Teachers can use personal stories, images, and examples where appropriate. This could involve organizing visitors in a religious class or using real-life case studies of people in modern foreign languages or geography. Such stories can challenge learners and evoke an affective or moral response. Teaching in this way can focus attention on others and on service. For example, just a small change in a lesson about sound can make a big difference: instead of talking about the intricacies of the design of “the ear,” talk about “your ears” and relate it to the students.
- Teachers can provide photographs and images of German students who resisted the Nazis in a German lesson. This enables students to practice their language by relating to real people and situations. Teachers could create activities that encourage students to use a modern language to foster good relationships. Migrants’ stories could be used in geography when teaching about population movements.
- Teachers can introduce students to real scientists with different views about faith in science class rather than just discussing the issue abstractly. On parent evenings, teachers could focus on the student as a person who is part of a family, and report on that student as a whole being. A topic on heroes can be made personal by encouraging learners to look at imperfect heroes who achieved and relate that to how we see ourselves.
These examples show that giving a lesson a more personal slant can be done with small changes that make a big difference.