I have two that I use, one I planned and the other was spontaneous. I was
talking about aggressive behavior and demonstrated the offensive and
defensive behaviors of various animals including the hamster and the dog.
One of my students asked if I could "do" any other animals. I had a sudden
inspiration, threw myself over the lecturn and clasped it with my arms and
legs and said "abalone" (much funnier in California) I was laughing so hard
I had trouble continuing. Now I use it frequently. The other is somewhat
mundane, but it gets a good response. I talk about curare as blocking the
nicotinic cholinergic neuromuscular receptor and it results in total muscle
paralysis. As I talk about it I mime getting hit in the rear end with a
curare filled cart and then begin to collapse and end up lying on the table
on my back as I slowly stop talking and breathing.
>From: "Hatcher, Joe" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>To: "'[EMAIL PROTECTED]'" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>Subject: vivid teaching moments...
>Date: Thu, 26 Oct 2000 12:06:46 -0500
>
>Hi fellow seekers,
> I have a potentially odd question for the list. I had a professor
>once who, during a course that required a project as well as class work,
>was
>concerned that members of the class were falling behind and wouldn't get
>things done. He climbed up on the desk, balanced on one end with his arms
>flailing, and told us that many people planned their work this way, so that
>one push from sickness or personal problems or anything else would push
>them
>over the edge. He suggested that many of us were so accustomed to living
>on
>the edge that we didn't perceive ourselves as living that way, and that a
>better way was to live closer to the middle of the desk, scheduling your
>work so that you had time to absorb the problems life might throw your way
>without failing to get your work done.
> The picture of him teetering on the desk is unforgettable to me, and
>I think I learned something from this that would not have been accomplished
>by mere words. I've also found that I often try visual demonstrations to
>make points in class, sometimes when reaching for another way to explain a
>concept in research design and statistics or some other course.
> What I'm asking is for other examples of "found" teaching techniques
>or ways of illustrating a particular point, methods that may not rate a
>Teaching of Psychology article, but which someone has found useful
>nonetheless.
>
>Hope that makes sense,
>
>Joe Hatcher
>Ripon College
>Ripon, Wi
>[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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