5 Teaching Strategies That Trigger Aha! Moments In Students
Aha!
An Aha! moment is a moment of sudden inspiration, insight, recognition, or comprehension.
You know it when you see it happen or experience it yourself.
Educators live for these moments of career satisfaction. They validate all the hard work and experience that made the Aha! moment possible.
5 Strategies
Research shows that there are 5 teaching strategies that trigger Aha! moments in students. Here they are:
- Real-life examples
- Questioning
- Reflection activities
- Analogies
- Problem-solving in teams
Consider how you can adjust your curriculum or training experience to include one or more of the above strategies.
The Secret Sauce
There are many ways in which you can integrate one or more of the above strategies.
But, from my experience, I only know of one learning method that can provide a context for all 5 of the strategies.
Educational games and simulations
Playing a game or simulation provides a living real-life example with results that students can question and reflect upon to improve their performance. And it's a continuous problem-solving exercise.
To clarify, I'm talking about deep simulation experiences, not casual mini-games — they can be useful too but won't achieve all 5 of the strategies.
Google It!
Rather than write more about this here, I recommend you review a few educational games and simulations that match your subject of interest. Seeing is believing (better than reading).
This may help inspire new ideas for you to consider, even if you don't adopt what you see.
Do a Google search to see what you find.
If business, money, or STEAM education is your domain, check out my GoVenture programs.
Research Source
In case you want to take a deeper dive into the research, here it is —
A Modified Delphi Study to Define "Ah Ha" Moments in Education Settings —view research
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I'm Mathew Georghiou and I write about how games are transforming education and learning. I also share my experience as an entrepreneur inventing products and designing educational resources used by millions around the world. More about me at Georghiou.com