7 Unique Ideas to Make Your Classroom Engaging

Teachers have an important role in shaping the future of their students. By doing this, they have a direct impact on the future of the country. However, every teacher, at some point or the other, might have struggled while teaching in class. 

This struggle may be due to the strength of the classroom, or simply because students lose focus easily/ lack concentration. Even the best of teachers might find it difficult to ensure that their study sessions are engaging as well as productive.

Indeed, students need to be engaged and integrated into the classroom management setting to ensure better academic outcomes. Strict disciplinary measures should not be the only way in ensuring that students are (or pretend to be) attentive in the class. SuperTeacher has compiled a list of 7 unique ideas, which if implemented well, will ensure that your classrooms are engaging and productive. 

Begin With Classroom Presentations 

Most students might not concentrate in the classroom due to the redundancy that sets in over a period of time. This redundancy could be due to a single-way interaction, i.e. students being listeners, while the teacher goes on speaking. 

Thus, it is of utmost importance to introduce new ways of learning. For instance, teachers can divide a class into several small groups. Each group can be assigned a topic or a section of a topic. This group should then prepare for the assigned topic and present it before the class. This presentation method will introduce a much-needed productive interaction in the classroom.

Use of Flash Cards 

This is another key way of making your classrooms more interactive. There are several benefits of using a flashcard in a class. These can be used to practice, elicit, or review grammar structures. Moreover, you can also use flashcards as a review for a related lesson, filler or precursor to summarize the topic. 

For instance, you can have two sets of flashcards – words, and pictures. Divide the class into two groups of students. A student from team A picks a word flashcard and draws a relatable picture on the board. The other team has a set time limit to guess and identify the word. This method simply arouses creativity within the students and boosts the interactivity in the classroom in a very subtle manner.

Read Out the Chapters Loud

It is generally seen that teachers read out the topic from the textbook. This adds to learning redundancy among the students due to a lesser scope to interact. Instead, teachers can randomly ask students to read the chapters. This simply boosts their confidence in front of the class, while also ensuring that every student stays attentive throughout. 

Interactive Learning With Documentaries and Movies

Documentaries and short films possess the power to bring the world to students in extremely real ways. Short informational films or documentaries can be used in the educational process. 

A short documentary or a film helps in increasing the students’ understanding as it appeals to them due to the use of visuals. We all know that students use quotes from a book to prove an analytical thought. Similarly, they also use documentaries as a key source to justify their reasoning skills. 

Use Real-Life Applications

Teachers should realize that students need to understand and exercise the study material. An oral explanation of the topic might not do the task for most students out there. Students should apply the knowledge that they have gained to build upon what they already know. 

This can be achieved through application-oriented (project-based) learning. Teachers should introduce the idea of project-based learning to their students. Project-based learning helps teachers analyze the students’ understanding of a particular topic or concept. The best part about this learning is that students discover new things while working on the project. 

Practical Demonstration is the Key

Similar to application-oriented learning, practical demonstrations also help teachers in ensuring the best outcome for their students. Demonstrations can be very effective in ensuring maximum engagement in the classroom. 

One of the major components of effective demonstration is active student engagement throughout the process. This simply suggests that students are thoroughly involved in discussing the purpose of the demonstration as well as active discussions on various theories.

Curated Content Helps

Content curation is one of the most important and ideal ways to engage students in a classroom. It helps students wade away from the confusion that might ensue in their minds due to the presence of a sea of content. 

Content curation is an effective way of mining information to make relevant and precise data readily available to learners. Students need not spend time looking for added content to supplement their topics. Thus curated content also ensures time availability for the students. 

Thus, if the above 7 ideas are put to use by a teacher, then they can expect a highly engaging and attentive atmosphere in the classroom. This will further result in enhanced productivity among the students which will ultimately reflect in their academic journey.