Finding ways to engage students in learning benefits their academic success and creates a dynamic learning environment that helps everyone in the classroom.
Take a minute to think about your own experiences. Have you attended some professional development (PD) sessions in which maybe you checked your phone a little too much, where you just weren’t interested or didn’t feel like it would ever help you?
Our students feel the same way at times.
Stop and think for a second: is there anything the instructor could have done differently to encourage more personal engagement from you? It’s very possible.
When you engage students in learning, you help them build confidence and develop a willingness to push themselves to do more. This can be one of the hardest things teachers have to do, but it can have so many rewards and benefits.
- Students are more likely to remember material when they are actively involved.
- Students see relevance and value in the material they are learning, which can drive their interest and curiosity.
- Students can build on essential skills such as critical thinking, problem-solving, collaboration and communication.
- Students can develop a positive attitude toward learning and a willingness to explore new subjects and ideas.
- Students who are more focused and involved in the activities are likelier to be less disruptive in the classroom.
- Students are encouraged and inspired to think creatively and explore new ideas.
When we engage students in learning, we not only boost their academic success and retention of the material, but we also help to create a lifelong love of learning, which will prepare students for future challenges and opportunities.
We all know that it can be difficult to engage every student in each lesson, but there are some things we can do to create a learning environment that encourages students to be active and willing participants. This will engage students in learning rather than a classroom where they’ve checked out the minute they enter the room.
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7 Ways To Engage Students In Learning
Create a Sense of Community
There is a lot of information about how to engage students in learning, but sometimes this step is overlooked. Seeking to engage students in learning is hard enough, but without a good classroom culture and community, it may be near impossible.
Students need to feel comfortable and safe to engage and participate fully in the classroom. They are less likely to challenge themselves or share their ideas if they fear ridicule from others in the room.
Students need to feel free to share their ideas and make mistakes. They need to know that even if they fail, they possess the skills to get it right and are surrounded by others who will help them figure it out.
- Remind your students that mistakes happen and that it’s okay. It’s amazing to see their faces light up when they think they will be in trouble or feel bad about what just happened, and your response is a big smile and, “Hey! Mistakes happen! It’s okay!”
- Don’t be afraid to be silly. I’ve never forgotten those teachers who weren’t afraid to be goofs in the classroom with us. Recognize and acknowledge your own mistakes. Admit when you don’t know things. Engage students in learning by showing them you are human, too. It makes a huge difference in how they see you, themselves, and each other.
- Praise students for helping and supporting each other. Create a reward-based system to recognize or honour students for taking care of each other—whether that’s personally, emotionally, socially, or academically. These Classroom Management Reward Coupons & Reward Passes are a great incentive! You could even develop your own classroom economy that blends math and rewards.
- Hold classroom meetings daily or at least once a week. The more you can do it, the better. Have rules for how to communicate and share, such as maybe only the person holding the ball (anything that may be gently tossed) can talk. Start small, like “How was everybody’s weekend?” But also ask thought-provoking questions that allow students to share ideas respectfully. You can also consider using 365 Questions for quick daily discussions.
- Give the students some autonomy or control in the classroom. Let them determine how or when some things happen. Engage students in learning by giving them some freedom and some choice makes them feel more welcome and invited into the shared space. You may also want to read this blog post: Incorporating Key Social Emotional Learning Techniques into Middle School Lessons.
Set Manageable Goals
Setting goals can be a helpful strategy for everyone, young and old. Goals give people something to monitor and work towards, which can help students see a purpose behind what they are being asked to do in the classroom.
Setting personalized goals can encourage effort and engagement. The goals should be manageable and measurable and allow the student to feel some success, especially when they are just starting with this idea.
Setting classroom goals can also be very helpful in encouraging everyone to work together and contribute, but do this with some caution. Without a proper community or management, this could negatively impact engagement.
- Allow students to take ownership of the process. Let the students help build the goal with you or each other as the situation requires, but do not just hand it to them.
- Slowly build in this process.
- This can be difficult to do with students.
- Start small, perhaps with things that are not academic but rather behaviour-based. Then, maybe add a small goal or two in one subject area before adding more.
