Blog Post Assignment #7

Randy Pausch’s Last Lecture

I really enjoyed Dr. Randy Pausch’s Last Lecture. He advocated many wonderful teaching methods.  The first is to realize that all children have dreams.  If we key in on those dreams and use them to motivate the learning process the children will pretty much teach their selves.

 Another applicable topic was, “Are you a Tigger or an Eeyore?” It’s easier for a student to pay attention and want to learn when they are excited about a topic. Effective teachers create and foster that excitement by being a “Tigger” and not an “Eeyore”. Unusual and off the wall teaching methods can aid in maintaining attention and creating a focused effort.  This also goes with what he said about, “have fun, make it fun”. Whenever possible, learning by doing and combining some fun will result in effective learning.

Dr. Randy Pausch said, “Most of what we learn, we learn indirectly (or by “head fake”).” I can relate to this because I have probably learned more about the development of children from babysitting and my job rather than what I have learned from the courses I have taken. Or to put it into military terms, a flanking maneuver can be more effective than a frontal assault. If we give the children the tools to find the answers, they will often ask the questions.  As several of the blogs we have viewed have demonstrated, students can amaze us with their abilities of doing something hard and still yet having fun in the process.

A lot of the lecture was philosophical in nature, but is highly relevant to our classrooms.  “Never give up”, “never lose the childlike wonder”, and “the best gift an educator can give is to make someone self reflective” are all core goals and beliefs that we should carry with us in our work.  If we can use any or all of these techniques and philosophies to impart a desire for learning, then Dr. Pausch’s legacy will live on.