The old methods of teaching have been tossed out the window.
New engaging styles of teaching are now widely used in all classrooms. This is because of increased research on and dedication to these new and innovative ways of teaching. When students can actively participate in their own learning they can build build experiences linked to knowledge, so they are able to recall those experience and therefore the knowledge. However, teaching in this engaging, active, and innovative way can be demanding on a teacher, especially when it comes to coming up with or finding such activities. That is why for this blog I have decided to provide 5 resources you can use in your classroom to ENGAGE your students.
Resource 1: Entrance Slips
Entrance slips are something that have been studied and analyzed in depth. We have determined that formative assessment methods such as entrance and exit slips are great ways to increase student learning. This is because students are engaging in “minds-on” learning immediately, when they walk in the door of your classroom. Instead of getting settled and waiting a bit for the bell to ring, entrance slips caused your students to immediately engage in your topic and puts them under a bit of pressure. These circumstances have create these situations which student can recall to retrieve knowledge.
here is an example of an entrance slip
Resource 2: TV/Movie Clips
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7l7zJ7NsFjY
Clips like this one from The Simpsons Season 8 Episode 1 “Treehouse of Horror VII” are great jumping off points for the introduction of new topics or any interesting talking point. This clip for me resonates because I watched this show a lot growing up, so if I participate in an academic activity relating to maybe how Lisa’s lifeforms world compares to ours, I may more inclined to recall that information at a later time. This method can be used across all subjects as long as the instructor does a good job of relating the clip to an academic activity or discussion.
Resource 3: Plickers (and others)
“Plickers” as well and many other similar products are a formative assessment tool used in a wide array of classrooms to assess student knowledge within a singular class, across topics, or across multiple units. The teacher generates the questions and the students orient individualized cards to pick the correct answer choice.
*the above picture is an example of a students Plicker card, it is faint but the letter choices are along the edges of the black
These types of products are so effective because the cause the ENTIRE class to participate due to the fact that students can be graded on these, so it matters to them more. Also some of these products include analytics which can also help the teacher see trends in their students learning.
Resource 4: “Brain Busters”
https://mathriddles.williams.edu/?page_id=15
The above website comes to us from a Professor in the Math/ Statistics Department at Williams College. Dr. Steve Miller has devised a website that has numerous amounts of math riddles of varying degrees of difficulty. Brain busters are a wonderful way to engage students in content because they are low pressure, they are typically not graded yet they still assessment where your students are with your content. They are also great to get conversations going between students and engaging them with each other. Also this is a great resource because it is free!
Resource 5: This video (and demonstrations in general)
How could I not mention science demonstrations in this blog? The above video by Ruben Meerman (an Australian “science magician”) does a great job of providing examples of demos, while also modeling potential classroom discussions, and discussing the overall importance of the use of demos in a science classroom.
Finally, I felt compelled to mention the best resource we teachers have for budget friendly, innovative, and engaging things to use in the classroom is the internet. Now, we are lucky enough to have a wealth of information at our fingertips, but the biggest problem is using it correctly…..
Tom,
I love the Simpsons comparison you included! I used to watch that growing up too. In my blog, I included a few engaging activities that were inexpensive ($1-$10), and a few that were free. I like that all of your examples were free and accessible. It shows that teachers can still find amazing resources without spending a penny! Good job.
-Hayley
Tom,
I loved the plicker idea! These are excellent ways to not only get students engaged in the material, but also formatively assess where the class is in their learning. Also, I’ve really enjoyed using this type of technology as a student, so I’m sure some of your students will enjoy it as well.
I also think demos are really powerful because they get the class excited about the material in a fun and entertaining way. Some of the best learning can be done this way. Junior year of chemistry I did a demo that I still remember. We made sparklers using different metals, and our group was able to make the biggest sparks. It was so engaging!
Billy, its great to hear about concrete evidence of these types of things getting students engaged. I also feel like chemistry, as you mentioned is a great way to get students engaged with demos. Sometimes the content can be so boring and students can have a tough time seeing where it applies to them, and demos are a great way to combat those two things.
Shay,
Yes! I agree plickers and similar technologies are great, especially because they more often than not come with analytics features
Meghan,
I think having students discuss in small groups and then share out to the entire class would help get all of the students engaged.
Tom,
I really liked all of the resources that you gave us! I have used plickers in multiple classes and I think that they are a great way to find out what the students know in a quick way. I also think videos are great ways to get students engaged! They are fun and can be connected to any topic.
I hope in your future classroom you use a lot of these for your students! Do you have any examples of how you might use these?
Tom-
I appreciate how you included brain busters in this blog! Engaging students doesn’t take a lot of flash or activities; sometimes an intriguing discussion is all you need! How would you make sure students are engaged with the brain buster, though? How can you make sure one group of students doesn’t dominate the whole discussion?