Maintaining student engagement is a challenge that parents, educators, and teaching assistants all face. Taking advantage of a child’s natural curiosity and interest is a great way to ensure that they are focused and motivated during their lessons. Therefore, it is important to find the right strategies to capture and keep a child’s attention in order to ensure they are actively involved in the learning process. By doing so, the child is more likely to retain the material and be receptive to what they’re being taught. There are many strategies for keeping children engaged in the classroom, which can be tailored to each individual to ensure the information is understood and communicated effectively.
Start class with a mind warm-up.
Begin the lesson with some form of mental exercise. A popular option is to have students search for mistakes in the material on the board. This can be used in any subject. Instead of having the students work independently and then go over the answers by questioning one student at a time (which can be tedious for other students), have teams work together quietly to locate the mistakes.
Use movement to get kids focused.
Encouraging physical activity can be an effective way to refocus kids. A simple example is to have them stand behind their desks and perform a few choreographed movements together. Not only is this a fun activity, but it’s also easy to check if everyone is participating. You may find this to be one of the best approaches to refocus students and fill up any extra time.
Before expecting success, instruct students on how to collaborate.
Before expecting success in project learning and other team-based work, it is important to ensure that students have been taught how to collaborate properly. To avoid wasting time, it is suggested to provide instruction on collaboration prior to beginning the activity. It might be helpful to create a teamwork rubric with students to outline the desired behavior and norms. Following the completion of the task, it is beneficial to debrief the activity and provide a positive comment before any criticism.
Be efficient and precise when providing instructions.
Keep a close eye on the way you deliver instructions. It is important to minimize idle time when giving instructions. Different strategies work better in different situations, but it is essential to have complete quiet and full attention before you begin talking. During the initial two weeks after implementing this system, remind students regularly of the expectations. Stress that once you have finished speaking, you will not go over the same instructions again.
Use signals to promote a response from all students to your questions.
In order to get all students involved in the lesson, pose questions that require everyone to come up with at least one response. Let them know you will be expecting answers and wait for them to indicate they are ready. Ask questions that can be answered in multiple ways so that each student can share their own answer or explanation. You can then select volunteers to present the responses to the class.
Mix up your teaching style.
Vary your teaching approaches. To keep students attentive and alert, switch between teacher-centered learning and student-centered active learning. Active learning puts the student at the core of the lesson’s goal and its outcome. They will not merely be participating in the lesson but also taking part in cognitive activities such as understanding and assessment.