- The best advice I ever received as a teacher was, ” The kids need to feel success.” The first goal can be simple and very easily attained. That will build confidence and interest in this whole process. Continue to work up to more difficult goals as long as they remain within the students’ reach.
- Remember the acronym SMART. All goals should be:
- Specific – the more detail, the better.
- Measurable – how will you know if you have achieved it? There must be a way to quantify it.
- Attainable – it should be something that can truly be accomplished.
- Relevant – it should make sense for the student. It is unnecessary and unhelpful if it is not related to their needs.
- Timely – there should be a deadline or a time frame for completing the goal.
- A Google search for “smart goals for middle school students“ will provide a variety of ideas for helping you write SMART goals with your students and engage students in learning.
- Keep it visible.
- Placing them somewhere visible (but also private) allows students a place to reflect upon them. Think about a spiral notebook where they must check in at least once a day or every week.
Another fantastic way to teach students to work together and engage students in learning is through activities like digital escape rooms. Not only are they a fun classroom activity, but they encourage teamwork and critical thinking. You can find all 2 Peas and a Dog digital escape rooms on Shopify CAD or Teachers Pay Teachers USD.
You may also want to check out this blog post: 7 Creative Ways To Make Partners and Groups in the Classroom
Teach Self-Assessment and Reflection
Self-assessment and reflection are some of the best ways to grow and improve; however, these skills can be difficult even for some adults to master.
Think back to when you were a child in school. Maybe you got your spelling test back and you misspelled three words. Which taught you more:
- Looking at the score and the words rewritten by the teacher and immediately putting the paper in your take-home folder
- Studying the rewritten words, determining the mistakes in your spelling errors, and then correcting your work in some way.
Chances are that interacting with your mistake provided you with the most understanding and growth. The same is true of our students. Students need to be able to see feedback from us that they can truly interact with and learn from.
Constructive criticism benefits everyone. It points out that something is wrong and provides a way for students to learn more from their mistakes in an encouraging way. When you do the opposite, that’s when you have students check out, which is not a good way to engage students in learning.
- Start with the manageable goal tips. Setting goals and following the tips and tricks above is a great way to teach self-assessment and reflection.
- Return graded work promptly. This can seem difficult sometimes, but if students don’t see their scores soon enough, it becomes harder to build connections between what they are doing well and where they are struggling. Not all work needs a letter grade check out this quick assessment method.
- Require students to look over and correct assignments that have been graded and returned – this may require things such as Googling, referring back to notes, posters, class textbooks, or peer assistance. Students who consistently score well or have minimal or few corrections can aid others in corrections or complete other projects in tune with their needs or interests. They can also reflect on what works well for them or create a list of tips and tricks for their classmates to try.
- Have students complete a half sheet about their lowest-scoring and/or highest-scoring assignment that week. They can answer questions such as:
- What did I do correctly? Why?
- Is there anyone else that needs help with this that I could assist?
- What part of this was difficult? Why?
- Is there anyone really good at this that could help me?
- Are there any resources in the room to learn more or correct my work?
- Give students the grading scale or rubric you will use for assessment before they begin an assignment. This will engage students in learning by giving them a sense of expectation.
- Have students grade their work when possible, using the same rubrics and grading scales you would use. After you assess their work, have them compare similarities and differences between the score they gave themselves and the score you provided.
- Try growth mindset activities with students. For ideas from real teachers on how to do this, check out this post: Ideas For Teaching Growth Mindset.
For more assessment tips, read this post: Tips and Tricks to Help You Improve Your Assessment Skills. You might also want to check out Student Led Conferences, which allow students to take ownership of their learning when they present it to their parents. You can learn more over on Shopify CAD or Teachers Pay Teachers USD.
Assess in Different Ways
Assessment fills today’s classrooms in a variety of formats. But it doesn’t always have to look like a pencil and paper (or digital) multiple-choice test.
Assessing in as many ways as possible not only offers variety and provides a way to engage students in learning, but it also helps to assess those students who may “test” poorly in certain ways.
For example, some students may stress and overthink a multiple-choice test and fail to show they understand the material even when they do. Other students may strive to turn their knowledge into something else: a digital presentation, a cartoon, a song, a script for a commercial, etc.
A failure on a test may not mean that they don’t understand but rather that their brain struggles to recall information in that assigned format. Switch it up so students can show their understanding in a way they enjoy, which will help to engage students in learning.
