Engaged students are more likely to attend school consistently, complete assignments, and be more involved in the educational experience. Let’s look at five creative ways to engage students in learning.
In This Article
1. Get to Know Your Students
Get to know your students so you can best appeal to them and present lessons in ways that will encourage and engage them. Research has shown that building relationships with students encourages increased learning, and connectedness between instructor and learner relates to engagement and things like test scores, grade point average, and overall motivation for completing schoolwork.
A few ways to get to know students include:
- Have students write a “get to know me” essay.
- Post daily journal prompts that you collect at the end of class.
- Have regular meetings with each student as needed or throughout the year.
2. Make It Meaningful
Making students’ experiences meaningful encourages a sense of trust and fosters positive feelings. You can make each lesson an inviting space in various ways:
- Celebrate each student’s wins, like overcoming a specific challenge.
- Make it easy to get in touch with you, such as one-on-one touchpoints or an open-door policy in the classroom.
- Encourage conversations among students in group settings, like brainstorming sessions.
Make specific lessons meaningful to students by connecting them to real-world examples. Service learning has been linked to re-engaging disengaged students.
3. Set Expectations for Participation
Students who work in organized environments with clear requirements are more likely to be engaged in the classroom. Support a participation-driven classroom by:
- Implementing peer grading.
- Teaching from among the students instead of at a podium.
- Have students submit reflective, periodic journal entries.
4. Switch Things Up
Variety keeps the classroom fresh and exciting. Novelty is also associated with positive behavioral, emotional, and cognitive engagement among learners.
Using various teaching methods, such as hands-on learning and project-based learning, is one way to ensure variety. It also ensures you present information differently to appeal to each student’s unique way of absorbing and retaining information.
5. Give Students Some Control
Students who believe their teacher empowers them with more choices and promotes independent thinking are more likely to be engaged and less likely to be burned out. Autonomous learning and motivation have also been linked to greater overall success and promotion of self-driven attitudes.
Consider the following:
- Allow space for opposing debates or discussions.
- Let students pursue the topics they’re most interested in.
- Give students responsibilities inside the classroom, such as setting goals and assigning roles.
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