That student hiding a yawn and a bored look? That individual who has clearly not heard anything you’ve said in the last 10 minutes? We have all been that student at some point in our lives. It is when the tables are turned and we find ourselves in the instructor’s seat that we realize the challenging job that instructors have.
But there are some key elements that work to capture the imagination and attention of students, regardless of their age. Want some key strategies you can use to enliven the subject matterfor your students? Here are five tips that will benefit your workshop, classroom lesson, or other instructions.
- Discuss relevancy
Concepts that are abstract can be boring to hear about. Not only that, but also when themes are not given real world applications, there is little chance of information mastery. What can you do to make your teaching material memorable, applicable, and usable? Teach with stories. Bring in as many examples of how this concept looks like when applied in situations that the students can relate to. This will help students know how to use the information in a practical manner.
- Spark interest with technology
Sometimes a little razzle-dazzle is needed. Equipment like digital USB microscopes, for example, provide a way for teaching to be interactive without needing to go to a lab. Technology allows for a hands-on experience of what is being taught. A majority of students are visual or auditory learners. And kinesthetic learners can tend to be forgotten in the mix. But this hands-on learning style is perfect for helping kinesthetic learners retain what they have learned.
- Use presentation software and digital media
Recent trends in learning styles have shown a marked shift toward visual learning. And it’s easy to see why. Smartphones, iPads, and a fantastic selection of educational apps and games provide a way to learn that was not available even 10 years ago. Rather than decry this shift, educators, lecturers, and teachers should know how to harness their benefits. Complement your course, class, or teaching material with appropriate visual materials. Slides, videos, images, info graphics, and more can all help provide an added means of grasping your content.
- Create together
The act of creation forces learners to make use of everything they are being taught on a topic. And can help teachers evaluate a student’s understanding of what has been shared. Have students complete a task or produce something that is related to what has been learned. The product can be an essay, a presentation, an actual physical product, an event, or a stimulation of an event.
Teaching topics like history as information that must be learned by rote will result in it being forgotten as quickly as it is taught. Instead, for a history class that covers the early stages of US government, have students create their own governing system. This learning style helps students see the connections between what has happened in the past and what they now see happening in the present.
- Use gaming culture to your advantage
If there is a game that you can play to teach your concept, play it. If you do not know of one, search it out or create a game that your students can play to master the unit you are teaching. Games provide an environment where we are pushed to use what is being taught. This is true regardless if your students are primary age or college age. Incorporating a game into your lesson plan allows for students to move from a passive learning state into an active learning state.
The result? Students receive content that becomes more useful, engaging, and relatable. By providing students with a hands-on means of flexing their knowledge in an area, you will engage them, as well as increase their topic retention.
Article Submitted By Community Writer
