As a teacher, you undoubtedly know that your students have different learning styles. But realistically, it can be difficult to engage them all the time. Students have certain things that they need to learn, and there's a limited amount of time to get them there. Appealing to all learning styles often means trying to make the classroom a more interactive place overall.
By making your classroom more interactive, you can assist students in finding their own learning style— and engaging with the content that makes the most sense to them. Here are a few ways that you can translate this to your classroom and your lessons.
Give Students Options
In general, it's better to give students choices regarding interactive classroom activities, even if the material remains the same. When children have the option to choose their assignments, they become stakeholders in their own learning and feel as though they're in control.
The same topic could be covered in a written report, diorama, spoken report, or even video. This usually doesn't require any more investment as a teacher—you just need to know that they're still learning all key topics covered in your lesson plan.
Use Technology
For many students, technology really bridges the gap between traditional learning and interactive classroom activities. Videos, games, and online lessons can break up the monotony and add a level of interactivity. Games are particularly useful, because they're naturally interactive and engaging. For example, your school most likely uses suite computer games to refine students’ typing.
Many teachers are using applications, such as language learning apps, to supplement their lessons. While they aren't always required for students to use, students can use them to augment their studies and get help when they're stuck.
Have Students Reflect on Their Learning
Have students invest in composition books, and make it a habit of writing down what they've learned throughout different lessons. Over time, they'll likely see a pattern in the activities they did or didn't like, or the things that they really struggled with. After some time, they can reflect on the notes taken and review learning styles, any challenges they encountered, and provide solutions.
Relate Materials to the Students' Lives
Many students struggle in school with higher-level concepts because they really don't understand why it relates to them. Things like mathematics or even current events may feel as though they aren't actually relevant to their everyday lives.
Relating this material to students directly can help them engage more with your lessons. In a class about politics and government, for instance, a teacher can explain how things like school funding are controlled, and how this impacts where students may take field trips, or what supplies the students have access to.
The less abstract something is, the more students are likely to latch on to the main idea. This is a type of interactivity that they can carry with them in their day-to-day lives and remember for a lifetime.
Learn Outside of the Classroom
There's nothing more exciting than taking your lesson plan outside the classroom and chalkboard. When possible, consider bringing in guest speakers, taking the entire classroom outside, or organizing a field trip. Even going to the playground or teaching in new environments of any kind can help students refocus and alleviate distractions.
Creating interactive classroom activities certainly isn't easy, but it is getting easier with the new technologies that are available. As students become more independent and individual, their learning outcomes get better. For more ideas about how you can help your students learn and grow, take a look at the supplies available at ELEVATE marketplace.
