Conclusion

I have learned so much writing this blog. What not to do, what works and why it works. As future educators we need to know as much as we can in order to help our students succeed in school. Just like our students we will be learning everyday. We will see what works in our classroom and what doesn't. Then we look for new things to try. The point is to never stop exploring and discovering new ideas for our students, if you want them to give it their all so should we.

Challenge Them

In your classroom try and create experiences for students that are challenging and enriching. Experiences and activities that extend their academic abilities, help them grow mentally. Easy learning activities and assignments are not as effective at engaging students as activities and assignments that challenge them. Assignments and activities that are simple tend to bore students and make them lose interest so they don't pay attention.So don't be afraid of challenging your students. When students are reflecting, questioning, evaluating, and making connections between ideas, they are engaged. 

Build A Relationship

Teacher-student relationships are a key factor in determining student engagement. When students have that  close and caring relationship with their teacher, they are establishing their developmental need for a connection and a sense of belonging in society. Teacher-student relationships start by caring about the students' emotional and social needs. Being there when they need advice or just need someone to talk to. Have that one-on-one time with students so they see that you are interested and care about them and what they are going through. You also need to treat students fairly. Provide the same help and support to all of your students, don't favor them. Avoid breaking promises to your students. You want your students to be able to always count on you and trust you. 

Reflect

After you come up with engaging learning activities for your classroom don't think you you're all done have have done your job. When you are done with one of your learning activities it;s important to evaluate and track the effectiveness of that activity. Did it work well? Where the students able to understand and grasp the concept? Was it engaging? If not, maybe you need to come up with something else. It's OK if your activities don't always work out, you live and you learn.Keep only the activities that worked well for you and for the students and contributed to their learning. Also it's crucial to question students after each activity and the learning outcomes it served. What was the purpose of the learning activity. If students don't understand the purpose of the activity then what was the purpose of it in the first place?

Responsibility

We've all heard that it is important to teach children to become responsible. Teach them to be responsible for cleaning their room, folding and putting away their clean clothes and teach them to be responsible to feed and walk the dog. It should be the same in the classroom. We as teachers should teach our students to be responsible for their learning. Focus the responsibility of learning on the students so they can engage with the content and information you have given them and cognitively become active in the learning process. When you have students involved in the learning process they are more likely to be interested, and remember things.

Let Them Talk

Teachers think that they always have to be talking or lecturing in order to be a good teacher. That the more they go on and on the more the student will learn and retain. But that is not interesting at all. No one wants to just here a lecture. Students like to get involved. So in your classroom let students  present their work and projects to you and the class. Let them show you what they have learn. Have them share their ideas and experiences. The more they have a chance to talk the more they are engaged with the lesson. Let them talk.

Mix It Up

Routines tend to be something that we fall in to pretty easily. We do something one day and think that we have to use it over and over again. For example, for science we could show a video and it is a big success. Then we think we always have to show a video, but that's not true. Just because it worked once doesn't mean you use it every time. Mix it up! Try something new and different. If you do the same thing everyday you will lose the attention of the students. Keep the class interesting and introduce new activities and ideas. If you're not creative and engaging in your teaching, then why should your students be in their work?