When you're teaching, not every student is going to understand or enjoy the subject matter you're working on. It can be difficult to get everyone on the same page, especially if you're just using a lecture format for your lessons. Here are three ways to get your students engaged, which will likely help them better comprehend the topics at hand and even score higher on Common Standards tests:
1. Individualize learning
Not everyone wants to read about Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn. Why force every student to read the same book? While this may be required for group discussion in some instances, there are times when you can better individualize learning. For example, if reading comprehension is your goal, offer several books for students to choose from. They'll feel empowered by their decisions and pick a novel they're more likely to enjoy and actually read. You can still tackle tough vocabulary words, just have different sets for various books. Discuss them all as a class, and your students will actually learn more terms this way than if just one book was involved.
2. Go hands-on
What assignments do you remember best from school? Probably ones where you did some hands-on learning. Field trips and tactile projects offer real-world learning opportunities that are more likely to stick in your students' brains. For instance, consider allowing your pupils to use online games to work on math problems. According to eLearning Industry, gamification has been shown to encourage learning in fun and innovative ways. If you're teaching history, have your class break into groups and create skits based on real life. They'll have a blast working on teamwork and better understand memorable events.
3. Change things up
Standing in front of the class telling them about subjects is not always the best way to get ideas across. You may find your students choose to text one another or even fall asleep if this is the constant format that you employ. Lectures can be very helpful but are best used with a mix of other teaching methods. Maybe give a speech for 20 minutes and then have a question-and-answer session or a discussion. Add in some group research time or the option for students to turn to multimedia resources for a better understanding of the subject. This helps keep students engaged and addresses many learning styles to better suit each individual's needs. Plus, it's more fun for you and the class.
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