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As an elementary teacher, you understand the importance of keeping your students engaged in the classroom. When students are engaged, they are more likely to learn and retain information, which translates to improved academic performance. However, in today's world of distractions and short attention spans, keeping students engaged can be a real challenge. That's why we've compiled this article to give you seven practical strategies for enhancing engagement in your classroom.
In this post, we'll examine seven unique strategies to boost student engagement. These range from the integration of gamification and technology to innovative teaching methods and student-focused learning. By adopting these strategies, you'll be able to captivate your students' interest and maintain their focus and motivation throughout the academic year. So let's dive right in!
What is student engagement?
At its core, student engagement is all about capturing and maintaining a student's interest in the learning process. When students are engaged, they are more likely to retain information, make connections between different concepts, and apply what they've learned in real-world situations. Engaged students are also more likely to work collaboratively with their peers and contribute positively to a classroom environment. Research has even shown that engagement is a key factor in improving student outcomes and achieving academic success. By fostering engagement in your classroom, you can help your students reach their full potential and develop a lifelong love of learning. Let’s look at some strategies to get you started.
Strategies for increasing student engagement
Use Technology
Integrating technology into your classroom can be a game-changer when it comes to student engagement. Using gamification and online resources, you can make learning more interactive and dynamic for your students. Gamification in education use point systems, badges, and leaderboards can add a fun and competitive element to the learning experience. Meanwhile, educational games, apps, videos, and interactive websites provide an opportunity for students to explore topics in new and exciting ways. By incorporating technology, you can help your students stay engaged and motivated to learn.
Kodable is one example of an educational app used in over 50% of elementary schools to help teach students the basics of computer programming. You can get started with Kodable by creating your free teacher account today.
Create a positive classroom environment
To increase student engagement, it's crucial to establish a positive classroom environment. Creating a space where students feel safe and comfortable to express themselves is essential for promoting engagement. Collaborative learning is also a powerful tool to enhance engagement, as it encourages students to work together and exchange ideas. One real-world example of this is by implementing a behavior management system tactic of a compliment jar. In this system, students can recognize and praise their peers for positive behaviors or contributions to the classroom. As the teacher you can also add compliments to the jar to help promote positive behavior and interactions among your students.
Create a learning contract with students
Learning contracts are documents created between you and your students that detail what students are responsible for at the beginning of a project or course. These contracts often include behavior expectations, learning objectives, and student reflections to be done once the activity is over. Using learning contracts help empower your students to take ownership of their learning which can lead to students being more engaged in the process.
Incorporate active learning techniques
Incorporating active learning techniques is a proven way to increase student engagement. Project-based learning, where students work on long-term projects that require critical thinking and help develop problem-solving skills for students, can be a great way to keep students engaged in the learning process. Role-playing and inquiry-based learning are also effective methods to make learning more interactive and engaging. By incorporating these active learning techniques in your classroom, you can help your students develop important skills while staying engaged and motivated.
Inquiry-based learning
Inquiry-based learning is an approach to teaching and learning that emphasizes student-driven exploration, problem-solving, and critical thinking. This method has been shown to be highly effective in increasing student engagement and achievement. Some strategies for implementing inquiry-based learning in your classroom include posing open-ended questions, facilitating group discussions, providing feedback, and allowing for student creativity.
Give students a choice in their activities
Giving students a choice in the classroom activities that they participate in is a great way to help students foster their own interests and take a more active role in their learning. Using choice boards is a great way to give students options on what activities they want to partake in while still keeping everyone on track for your learning objectives.
Use personalized learning materials
Using personalized learning materials means having flexible classroom resources that can adapt to the needs of all of your students. This includes having additional materials for students to use if they need more of a challenge and materials to help students who are struggling. Kodable’s self-paced learning lessons are a great example of how technology can help you keep all your students engaged whether they need more of a challenge or a helpful hint!
Now that we’ve laid out several strategies for you to try let’s take a look at some practice tips to put these strategies into practice.
Tips for implementing student engagement strategies
Start small
Introducing too many changes at once can be overwhelming for both you and your students so be sure to start small with new strategies. Start by incorporating one or two new techniques and gradually building from there. This will allow you to see what works best for your classroom and adjust accordingly.
Focus on student interests
When students are invested in what they are learning, they are more likely to stay engaged and motivated. Take the time to get to know your students and find out what they are passionate about. You can then incorporate these interests into your lessons and make learning more meaningful and relevant. One way to do this is to have students respond to short journaling prompts about themselves for you to read and return to over the course of the year.
Get feedback from students
Finally, it's important to get feedback from your students. Ask for their opinions on what is working and what could be improved. This will not only help you make necessary adjustments, but it will also show your students that their input is valued and that you are committed to creating a positive learning experience for them. Now, K-5 students may not be the most eloquent when it comes to giving you the level of detail you need so you may want to help facilitate this feedback by using exit tickets after an activity to help gauge the overall reaction.
Addressing student disengagement
First, understand the reasons for student disengagement
Let's take a moment to understand the reasons why students may become disengaged in the first place so that we can effectively increase student engagement. Some common reasons for disengagement include feeling uninterested or bored with the material, not fully understanding the content, feeling disconnected from the learning process, and external distractions outside of the classroom. It's essential to identify the root causes of disengagement so that we can develop targeted strategies to address these issues and re-engage our students.
Develop a plan for re-engaging students
To develop a plan for re-engagement, start by assessing your classroom and identifying areas that may need improvement. This can include classroom management strategies, the curriculum, or your teaching style. Then, create a plan that includes specific strategies for increasing student engagement, such as incorporating active learning techniques or using technology to supplement instruction. Remember to start small and build from there, and to regularly check in with your students to assess their engagement levels and make necessary adjustments. By taking a proactive approach to student engagement, you can help create a positive and engaging learning environment for your students.
Review
As an elementary teacher, it's important to remember that student engagement is an ongoing process that requires dedication and experimentation. Focusing on your students is just one part of creating an overall plan for creating an engaging classroom. Don't be afraid to try new strategies and approaches, and be willing to adjust your teaching style to better meet the needs of your students. By staying open to new ideas and taking a proactive approach to c engagement, you can help create a classroom environment that promotes learning, growth, and success for all students. So go ahead, try out some new strategies, and see the difference it can make in your classroom!
