories to entertain your students. It involves intertwining different stories to make your lessons unforgettable. Trust me, your students will love you for that!

If you want to teach on boring topics, even if it is mathematics, you can incorporate both fiction or true life stories into it. Storytime rocks!

4. Home Away from Home

How can you pass knowledge in an unsettled environment and expect it to stick? Why do you think students are always happy to run home after hearing the closing bell? Every student loves to learn in a warm and friendly atmosphere, so create one whenever you are in the classroom.

To answer the question of ‘how can I create a homely environment for my students while in class?’ There are various ways to achieve that and some of them are:

By making the space comfortable and inviting, by rearranging their seats to encourage collaboration, you can also add decorations like plants, soft lighting, flowers and many other things.

Create a cosy corner for reading and relaxation. You can also showcase the students’ artworks, photos, and writings to make the space feel more personalised and inclusive.

By doing this, you are creating a warm and supportive environment that fosters a sense of community and belonging, which will also make your students feel at home.

5. More Practicals, Less Theories

Practicals can be another way to sit knowledge down the throat of your students, as this time around, they get to see how what you’re teaching them comes into place. They get to gain more clarity about it as pictures are being spoken into their minds.

An educational proverb says “what I hear and I forget, I see and I remember, I do and I understand”, This tells you that the power of practicals (demonstrated actions) should not be underestimated.

Okay, between a teacher that explains how to dance and a teacher that actually performs it step by step, which would stick the most? More practicals, less theories!

6. Become a Student for a Day

Don’t be a boring and possessive teacher that always wants to be in charge. Switch things up sometimes by walking a mile in their shoes. You can achieve this by either grouping them or making it an individual job. You can also carry it out by asking them to either teach a new topic or pick from the ones you’ve taught them already.

By doing this, you get to know about the following;

If you’ve been passing knowledge and if they’ve been taking it all these time.

You also get to know if they’re actually prepared for their upcoming test or examination.

Lastly, you get to also learn from a different perspective. C’mon, we learn every day, right?

7. How About a Field Trip?

A field trip is that moment you decide to take your students on an adventure that will aid your teaching as well.

Imagine a lecturer teaching about the ‘parliament’ and the students have never experienced what it looks like. Then the teacher decides to take the whole class on a field trip to Abuja. Try a field trip today and your students will never forget it.

8. Are your Instructional Materials Trendy?

It’s very sad that we still have teachers with lesson notes that were written far back to when I won’t mention, it is also very disappointing that the teaching materials that are being used to aid knowledge are very outdated. Imagine a teacher still using needles and thread to explain sewing, when we have numerous sewing machines.

This is laziness on the part of that teacher and also needs to be stopped. Dear Custodians of knowledge!!! “Please, your instructional material is your toolbox, try to update them to the latest trend.

Research as regards your field, go all out of your normal way of doing things, embrace technology, incorporate new trends into the teaching system and watch how learning will become fun-filled.”

9. Give Tasks Outside their Comfort Zone

I am so grateful to some of my previous teachers for something and that thing is the fact that, sometimes they throw us off the bus. They do this by giving us different tasks that will require us to think outside the box, in the form of assignments, presentations, projects, tests or even examinations.

It’s very funny how we didn’t like it then, but it also shaped us to become what we are today. It also helped us to be on our toes every now and then as regards those courses.

So, if you decide to do the same by pushing your students beyond their comfort zone, then be ready to watch them grow and surprise themselves.

10. What is Gamification?

In case you’ve not heard the word ‘gamification’ before, it is when learning processes are turned into a game and then the students are allowed to battle with one another, while they earn credits or discredits.

Gamification is the new trend in education and some of the types that have been incorporated into the Nigerian system include debates, quizzes and the likes.

There is still a need for other types of gamification to be included too. Some of them include:

Points and scoring systems.
Badges and achievements.
Leaderboards and rankings.
Challenges and quests.
Rewards and incentives.
Progress tracking and feedback.

Some of the benefits of these things, when incorporated, are:

Increased engagement and motivation.
Improved understanding and retention.
Enhanced collaboration and teamwork.
Personalised learning and feedback.

Conclusion

Now that you know these things, what are you waiting for? Start incorporating them into your teachings and watch your students come back for more.

Aside from the fact that Education becomes fun to do after making use of all these tips, you also get to join the train of trendy teachers.

Through you, more impact will be made, the Educational system will also be elevated and lastly, parents generally, become more proud of what has been deposited into their children. Most importantly, the students are given the opportunity to become the best versions of themselves.