While teachers do their best on most occasions, it can be difficult to keep a classroom fully engaged in a 45-minute teaching session. What works to a disadvantage these days is also the fact that increased digital time has resulted in reduced attention span in children. As educators, it can be frustrating to have one child distracted in class who inevitably distracts other students too. Want to know how to be engaging in class and retain attention? Read on to find out!
1. Ice Breakers
Ice breakers are a good way to refresh young minds from learning fatigue. Children sit in classrooms all day learning subjects and concepts throughout. It can be tedious for them to switch gears and maintain the same level of focus for each class. So, having ice breakers will give them something to focus on and give them a mental break from the stress of constantly having to be present!
2. Switch up teaching styles
Do not rely only on one method of teaching to help your students. Students respond to variety and if you enlist the use of audiovisual content, outdoor teaching activities and the like, you are at a great advantage of being able to retain their energy.
3 . Peer learning is key when all else
What can truly work in moments of absolute desperation is peer learning. You can split them up into groups and have students learn concepts in that group. What you can also do is announce a group quiz contest after the teaching session to drive some enthusiasm in class.
4. Education Apps (Class Saathi by TagHive)
We live in a world with apps and only apps and one thing we can rely on when all else fails is the use of educational apps. This is not just a fun way to engage students but it can also help them learn concepts more easily.
5. Announce a formative assessment
On days when the classroom energy is low, you can use formative assessments as a bolt of energy to reawaken your class. When there is a test around the corner, students will find themselves being more alert and responsive.
There are a dozen ways to manage, motivate and measure students and the best way to do it is in ways that they are happiest responding to. The idea is not to create an environment of fear where children are forced to learn. Instead, having an ecosystem that takes into account what the students are feeling and helping them by enlisting resources that work best for them will make learning in the classroom a far more enjoyable process!
