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Humanising Language Teaching
Year 5; Issue 1; January 03
Drawing out the shape of a good lesson
Elisabeth Adams, University of Jaen, Spain
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This deceptively simple little activity initially evolved by chance, as many of the best things do, in a pre-service teacher training course on classroom management. We were considering some of the factors that make for a good or a bad lesson, seen from the perspective of the learners. I asked students to try to represent visually what shape a good lesson might have. A little hiatus of surprised silence descended on the class. At first it seemed this might be a sign of total disbelief at what I had asked them to do, but then one by one students picked up pencils and put them to paper.
The results were fascinating, as I had never asked anyone to do this before I had no preconceived ideas as to what might emerge. Once started, they warmed to the idea. As with any group of people responses vary, both in their ability to conceptualise the task, their willingness to take on board the idea and play around with it and their confidence in committing their “image” to paper. In any group of people confidence in their ability to draw will vary considerably, but students should be told that drawing skills are not necessary, they only need to make marks on paper and anyone can do that. The mark-making character of the activity needs to be emphasised, and by focussing on the concept of the shape of the lesson we can maybe discourage students trying to come up with a representative drawing.
I could try to describe some of the results my students produced in words, but it may be more interesting to see what your students come up with, without preconceived ideas. While my students produced an amazing variety of ways of conceptualising a good lesson, they very often represented a bad lesson by a straight line, which they all agreed signified a state of non-activity in the mind and body, or at least the non- presence of the mind in the classroom.
Some thoughts triggered by the activity:
If you have never asked students to draw something in a class where language is the normal means of communicating ideas, and indeed where language is the subject of study, students may at first may consider it a rather strange activity. However if you have the confidence to try it and treat it as something of an experiment, a bit of fun, albeit with some serious feedback, they may well latch onto it. In classes where I have used this technique, I have found that “drawing” then often becomes incorporated in subtle ways into their work. One example is that students feel more liberated to include visual elements in their journals to illustrate or support a written observation. Another is that in end of term presentations many more students intuitively opt for and enjoy the possibility of visual presentations of their chosen topic.
Such activities perhaps suit those who are more visually oriented, but the challenge of finding a form for their ideas is one that most can rise to. By encouraging students to try and respond as intuitively as possible, trying to get a real feel of the concept first, before worrying about the words, we access less conscious ways of responding and allow students to dip into ways of thinking that may not yet have been fixed by the labels that words put on things. They also help to bypass the ever present monitor that decides what we are able or not to express clearly either in our own language or in the foreign language (and which all too often decides that we don't have the words and thus we remain silent). While the images could stand by themselves, we would be missing out on a lot if we let it stop there. They are, of course, a rich source of feedback for teachers. Do our lessons coincide with students' expectations? Have we ever thought of a lesson as having a particular form or shape? Does it help us to see what characteristic shape our lessons usually have? Do we always use the same pattern or do we consciously try to experiment with different shapes? Perhaps we could try to use some of their drawings as a framework to plan lessons around.
A lot of language can be generated from such a simple activity. Students can try to put their concepts into words, or others may try to interpret them. They could be put up on the walls and create an opportunity to circulate and discuss the results This is a good opportunity for feeding in the necessary vocabulary and for practising the language of speculation, to give just one example.
Although teacher training courses may provide the best climate for this activity, don't rule it out in other teaching contexts. If you are interested in finding out what kind of lesson pattern students view as a “good” one, which keeps their interest and motivates them, then this will give you some insights, which you may like to experiment with and incorporate into your teaching.
In a similar vein, but where you get students to encapsulate their ideas in linguistic form, invite them to think of metaphors for a good lesson. You might give them the stem sentence “A good lesson is like…” Sometimes it's helpful to give one or two examples to set their minds working, here are a couple which students of mine on a pre- service teacher training course came up with:
A good lesson is like an ice cream because it is attractive to the eyes, and when we finish it, we have a good taste in our mouth.
A good lesson is like a medieval battle, in which the learner has a subject to conquer. It is a hard task, which cannot be performed in a single try, but in subsequent ones. A hard task, but really attractive at the same time. You conquer little territories day by day. And eventually you get to make it yours and feel really proud of yourself.
Be flexible and prepared to act on your intuitions and inspirations in the classroom. If ideas come, cash in on them. You and the students may be pleasantly surprised by the results. Sometimes if we do nothing with them they disappear forever. Rather like Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote:
“Look sharply after your thoughts, They come unlooked for, like a new bird seen in your trees, and, if you turn to your usual task, disappear”.
Elizabeth Adams. University of Jaen, Spain
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