Preparing Students for Learning

it is well known that if the student did not pay attention or did not care about his teacher for any reason, he will not be able to receive or understand information from him, and if the student pays attention well, he will understand and will achieve high scores; therefore, it is advisable that the teacher attracts the attention of his students from time to another by using the best methods and means, like, but not limited to, the following three ones:

a) requesting listening: it means asking the students to keep silence and listen carefully. this method can be used directly before starting the lesson when the use of the other indirect means is not possible.

jarair bin abdullah al-bujali narrated that the prophet, peace be upon him, said to him at the farewell pilgrimage (hijatul wadaa): “ask the people to listen”, then he said: ((after my death, don’t return disbelievers again killing one another …). al-hafez bin hijr said: the said sermon took place at the farewell pilgrimage and there were large numbers of people gathering to throw pebbles; therefore, it was appropriate to ask them to keep silence and listen. it is known that pilgrimage season is witnessed by large number of people and that people during pilgrimage are very busy in performing their rituals; so, it is impossible to deliver a sermon without asking people to keep silence and listen, and that’s why the prophet, peace be upon him, asked one of his companions to let people listen.

b) calling (directly): it means calling the students before or during the lesson. this is a widely used method among the teachers and here is an example:

abdullah bin abbas, may allah be pleased with him, said: once the prophet ascended the pulpit and it was the last gathering in which he took part. he was covering his shoulder with a big cloak and binding his head with an oily bandage. he glorified and praised allah and said, ((o people! come to me." so the people came and gathered around him and he then said: "from now onward the ansar will decrease and other people will increase. so anybody who becomes a ruler of the followers of muhammad and has the power to harm or benefit people then he should accept the good from the benevolent amongst them (ansar) and overlook the faults of their wrong-doers)). the prophet, peace be upon him, attracted the attention of the people by calling them and asking them to listen.

c) indirect motivation to listen: this is a good method to attract people to listen because people in general don’t like direct orders; therefore, it is useful for the teacher to use this method to attract the attention of his students. the prophet, peace be upon him, was the best of who applied this manner:

ubada bin al-samet, may allah be pleased with him, narrated that the prophet, peace be upon him said: ((receive (teaching) from me, receive (teaching) from me. allah has ordained a way for those (women). when an unmarried male commits adultery with an unmarried female (they should receive) one hundred lashes and banishment for one year. and in case of married male committing adultery with a married female, they shall receive one hundred lashes and be stoned to death)).

he started by saying “receive (teaching) from me” and repeated it in order to attract the attention of people and motivate them to listen.

summary:

1) the student can be prepared to receive information by using direct or indirect methods.

2) asking students to keep silence and listen is one of the strongest methods of attracting attention.

3) teachers can use the method of direct calling like saying (o students! pay attention) or any similar phrases.

4) the method of direct calling can be used at the beginning and during the lesson.

5) the indirect method needs special skills from teachers and it can be used at the beginning and during the lesson.