Remember when you always thought or may have actually dared to run away from the classroom to the playground or the canteen? Let’s admit that we all are guilty of doing or thinking it once throughout our school life. However, what seemed like just a childhood prank or act of mischief, may have some other explanations too. If you ponder hard, reflecting on those days, you may realise you always tried to bunk classes, which didn’t interest you or the teacher wasn’t your favourite, and the list goes on!
Times have evolved, and modern educators have adapted to more scientific modes to psychologically assess students and courses have also evolved. Classrooms aren’t the same boring blackboard and coloured chalks anymore. Students can even take the help of various tools like a bibliography maker, thesis statement maker, or UTS referencing checker tool if they want to check a case study, for example, for nursing case study help. Teachers are also innovating and adapting new strategies to help students remain engaged in classrooms and for better learning. Here are five such strategies that are worth a mention –
1. Visualisation
It has been observed through studies that students have an attention span of approximately 10-15 minutes. Now, when the classes tend to get longer than that (which happens all the time), students often get distracted or lost in their own thoughts. You can break the monotony of any boring academic subject through practical and visual learning experiences. Instead of just letting students know about the subject, if the teachers can imbue them with the knowledge of how it may benefit them in real life, they will take more interest in it.
Some examples of Visualisation techniques are –
- Interactive whiteboard
- Audio Clips
- Display Pictures
- Video Clips
- Classroom Experiments
- Local Field Trips
2. Cooperative Learning
Always encourage your students to work together by promoting and incentivising group and whole class activities. You can ask the students to form their own groups or assign them by mixing students with different abilities.
Students can develop their communication skills and critical thinking abilities through such group activities. When students share conflicting ideas among themselves and work toward a solution, it also enhances their self-confidence about solving an issue. These skills remain essential for the students throughout their life.
Some examples of Cooperative learning are –
- Mathematical puzzles
- Scientific Experiments
- Short Drama Sketches
3. Inquiry-based Instruction
In this form of education, you as a teacher encourage your students to look for their own answers instead of serving them ready-made answers. Ask them thought-provoking questions that will inspire them to think analytically about innovative solutions.
This encourages the students to question everything instead of just absorbing everything thrown their way. This leads to a deeper understanding of academic concepts, and they become more independent learners.
For example, you can ask the students various questions about something you want to teach them the next day. If you want to teach them about planets, you can ask them questions like, “Why do eclipses happen?” or “How do tides happen?”
You can also ask your students’ various subjective questions and motivate them to share their views without fearing any failures or judgement.
4. Technology in the Classroom
The easiest and most convenient way to engage a student of the 21st century is by offering him 21st-century options. Today’s students are more familiar with technology than conventional modes. So, surrounding them with digital mediums sounds like a wise choice.
Schools and teachers are taking the help of more applications, software, teaching management tools, interactive whiteboards and even Virtual Reality to make the classes more immersive and engaging. Learning becomes more interactive with these new technologies as students can relate to and physically engage with the lessons. They can also share their ideas and address their doubts in real-time, thus developing autonomy.
Ozobot 1:1 Program, Buncee, Bakpax, Pear Deck, SeeSaw, Evo Classroom Kit, Nearpod, etc., are some of the examples of technologies used in classrooms.
5. Differentiate
Instead of generalising your teaching process, try to differentiate your student’s abilities and customise the process to optimise their abilities. If you assign classroom activities catering to the individual needs, the students can work dedicatedly to those areas they are struggling with while enhancing your strong areas.
For example, in the differentiation method, if you are strong in English and weak in Math, the teacher will identify both these sectors and will design your course focusing more on these two subjects. That will sharpen your math skills on the one hand and will also help you hone your interest area to the fullest.
Quizalize is one such app that many teachers are using to implement this process. This app automatically groups your students so that you can identify and act on their learning gaps easily and quickly. Thus, it is a major time-saver in a teacher’s busy schedule.
Summing Up:
With continuous brainstorming and innovation, educators and academicians are continuously striving to improve the learning experience of a classroom. They have understood the core truth that students can only be taught when they want to be taught. So, instead of mounting pressure on a student, they are trying to make it a more immersive and an engaging experience for them. With these five mentioned strategies, the education industry can surely hope to get only better with time.
Author Bio:
Elizabeth Kramer worked as a professor of computer applications in a reputed university for ten years. She has recently joined MyAssignmenthelp.com as an assignment writer. She also loves to bake cakes in her free time.