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By Cindy Reitzi
When I first began teaching, I didn’t really see myself doing “improv.” But after 17 odd years, my ability to “improv-teach,” which may seem like a contradiction in terms, is now second nature to me. After all, aren’t you supposed to have a plan if you teach? In my case, it’s definitively … yes and no since I sometimes have to learn something on the spot or a few minutes before class and then teach it, Cindy-style. I’ve learned that the art (and not the mechanics) of teaching is often in the how and why, (not necessarily the who, what, where); it is the creative ability to juxtapose contexts. Like using a little phy ed to teach a little science to teach ESL (English as a second language).
Now, anyone who’s subbed phy ed knows that certain athletic objects exert powerful attraction, like magnets. Hold up a basketball or soccer ball and heads snap up, arms reach out, pleading ensues, “Can I?...pleeease…!” (Badminton equipment, in contrast, holds no such power.) Basketballs magnetically draw players to bounce, while soccer balls attract players to kick, especially when you want students to line up for attendance. (Always, always have a whistle for phy ed.)
Once when subbing ESL science, I received a handout on Newton’s Laws of Motion, three physical laws that show the relationships between a force acting on an object and the motion of the object.
I essentially encountered this:
Law 1: An object at rest will remain at rest unless acted on by an unbalanced force. An object in motion continues in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force.
Law 2: Acceleration is produced when a force acts on a mass. The greater the mass (of the object being accelerated) the greater the amount of force needed (to accelerate the object).
Law 3: For every action there is an equal and opposite re-action.
Not bad for scientific verbiage, even if you’re not a science teacher. But clearly this was not adapted for ESL. How to explain Newton without inducing the laws of paralytic glaze or “why-bother” frustration? Time for a little improv.
First, I translated it for myself.
Law 1: If an object’s resting, it won’t move unless some force moves it. An object moving (let’s say, on a flat surface) will move in the same direction, the same speed unless something stops it or diverts it into another direction. Not sure what an “unbalanced force” is.
Law 2: Force causes an object to accelerate. (Hmm ... not on a flat surface; would a ramp add extra force plus acceleration?) The heavier the object, the more force you’re going to need to move it and keep it accelerating.
Law 3: That seemed pretty straightforward.
Now, putting all the contexts together, I applied “Reitzi’s Law of Attraction” (context 1) to Newton’s Laws of Motion (context 2) to an English as a second language science class (context 3). When I held up a soccer ball for a demonstration, I grabbed the attention of the soccer fans/ players, the sport of choice among many ESL students. Besides, Newton needed visuals. I asked for a volunteer. Hands shot up.
For Law 1, I put the ball on the floor; students could see it was resting. I gently kicked it to my volunteer and explained it would keep moving unless something stopped it. Unfortunately, Reitzi’s Law of Attraction kicked in – he kicked it back.
“Good one! You play soccer?” He smiled. “But I think that’s Law 3,” I joked. We tried it again and this time he just stopped the ball. I checked for understanding and got nods; more advanced students translated to beginners.
With Law 2, I tackled each concept separately. First, I explained how the ball would accelerate (or “go faster and faster”) if there was a ramp or hill, not a flat surface. Nods. Made sense. More translations.
For the concept of mass, I compared a soccer ball to a bowling ball since they’re about the same size but differ in weight. I showed how easy it was to move the soccer ball because it was light. Then, I pantomimed how much harder you had to heave a bowling ball to move it because it was much heavier.
In case some students weren’t familiar with bowling balls, I decided to employ more volunteers. I chose a slight girl and pantomimed moving her by pushing gently; I chose a larger male and pantomimed huffing and puffing to move him, to laughs.
The hour ended before we got to Law 3 but students left smiling and relaxed; maybe Newton was making sense.
Not bad… for a half hour of prep and lots of improv.
Posted April 9, 2008