As all soon to be science teachers know, it is our job to keep all students engaged in our classrooms. The engage experience is when a students’ interest is sparked and gets them thinking about the desired concept or skill. Engagements can also elicit students prior knowledge about the subject and collect information on what students know, which can be used to guide instruction.
In this blog I will be explaining 5 resources that teachers can use to help keep their classes engaged without breaking the bank.
5 resources to help get your students engaged:
Resource 1: Videos
As most people know videos can be a great free resource to help engage all students. Videos allow students to create questions and even see the topic in the video from a different point of view. Videos ultimately will help students think in a deeper way about certain topics.
Example Video:
Resource 2: Simulations
Simulations can be used a great engages for certain learning cycles. The PhET simulations for example are a great way to get students to think critically about certain topics. The example simulation will allow students to see how different mutations can actually effect natural selection.
Example Simulation:
Resource 3: Demos
Personally as a student my favorite way to get engaged was when teachers would do demonstrations or even when we got to participate in the demo as well. Demos do a great job of getting and keeping students attention. Demos also allow for prediction and question making which is a vital part of the learning experience. With that being said demos are also the most expensive form of engagement, but that doesn’t mean you can’t do them for cheap.
Example of Demos:
Resource 4: Brain Busters
Brain Busters are one of my favorite ways to get a classroom of students engaged. Brain Busters just create the type of critical thinking that needs to evolved in an learning environment. These brain busters will always get the attention of all of the students as well which is a big part of the engage process. I have attached a few links for the brain busters, but you can even think of some on your own.
Brain Busters websites:
https://www.squiglysplayhouse.com/BrainTeasers/
54 Brain Teasers for Adults With Answers To Test Your Smartness
Resource 5: APPS
Apps can be a really inexpensive way for teachers to engage their students. There are tons of Apps that could be used to really draw students attention about certain topics. Apps can be used for almost anything in the classroom but they can especially be used to engage all of the students in your class. Another great thing about using Apps is how many different topics are covered with their own app.
Example of Apps to use in the classroom:
- Kahoot App
- Human Body App
- Virtual frog dissection App
- Sound Uncovered App
- GoREACT App
Conclusion:
All of these resources will be extremely helpful in getting and keeping the attention of all of our students. I also mentioned that some ways of engagement are more expensive that others but that shouldn’t stop you from being able to keep all of your students engaged in different topics or concepts. Once you have everyone’s undivided attention the best type of learning will begin. Don’t be afraid to do something outside of the box. Make the engagement fun and you will be able to see all of the positive outcomes.
https://twitter.com/MissChasteen/status/1093228617407049729
Bailey, I really enjoyed reading your blog! My favorite idea that you have has to be the Apps! I have never thought of using these as the engage portion of my lesson plan! Have you tried any of the apps you mentioned? Which is your favorite??
I also really like the quote you include in your tweet. “What we learn with pleasure we never forget.” This is so true in so many ways!
Stepping outside of the box is what teaching should be all about!
Again, nice blog!!
I definitely agree that the apps are a really interesting part of this blog. I haven’t personally used the apps in my teaching yet but I have seen them used in other classes. My favorite one by just exploring them is the virtual frog dissection app. I believe that it is a really good way to get students engaged. Thank you for all of your positive feedback!