What’s lesson one for teachers who want students to successfully grasp, retain, and apply new material? First—say Whitney Rapp and Katrina Arndt, authors of the inclusion book Teaching Everyone—you need to recruit their interest. And that means finding ways to make learning “relevant, authentic, and
valuable” in students’ lives. In today’s post, we bring you 5 steps you can follow to actively engage your students and help them feel personally connected to their learning. One key way to involve students in their learning is to make sure the material speaks to them. These strategies, adapted from Teaching Everyone and
Systematic Instruction for Students with Moderate and Severe Disabilities by Belva Collins, will help you connect your lessons to students’ real-life experiences: Find out what your students are passionate about and then use those interests as natural motivators to increase engagement. Whether a child is fixated on one thing or has a few areas of intense interest, there are many simple strategies you can use to work those fascinations into your instruction. The result? Happier, more motivated students. In “Just Give Him the Whale!”, Paula Kluth and Patrick Schwarz offer these and many other suggestions on how to use student interests to boost learning in key areas:
To help you discover what your students are passionate about, download these student surveys from “Just Give Him the Whale!” And read this excerpt from the book to learn more about innovative ways to use student interests in the classroom! Give students choicesAs Rapp & Arndt note in Teaching Everyone, engagement increases whenever students are empowered to make their own choices about how they learn. Here are a few suggestions:
Hook their interest with fun transitionsAs Julie Causton and Chelsea Tracy-Bronson point out in their book, The Educator’s Handbook for Inclusive School Practices, “all students are more engaged when they enjoy classroom life, laugh, and connect with peers.” Transitions between activities can be the perfect time to infuse more joy and fun into your daily routine–and get your students energized and excited to learn. Here are a few suggestions from Causton and Tracy-Bronson:
(Want more suggestions on how to infuse joy into your classroom routines? Read this post.) Teach students self-monitoring skillsAn advanced way of involving children so they stay engaged in their learning is to help them develop greater self-regulation skills. Children sometimes struggle with self-awareness, so they may not even realize when they’re straying off task or acting in disruptive ways. When children are taught to regulate their behavior and work independently, they develop habits to help them succeed and you are freed to operate more flexibly in the classroom. Try these strategies, outlined in the book Building Comprehension in Adolescents by Linda H. Mason et al., to assist students with self-regulation:
Read how one science teacher was able to motivate her students to assess their own performance and significantly improve completion of group projects by following these specific steps of self-monitoring outlined in Building Comprehension in Adolescents. *** When you make a concerted effort to engage students in their learning, they’ll be better able to maintain focus, sustain positive behavior, and grasp and retain the material you’re working so hard to deliver—a positive outcome for everybody! A different version of this article appeared in the Brookes K-12 Education newsletter. Sign up for it today if you haven’t already! Stay up to date on the latest posts, news, strategies, and more!Sign up for one of our FREE newsletters What strategies should the teacher use to make the students participate in class?How to Encourage Participation in Your Classroom. Find Out Why Students Don't Participate. ... . Show Students Their Fears Are Unfounded. ... . Create an Atmosphere That Encourages Participation. ... . Give Students Another Outlet.. What are the strategies that promote students participation and collaboration in classroom activities?10 Strategies to Build on Student Collaboration in the Classroom. Deliberately select which students will work together. ... . Size the groups for maximum effectiveness. ... . Teach your students how to listen to one another. ... . Set the rules of language and collaboration. ... . Make goals and expectations clear.. What are the 5 teaching strategies designed to challenge and engage students?Five teaching strategies designed to challenge and engage students. Inquiry-Based Learning. ... . QR Codes. ... . Project-Based Learning. ... . Wisely Managed Classroom Technology. ... . Jigsaws.. What are the 7 student engagement strategies?Here are 7 student engagement strategies to enhance learning and boost meaningful involvement in the classroom:. 1 – Setting Ground Rules. ... . 2 – Journaling. ... . 3 – Let Students Lead. ... . 4 – Icebreakers. ... . 5 – Social and Emotional Learning Curriculum. ... . 6 – Get Outside. ... . 7 – Perform a Class Service Project.. |