Engaging Your Class with Fun Puzzles: Tips for Teachers

AI Thread Summary
Challenging students with interesting puzzles can enhance engagement and develop problem-solving skills, but it's essential to balance this with the need for students to prepare for standardized exams. While motivated students may appreciate the opportunity to tackle difficult problems, those who are less interested or required to take the class may prefer straightforward, exam-relevant material. Understanding the class demographics and their varying levels of interest is crucial in determining the right mix of challenging and standard problems to maintain engagement without overwhelming students.
Dragonfall
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Should I challenge my class with interesting puzzles, or drone on and crank out answers to standard problems? Any tips?
 
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Dragonfall said:
Should I challenge my class with interesting puzzles, or drone on and crank out answers to standard problems? Any tips?

You can sprinkle "interesting" (I take it you mean Difficult) problems here and there, just not too often!. You have to consider the students need to put time to other classes as well.
 
Interested students no doubt hate the droning and would appreciate challenging problems that provide insight and interesting little problem solving tricks.

Those who are either required to take the class or are simply interested only in passing will prefer a thorough beat-down with questions similar to exam material.

Look at your audience and decide what these proportions look like an plan accordingly.
 
This is a required class, and I fear many will not share my enthusiasm.
 

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