Imagine this: It's a Monday morning. Your teacher walks into the classroom and makes an apology. It occurred to him that he hasn't played any music during English class for the past two weeks. He's sorry and wants to make it up to you. So, he instructs, "just kick back and listen." He plays a catchy tune, and then plays it again, asking you to pay close attention to the lyrics. You—and all your classmates—concentrate. Once the song ends, your teacher announces that the class is now ready to begin a unit on poetry. He smiles at the expected groans but then instructs you to turn to a page in your textbook. There you find the lyrics to the song you just heard.
"And you're hooked," declared Lloyd Campbell, who likes to use this scenario when illustrating how superior teachers will use novelty to engage students in content.
There are many other instructional strategies teachers can use to pep up their lessons and enliven learning, noted Campbell, a professor at the University of North Texas. In addition to novelty, he suggested that teachers should strive to establish colorful and vivid classrooms, create respectful learning environments that are filled with laughter, and design lessons that draw on students' life experiences.
Campbell, who has been teaching for nearly 40 years, also asked teachers to reconsider rewards. "Rewards can be dangerous," he conceded, because they can actually quash student motivation. "If a student finds joy and satisfaction in the activity, then the reward is built in," he said.
Still, spontaneous rewards can help set an appropriate tone in the classroom, Campbell asserted. "You don't have to have the pizza party," he pointed out, but "spontaneous rewards—used only after the class has achieved something—are positive and unexpected," and give teachers a great way to thank students for their hard work.