The Keys to an Effective Education

While there is no magic formula, the foundational elements of a great education have certain things in common. It all starts with a student-centered approach to learning that will likely challenge the traditional teaching methods employed in American education for two centuries. Three major elements typify what is needed in order for students to achieve their full potential. While there may be some debate over the specifics of how to achieve these three elements, the focus must always be on how to do so. In the final analysis, the core curriculum must be challenging, relevant and interactive.

Challenging

An educational approach that a student considers boring will not hold his or her interest. Schools have faced that simple truth since the beginning of time. However, in today's educational environment, an engaging curriculum is simply more difficult to achieve. Teachers are competing with the fast-paced world of video games, computers and television, where the visual and auditory stimulus changes, on average, less than every 20 seconds. When a teacher gives a long lecture, given what students are accustomed to, their ability to pay attention is diminished (Johnstone & Percival, 1976, p. 49).

One of the best ways to keep a student's interest is to make sure the mind stays actively engaged in the subject matter. This is accomplished, in part, by making the field of study challenging. Writing for KidSource Online, Beverly Parke notes, "students must be involved in educational experiences that are challenging and appropriate to their needs and achievement levels." While she was referring specifically to gifted students, the same principle applies equally as well to all students.

Relevant

For many students, the biggest complaint they have about school is that they "are never going to use this stuff." While, as adults, we can laugh about such statements, the mindset that produces such a comment is no laughing matter. Simply put, if students feel they will never use what they are being required to learn, they never will learn it. Yes, they may hold it in their short-term memories long enough to regurgitate it on a test, but then it will be long gone. The statement is actually a self-fulfilling prophecy. In short, if students do not think they will use a concept, they truly never will.

Making the relevance of the material plainly apparent to students may not be as easy as one thinks. Perhaps the most effective way to do so involves the implementation of an interdisciplinary curriculum that seeks to use concepts in more than one subject matter. For example, principles in mathematics have relevance in science, art and music and vice versa. If mathematical principles are reinforced in these other subject matters and these other subject matters are reinforced in math, the material becomes more relevant. Grammar and other English studies are relevant for study of other foreign languages. The more concepts are reintroduced over a broad spectrum of curriculum, the greater the reinforcement and value in the eyes of the student.

Implementing an interdisciplinary model takes a substantial amount of communication and planning. It challenges the way students are traditionally grouped. To illustrate, students with an aptitude for science may be placed in a math class that uses more science examples in the curriculum. In some cases or on some days, the classes may be a joint venture between the math and science teachers, where math and science concepts are reinforced simultaneously. Such concepts are revolutionary, but they are also extremely effective.

Interactive

As stated previously, long lectures tend to lose the majority of students very quickly. Indeed, in many cases, it takes a very effective public speaker to hold an audience's attention longer than 30 minutes. While teachers are usually very capable of speaking to a group, they often lack the attention, humor and freshness of professional motivational speakers. This automatically puts students at a disadvantage.

The most effective classroom teachers are those who encourage their students to participate. Classroom discussions and debates, based on the curriculum, can be a very effective way of getting ideas across, provided the teacher takes an active role in guiding and reminding the students to keep in mind previously taught principles, facts and situations. Small groups nearly force a student to become engaged, as they are with a group of their peers who will demand it. Otherwise, the work for the others becomes an even heavier burden. Curriculum based activities, labs and games also keep students active in learning.

No matter what strategy is implemented, the goal of every classroom instructor is the same. Students should walk away with a better understanding of the subject matter at the end of the semester or school year. All students will have a different level of understanding, but all should show progress. If these three keys to effective curriculum management are implemented, the growth of the group, as a whole, will be much greater.

Works Cited:

Johnstone, A.H., & Percival, F. (1976). Attention breaks in lectures. Education in Chemistry, 13(2).