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31. "Surprise" me; surprise yourself.
Novelty and happy surprise are very emotional for the body. Not only will positive surprise keep students awake in class, it will help foster alignment and naturally make the lesson more memorable (Wang et al., 2005). Small changes to the regular schedule can be enough to keep students on their toes, but medium surprises such as changing seating patterns and big surprises such as guest speakers or sudden field trips can promote attentive focus and foster lasting impressions (Raz & Buhle, 2006). Give opportunities to students to surprise the teacher as well. As in the maxim above, it helps deliver students and teachers from potential ruts and fosters a more positive social atmosphere. Looking for serendipity while teaching is perhaps the best way to sum up this maxim.
Q. Consider the current unit of study in one of your classrooms. What surprises can you embed into it?
Novelty and happy surprise are very emotional for the body. Not only will positive surprise keep students awake in class, it will help foster alignment and naturally make the lesson more memorable (Wang et al., 2005). Small changes to the regular schedule can be enough to keep students on their toes, but medium surprises such as changing seating patterns and big surprises such as guest speakers or sudden field trips can promote attentive focus and foster lasting impressions (Raz & Buhle, 2006). Give opportunities to students to surprise the teacher as well. As in the maxim above, it helps deliver students and teachers from potential ruts and fosters a more positive social atmosphere. Looking for serendipity while teaching is perhaps the best way to sum up this maxim.
Q. Consider the current unit of study in one of your classrooms. What surprises can you embed into it?
