Blog Post #8

I found Randy Pausch's Last Lecture very inspirational. Although he was only given several months to live, he did not let this stop him from being the type of educator he wanted to be. He wanted to leave an impact on his students' lives and change them for the better. As an educator, I think this is a major accomplishment.

One thing that Pausch mentions in his last lecture is how project based learning really is effective for students. It is also important to allow students to express their own creativity in their work. Pausch points out that if we can teach difficult concepts by making them fun and interesting, then it is easier for the students to grasp the concept and be able to apply it. This is one thing that I am going to try and use in my classroom as much as possible. I think that making learning fun for our students is such an important thing. If the students are engaged and having fun, then they will want to learn more.

Learning from our students is one thing that I think most teachers do not try and do. Once thing we can learn from them that Pausch points out is how creativity can change everything. If you have very creative students in your classroom, then they may go a completely different way with a lesson or project that you have planned out. Most teachers may see this as students being difficult, but I see it as a learning moment for us as teachers. When a student challenges us, it is our job to make changes and learn from the experience. We should always be looking for ways to improve our teaching strategies.