Engaging Students
An important aspect of teaching is determining how to effectively engage students. Students are likelier to learn when they feel involved in the learning process. In addition, material that engages students is likely to be more memorable.
In order to engage students in my classroom, I have utilized many methods of differentiating material to keep students on their toes. I try to use a variety of instructional methods to keep my students engaged and interested throughout class. For example, over the course of one 86-minute class period I might utilize a video, TPR group activity, group discussions and/or think-pair-shares, and a written response. Utilizing a variety of activities prevents students from becoming bored and allows learning to continue. Posters are a good example of one lesson that includes a variety of activity; students research, then design and create, then present their posters. The time is broken down and very manageable, and I'm often impressed with the results! Another method I use to keep students engaged is trying to make the material relevant to them. When a student feels a personal connection to a topic they are likelier to care about it. This tends to be manageable in history because everything we are learning about happened for a reason and had a specific impact. A common question to ask is, "Why does it matter today?" Ideally, my students recognize that the material we are learning about has had some sort of direct impact on today's society, which is why we are learning about it in the first place. One example of this in my classroom was when I asked students to write letters to local or state representatives. They were then allowed to choose whether they actually wanted me to send them or not. Most students wanted theirs sent! Finally, I try to engage students by making the work manageable. Oftentimes, I lose students simply because they don't understand what is being asked of them, rather than because they just don't want to do it. In order to remedy this problem, I try to excessively scaffold material, and utilize frequent checks for understanding in addition to having students read out the directions. When I am certain that the students feel capable of completing the work, I feel confident that they will put in the effort to make it happen. Ultimately, ensuring that students understand what is being asked of them is a powerful step toward gaining and maintaining student engagement. In summary, I emphasize student engagement in my classroom in three ways. First, I differentiate work to prevent class from becoming monotonous and boring and to make the learning more memorable. Second, I try to make the material relevant to the students so that they feel more inclined to put in the work. Third, I ensure that my students understand what is being asked of them before starting a new activity, so as to prevent students from quitting simply because they don't understand the directions. |