STUDENTS AND THEIR PRIORITIES

Hi everyone,

In urban slum part of Lagos, Nigeria, almost all teachers have the same problem which is the problem of retention in the students. Teach they anything today, they cannot reproduce it tomorrow on demand no matter how simple it is. However, ask the same set of students to reproduce the two sides of the latest album of any pop artiste, they will do it better than you expect. This is seriously affecting teaching and learning in schools. Teachers feel bad when such students fail examinations but take trophies and cash awards in songs and choreographic displays.

Please advise teachers on what to do to stimulate students' interest in learning.

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Permalink Reply by Kathy on April 15, 2018 at 22:13

Hello Oladokun Hakeem Kehinde,

I think that learner retention can be challenging for a lot of teachers. Sometimes it's a matter of reflecting on how your lessons are being taught and whether or not your approach to teaching meets the needs of the students. Some questions you might ask include: What types of activities do you usually use to teach each subject? Are students engaged or involved in the learning process? Do you change your style of teaching for different subjects and/or different students? In general,I find that students are more motivated to learn and are more likely to retain information if they are interested in or can relate/connect to what is being taught. If your students respond well to music (audio) and dance (physical activity), I'm wondering if there is a way for you to incorporate this into the way that you present your teaching materials or perhaps encouraging students to make suggestions on how they would like to be taught so that they are more involved in their learning.

Kathy