Let’s face it: sometimes, the world of academia can be, well, boring. And while the classroom isn’t the first place most people think of when talking about fun, it’s an excellent place for stretching those creative muscles and for exploring critical thinking in energizing ways. Especially since we compete with different forms of technology for our students’ attention, it’s essential that teachers are engaging students with hands-on and reflective processes so students are tapping into deeper, meaningful learning.
In Real Life
When we can see what we’re learning connected in reality, it really reinforces the lesson, and this is the idea behind forging that connection for students. It can be done by bringing in materials across disciplines, helping students notice the overlap, or it can simply be a way to keep your students interested in your subject. Nonfiction stories – for example, using
The “Buy In ”
Student engagement starts with the important role teachers play in fostering students’ “
Get-Up-and-Do-It Kind of Thing
A great idea for practicing performance skills comes from a very non-boring approach to poetry
Reflection Time
When students have opportunities to reflect, learning is more meaningful, enabling them to connect the material to their own lives and the larger world. In a review of their book Make it Stick, writers and psychologists Peter Brown, Henry L. Roediger III, and Mark A. McDaniel make the case for reflection by stating that “reflection can involve several activities…that lead to stronger learning. These include retrieval (recalling recently learned knowledge to mind), elaboration (for example, connecting new knowledge to what you already know), and generation (for example, rephrasing key ideas in your own words or visually and mentally rehearsing what you might do differently next time).” So reflection drives this ability to really master content. So how do we make time for reflection? Some ideas for peppering in reflection include:
- one-minute writing sessions
- a class web page that reinforces
connection of content to the world with examples - think-pair-share conversations in groups or pairs
- informal journal writing outside of class
- formal reflection papers assessed with a rubric
- homework assignments in which students collect examples in the real world of content
Another great way to explore reflection with your class is built right here in Gradelink. Creating Teacher
One of the best aspects of teaching is that moment when you can see that what you’ve prepared has sparked your students’ creativity and critical thinking skills through engaging classroom content. And it’s true that this isn’t happening one hundred percent of the time; that’s what makes these moments so special, and that’s what makes them so memorable. As we march on toward December and look forward to the new year, may you feel inspired to keep the energy
Click here to talk with a friendly representative about what makes Gradelink the highest rated student information system. “From the perspective of an administrator, teacher or parent it is a breeze to access what you need to access.” – Review on G2 Crowd from an administrator