Skip to main content

Learning the Art of Engagment




By Earlene Coleman B.A.,M.Ed



 
It can be a little unsettling when you think you're teaching the perfect lesson and actually very few students are paying attention. 

Teaching has often been called a “noble profession," one requiring diligence, patience, and a great sense of humor. At times it has been called “art.” However, for those in the trenches, we realize that more is needed and that nothing requires such focus, attention, dedication, and refinement of one’s teaching abilities as keeping all students engaged in classroom learning. After all, Learning is more than merely taking in facts or being able to recall information.

When students walk through the door, you feel the hope and eagerness of teaching them something new. You select from a bag of tricks to enhance the clarity of the lesson being taught, and as teachers; we need to be creative in order to reach the hearts of your students.

I've observed many teachers in the classroom develop their own creative lessons to keep students engaged, and here are the tips that consistently get repeated.

1. It's important that we help students clear their minds of preoccupation with other thoughts and to enable them to concentrate on the matter at hand. When we begin a lesson, we may find that their minds might be racing from various activities of the day. Students might be angry, upset, worrying, or even excited about some incident that happened during the day. It's important to get those other matters off their mind so that they can focus on the lesson.

2. Design your lesson plans with the real-world in mind, apply core principles and ideas using real-life contexts that make the subject matter meaningful. We must assist all students to become self-directed learners who are able to show, articulate and evaluate what they learn, with different formats.

3. Lessons should build on the students' prior knowledge, life experiences, and interests. As teachers, we need help children achieve their learning goals and engage them in critical thinking - this will build up their problem solving abilities and promote creative thinking ability. 

With these goals in mind, you too can learn the "art" of engagement in the classroom. 





Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Science fairs: Nurturing the 21st century thinker

3D Tessellation model A bespectacled 6th grader enthusiastically explains ‘efficiency of 3D space tessellations’ with myriad equations and handmade tessellation patterns to address the needs of the packaging, storing, shipping and construction industry. Another middle school student, was inspired by his little brother’s telescope and built a simple vacuum chamber using a PVC pipe with a microphone and a speaker on both ends to find out how sound travels on Mars! This 8th grader from Granada Islamic School used an oscilloscope his mother found at an auction to measure the sounds. “I poke around and find junk to build my projects. It’s fun.” Science projects today have become fun for many students as they use more hands on activities to experiment and understand concepts. These two middle school students were among 996 participants at the recent Synopsys Silicon Valley Science and Technology Championship , where RAFT was one of the special judges. Moenes Iskarous, President, S
18 comments
Read more

RAFT SAN JOSE CELEBRATES PI (π) DAY – 3.14, WITH A BOATLOAD OF FREE ACTIVITIES!

Come meet RAFT ’s Math Activity Developer, Jeanne Lazzarini, at RAFT San Jose who has a treasure chest of Pi-Day activities to share!  Not only will she be dressed as a Pirate (because Pi rates!), she’ll also offer you delicious pie to eat while showing you great Pi-Day Math activities to make and take, to use in your classroom to celebrate Pi day! The Pi-Day activities include RAFT Math Idea Sheet activities like Finding Pi , Wearable Pi and Pi Day Pin . Irrational number Pi, also written as π, is the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter, and is celebrated all over the world on March 14th because π is a number that begins as 3.14!  With the use of computers, Pi has been calculated trillions of digits past the decimal point! Pi is an irrational and transcendental number, and its digits continue infinitely without any repeating patterns of digits!  Pi has been used in many applications for over 4000 years! π rate activity days at RAFT! Join us at RAFT, San Jose
Post a Comment
Read more

Why I Chose a Career in Education

There are many moments where I am reminded why I chose a career in education. These moments arise when I am engaged in conversation with other teachers, conducting professional development workshops, developing new lessons, or simply reading about changes and latest developments in the field. Education is a dynamic field, and it has provided me with many opportunities to positively impact the lives of young learners as well as provide inspiration and support to new teachers. One such occasion occurred in mid-April when I was invited by Dr. Rosalinda Quintanar to conduct a presentation to students in a class entitled Meeting the Needs of Second-Language Learners (EDTE 162), a course within San Jose State University’s Teacher Education Department and a credential requirement. The class consisted of approximately 30 credential candidates, and its primary focus is applying theory and practical classroom techniques for providing equitable access to content for English language learners.
Post a Comment
Read more