Introduction.
What is happening to education in your country? Why are some countries experiencing decline in the state of education in the country? Why is there a disconnection between what people know and how they live?
What is Edutainment?
Edutainment is the term used to describe imaginative approaches teachers use to make learning more interesting, engaging, exciting and effective. It is the packing of educational content using the tools(method or technique) that engages a learners interest and retain his attention until he is able to recall, express and live what he or she has learnt.
The dictionary meaning of Edutainment is "a form of programming that provides both education and entertainment"
Edutainment requires the learner's own mental involvement and some form of physical expression. Thus the teaching methods it employs and promote are designed to;
1. Increase learning participation.
2. Enliven learning.
3. Deepen retention.
4. Encourage application.
Things that can affect Edutainment.
Here is my own logical way of describing them. It is termed; "Seven C's that can affect Edutainment".
1. Cooperation:
Cooperative learning activities are very crucial for Edutainment. Placing participants in teams and giving them tasks in which they depend on each other to complete the work is a wonderful way to capitalize on their social needs. They tend to become more engaged in learning because they are doing it with their peers.
2. Challenge:
There are two rules every teacher should follow: ◾Never tell students what you can show them! ◾Never tell students what you can ask them! Edutainment challenges the learners to think. Encourage your learners to exercise their mind. Let them intercept text and diagrams.
3. Content:
Edutainment links the teaching process to the content. If the teacher is not using emotionally friendly activities to convey a subject or transfer a skill, he or she is merely entertaining and not educating the learners. Edutainment is not the act of keeping learners busy, it is the systematic approach to making sure they assimilate what they are being thought.
4. Conversation:
Edutainment seeks to promote multiple dimensional interactions. It encourages interactions with content, context, other learners and facilitators. This concept of teaching believes that, the more involved a student is in the study process, the more he will learn. Maximum involvement result, maximum learning.
5. Context.
Edutainment believes that the teaching that transforms requires an inviting and exciting place of laerning not necessarily expensive classroom environment. Student needs a space for uninhabited sharing of ideas and quiet space for contemplation. The teachers needs to create a classroom climate where students feel mistakes are acceptable and risk taking is encouraged. Appropriate noise and autonomy should be accepted.
6. Connect:
It is often valuable to have a 'debrieifing' session after learning/ training activities to connect what the participant experienced to the concepts you want to get across. The connect session is the clarification and application aspects the teaching and learning process. It is the peak of the whole process, so it should be hurriedly handled.
7. Character:
The character of the teacher will tremendously affect the entire concept of Edutainment. The teacher who will be used as a vessel of transforming the lives of others will need to be an exemplary person. He must manage his or her ego, because Edutainment increases the the visibility of learners. He must listen more and patiently observe the learners. He must be creative and hardworking.
I hope this was a helpful piece of information for someone out there.
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