April 16, 2003

BEREA, Ohio - Students of Ronald Wise never know when Superman or Sherlock Holmes will pop up in one of their classes.

Wise uses nearly three dozen costumes, along with a wealth of music, magic tricks and jokes, to engage his students and teach them about being teachers. A professor at United Methodist-related Baldwin-Wallace College in Berea, Ohio, he teaches graduate and undergraduate students in education.

"My belief is that learning doesn't have to be all work," says Wise, a member of Berea United Methodist Church. "There should be some fun."

His innovative teaching style and 35-year career have drawn honors from the North Coast Chapter of Phi Delta Kappa, a professional education society, which recognized him recently for "exemplifying contributions to the education profession." That recognition has led to a string of stories in local and state media.

"Ron Wise is a master of invention," says Mary Lou Higgerson, vice president of academic affairs and dean of Berea. "He is never out of ideas of how to make course content exciting and how to hook students on the long-term value of learning."

Regardless of the subject - math, science or literature - Wise tries to bring life to whatever he teaches. He also models techniques that students can use when they become teachers themselves.

His more than 35 costumes enable him to change into an array of alter egos, such as Pizza Man, who talks about fractions; Money Man, who teaches money concepts (with cash attached to his costume); Modern Metric Man, who talks about measurements; and Counting Cook, who appears during counting lessons.

With other costumes, he can become Superman, Sherlock Holmes, Dick Tracy, Little Red Riding Hood, a cowboy, a naturalist, a clown, a wizard, a king of numbers, a math magician, a swami, an elf, a cow or a burned-out teacher.

The math magician, Dick Tracy and Sherlock Holmes have been most helpful to students, Wise says, because they deal with problem solving and mathematics.

He may dress in character for only 10 minutes for an entire lesson, but his students never know when a new personality will emerge.

"My intention is to be somewhat unpredictable," he explains. "I tell my student many times they'll never know what I'm going to do. I try to keep it a secret until the last minute."

Being unpredictable enhances "the surprise effect" for students, he says. "Surprise adds to motivation."

He uses his large collection of music to generate interest in a topic, concept or idea. During a lecture, he may use 10 pieces of music, most playing for only five seconds each. For example, if he is teaching about time, he will play "Too Much Time on My Hands."

He also employs cartoons that he has clipped from newspapers and color-coded according to subject and course. The cartoons are useful in introducing concepts, conveying points and illustrating problem solving. Magic tricks and jokes and riddles also come in handy.

"It brings your teaching alive," he says about his use of "hooks" in teaching. "My concern is that we, in preparing teachers, try to do something that provides a spark of interest for the kids. So what I've tried to do is demonstrate things that would get my students excited about a particular aspect of learning. Then they, in turn, would go out and try it on their students."

Although he plans to retire after this school year, Wise, 62, will continue to support education. His costumes and props will be sold at auction May 17 in the Baldwin-Wallace College Strosacker College Union, with proceeds going to fund a college scholarship for outstanding students who plan on becoming teachers.

"I have former students who have been waiting for years for these costumes and magic stuff," he says. "The best thing for me is that these things will go out and still impact students in school."

Wise is retiring after 35 years in the classroom "because you get to a point where you don't know how many more years you have on this earth. I'm not going to hang on until the last minute like I've seen some of my friends do and not have time to enjoy retirement." He will do some consulting in mathematics, but he plans to enjoy fishing, playing golf and "messing around in my 1920s-style General Store," an addition to his home where he collects antiques. He plans to construct a carriage house to hold materials from the 1920s and invite school groups in to experience that time period.

Former students have emulated his teaching methods in a variety of ways, he says. He recently received a message from someone he taught 25 years ago, who told him she still remembers and uses the first thing he taught her: be fair, firm, consistent and teach in such a way that students will remember you.

"That is how you manage kids," he says. "It is one of the basic premises under which we all ought to work."

United Methodist News Service
This story uses information from a press release sent by Joyce DeGirolamo of the Baldwin-Wallace College Office of College Relations.