Ten Smart Ways to Increase Classroom Participation

 

Ten Smart Ways to Increase Classroom Participation

Students lose valuable time when their mind drifts off. If they don’t feel interested in what’s going on, they will find something else that interests them.

 

Getting your students focused and eager for the task on hand is a challenging task. Equally problematic is watching them zone out while you have them locked into the lesson. This is pretty as common as anyone who has to sit through a long routine (like a teacher’s presentation) is bound to drift off at some point.

 

Hence, unless you manage to capture and keep students’ focus, the boost of student learning that you are trying to achieve may not even begin.

 

It is often difficult to keep students focused when the lesson comes from the teacher. But it can be equally difficult when they are engaged as project-learning teams, especially when the independence demanded by project learning is new to them.

 

Following are 10 Smart Rules of Engagement that work at the beginning of class to calm kids down or any time they need an energizing way to refocus.

 

Start Class with a Mind Warm-Up

 

A classic warm-up is to ask students to find the mistakes planted in material written on the board. But instead of asking them to work silently and alone, and then debrief in a classic Q&A session with one student at a time while many sit inattentively, use a mix of collaboration and competition to avoid any boredom for others present in the class.

 

NOTE: You can use this idea in any subject area

 

Use Movement to Get Kids Focused

 

Ask all students to stand behind their desks and join in the simple choreographed physical movement. Because most kids find it invigorating and it’s easy to monitor full participation, it may become one of your favorite ways to get kids focused and kill boredom.

 

These movements can involve hand-clapping, foot-stomping, finger-snapping, cross-crawl, and marching.

 

Teach Students How to Collaborate Before Expecting Success

 

Doing project learning and other team-based work without prior training can lead to lots of confusion and chaos. You can nip much of it in the bud by teaching collaboration skills before projects get started. You don’t need to use an activity related to your subject area to teach teamwork.

 

Use Quickwrites When You Want Quiet Time and Student Reflection

 

When you feel that students are not taking interest in your presentations, or you want to settle students down after a noisy teamwork activity, ask them to do a quick write or a short-journal writing assignment.

 

You can ask them to write on things like what they found interesting from the presentation, what was confusing for them, summarizing what they understood, and other things that they can take interest in.

 

Run a Tight Ship When Giving Instructions

 

Preventing the lack of students’ interest is especially while giving instructions. There are several ways to ask for your student's attention, but many succeed or fail based on how demanding you are of the final outcome.

 

Before you start speaking, it is important to have total silence and complete attention. One way to do that is to include detailed SSLANT expectations: Smile, Sit up, Listen, Ask, Nod when you understand, and Track the speaker.

 

Use a Fairness Cup to Keep Students Thinking

 

The more you can manage your classroom to be a supportive environment, where students are encouraged to take risks without fear of being put down or teased, the easier it will be to use your fairness cup regularly, without feeling that you are setting students up for failure.

 

The fairness cup will hold each student’s name. Pull out random names to choose someone to speak or answer a question. When you begin using your fairness cup, prepare a range of questions, some of which all your students can successfully answer. This strategy allows the bottom third of your class to get involved and answer questions without being put on the spot.

 

Use Signaling to Allow Everyone to Answer Your Question

 

To help ensure that all students are actively thinking, regularly ask questions to which everyone must prepare at least one answer — letting them know you expect an answer. Then wait for all students to signal they are ready.

 

By asking questions that allow for multiple answers or explanations, you are differentiating instruction; everyone is expected to come up with at least one answer, but some may come up with more.

 

Use Minimal-Supervision Tasks to Avoid Boredom out of Regular Routines

 

Tasks that require minimal supervision add a purposeful activity during moments that might normally revert to loss of interest. They come in handy when passing out papers, working with a small group of students, handling an unforeseen interruption, addressing students who didn’t do their homework, or providing work to those who have finished an assignment before others.

 

Mix up Your Teaching Styles

 

It is better to switch between your teaching styles every now and then from teacher-centered learning to student-centered active learning, and vice versa to keep the students involved.

 

Create Teamwork Tactics That Emphasize Accountability

 

By insisting that students “ask three before me,” you make it clear that they are expected to seek assistance from all members of their team before they turn to you.

 

At Dolphins High School, our teachers follow these concepts to ensure that the kids remain interested in learning as well as develop the importance of active participation without getting drift off from the classroom.

 

We invite parents to check out one of the Best High School in Jaipur and allow their kid(s) to experience the world of knowledge and fun all together.