Keeping students on track and maintaining focus during a class session is probably the greatest challenge that educators have faced historically. As we see an abundance of potential distractions at all levels of learning (and as each and every student learns in their own unique way), “traditional” approaches to instructional design (such as “talk and chalk”) will no longer be sufficient to support successful learning for most students. When students are actively engaged, curious, and motivated, they tend to learn more effectively and retain information longer than when they simply passively receive instruction
Table of Contents
1. Interactive Learning
Engage Students
Instead of lecturing all day, ask your students questions. Give them something to talk about. Try asking open-ended (not just “yes” or “no”) questions.
Example: In a Social Studies lesson, you could ask students if a specific social issue affects their daily lives. This will relate the material directly to the students’ lives.
Think-Pair-Share
There are so many ways to get everyone’s input. One way is through Think-Pair-Share. Here is how it works: students initially answer the question independently. Next, the students pair up to discuss the question with each other. Finally, students share their thoughts with the rest of the class.
Everyone gets to express themselves, and those who may not normally contribute will feel comfortable expressing themselves because there is less pressure since they have already discussed the idea with someone else.
2. Games
Make Learning Fun
Learning doesn’t have to be boring. There are so many fun ways to teach and keep your students interested. Turn quizzes into competitive games, or use puzzles to demonstrate concepts.
For example, a math teacher might develop problem-solving games where students receive points for providing correct solutions to math problems. This will add an element of friendly competition, which can motivate the students.
Purposeful
While using games can be beneficial to student engagement, make sure they serve a purpose. Your goal isn’t just to entertain the kids; it’s also to educate them.
3. Use of Real-Life Examples
Relate Learning to Their World
When students see how a concept applies to everyday life, they will be much more interested in the subject matter. By relating abstract concepts to common experiences, the abstract will seem less mysterious.
For example, to illustrate the percentage concept, a teacher could give examples such as discounts at stores or how much data they would lose from a mobile phone.
Student Input
In addition to giving examples of their own, encourage students to come up with examples related to their own lives. Not only will this increase their involvement and interest, but it will also build their confidence in contributing to the class discussion.
4. Group Work and Collaboration
Teamwork Learning
Students can learn from each other through group work. Divide the group into sections and assign each section a task. Have them work together to achieve the final goal.
For example, during science classes, the students could divide into small groups to conduct simple science experiments and report their results.
Developing Communication Skills
Through collaboration, students develop their communication skills, teamwork skills, and leadership skills. All of these are valuable outside of school as well as in school.
5. Visual/Multimedia Instruction
Using Images/Video
Using images, charts, diagrams, and/or short videos makes your lessons both more visually appealing and easier for your students to understand. Complex subjects can be broken down simply with a visual aid.
For example, instead of having a student read aloud about a particular process, you can include a short video clip demonstrating the same process. Students will remember what they saw more easily than they will recall reading about it.
Keep It Simple!
Don’t overload your students with too many images or videos. Use what will most clearly help them reach your goals for the lesson.
6. Project-Based Learning
Hands-On Learning
With project-based learning, students delve deeper into a subject area. Instead of memorizing facts, they have hands-on experience developing a product or completing a task that requires research, creativity, and problem-solving.
For example, students working on a business studies course may develop a small business plan. While working on a science lesson, students may develop a simple model based on a scientific concept.
Student Responsibility
By allowing students to have some independence in their learning and guiding them along the way, project-based learning encourages students to take ownership of their education.
7. Storytelling as a Methodology of Instruction
Storytelling Makes Learning Stickier
Stories are captivating and memorable. Whether you’re explaining a concept or introducing new material, using stories can make your instruction more compelling and assist your students’ retention of the material.
For example, rather than delivering a history lesson in a dry format listing dates and events, tell a story incorporating dates and events.
Simple Stories
You don’t need elaborate stories to benefit from using storytelling in instruction. Relatively brief and personal anecdotes can help students stay engaged.
8. Flexible Educational Approach:
Flexible Educators Adapt Methods to Meet Needs of Diverse Student Populations
All classes contain diverse populations of students who possess various cognitive abilities and learning preferences. While some students prefer to engage with course material through visual observation, other students prefer to explore course concepts primarily through auditory means. Additionally, there are many students whose preferred method of exploration is through hands-on experience and/or tactile interaction.
Educators who use a flexible approach adapt their delivery methods so that students’ varied learning needs are met. An example of this would include using a combination of explanations, demonstrations, and practices as part of delivering a lesson so that the largest number of students in a particular class are able to connect to the information being presented.
In addition to adapting teaching methods based on the needs of the learner, educators should continually observe both the successes and failures associated with their instructional methods. By doing so, the educator is able to adjust their teaching methods in order to maximize the effectiveness of their teaching.
Practical Insight
There are two classes that are providing instruction on the same topic. One class has a teacher who presents information orally while students sit passively and silently. The other class is made up of students who are actively engaged with one another, solving problems, relating topics from the curriculum to the real world, etc. The students in the latter class are much more likely to gain a deeper level of comprehension regarding the subject matter and show a higher level of interest toward academic subjects than do the students in the former class.
Student engagement is not solely determined by whether a student is noisy or engaged in an activity. Instead, it is ultimately measured by how actively engaged a student is in his/her/their learning process.