- Switch it up. Traditional tests and quizzes are still beneficial for some tasks and some students. If possible, switch between paper and pencil and online. Engage students in learning by using new and exciting ways to assess work (see the next tip). Keep it relevant.
- Try something different. Let students create songs, presentations, skits, scripts, comic strips, and storyboards (and so forth) that meet your criteria for proving they have mastered content. Check out this blog post for some ideas: 32 Fun Project Ideas That Aren’t Overused For Middle School Students.
- Try online games via websites such as Kahoot! You can also consider incorporating more games as assessment tools: Level Up: Incorporating Fun Games into Your Classroom for Interactive Learning. Digital escape rooms can be a great activity to reinforce and assess student knowledge.
- Remember to provide variety. Use pencil and paper, movement activities and tasks, technology and websites, and games.
- Try total participation techniques. Dry-erase boards and other hold-ups allow for quick and easy informal assessments.
For some great assessment strategies, check out these posts:
- Quick Assessment Strategies
- Student Designed Assessments
- 10 Engaging Digital Assessment Tools
- Tips and Tricks to Help You Improve Your Assessment Skills
- Increase Student Achievement With Bump It Up Boards
Provide Homework Flexibility
Homework provides great practice when used effectively. Some schools have rules regarding homework assignments, but if your school does not, switch it up!
Homework doesn’t always need to be a worksheet or instructions to “read for 20 minutes.” Maybe it’s an online math game or website that sends data back to the teacher. Maybe it’s online research and note-taking or completing a long-term project that practices skills.
It is also important to not just assign it as “busy work” but to acknowledge it and meet their interests. Students are more likely to complete homework that interests them rather than feel like it’s a dreadful task that takes them away from what they truly want to do.
- Use traditional homework ideas – but sparingly. There’s always the traditional paper and pencil or reading for 20 minutes and logging it every night. Use the suggestions in 8 Fun Reading Log Alternatives to give students a fun way to log their reading.
- Try research. Do online research on the topic using note-taking strategies. Check out this blog post to teach students about these strategies: Teaching Note-Taking Skills.
- Go online. Engage students in learning by trying websites that send data back to the teacher, such as ReadTheory or Khan Academy.
- Remember to check and acknowledge homework with the students. If they know you will not review it, and it is seen as simply “busy work,” they will not maintain interest.
Engage students in learning using this Homework Debate Non-Fiction Article. Students will love to share their thoughts on the positives and negatives of homework. You can learn more on Shopify CAD or Teachers Pay Teachers USD. You might also want to check out this blog post: The Magic of a Homework Pass for Classroom Management.
Meet Their Interests and Offer Choices
Everyone is always more engaged when the topic interests them, but this will not always be possible or easy! To succeed, having a strong classroom community and knowing your students’ likes, interests, and hobbies is important. You can connect those interests and the content taught whenever possible.
Similarly, when you really know your students, you can offer choices in as many ways as possible. This can extend to the type of homework assignment they do, which questions they have to answer in their classwork, which books they have to read, and how they share their knowledge with you.
- Provide flexibility and choice. Bingo boards or choice boards allow students to complete different types of assignments in their own time. These can also serve as great ideas for offering homework flexibility as well. If you’re an ELA teacher, these two choice boards are fantastic for providing student choice: Novel Study Choice Board – 9 Activities For Any Novel. You might also want to check out this blog post: Student Engagement Through Choice Writing.
- You know your students. Use what you know about your own students, both in terms of their skills and their interests, to help them grow and complete tasks. If they love football, music, video gaming, and so on, how can you connect or adapt what you’re teaching to also relate to one of those topics? Engage students in learning by learning more about them. Check out these blog posts for more information on building relationships with your students:
- Remember flexible seating. Whenever possible, offer seating preferences and other choices on a student-by-student basis to help encourage their involvement and engagement. You can also consider using tools like Flexible Seating Cards.
- Check out 10 Ways to Incorporate Student Choice in Your Classroom for additional ideas and inspiration.
This can extend to basic classroom management, such as seating preferences, line order, and scheduled breaks.
Learn About Total Participation Techniques
This strategy is more about encouraging active class participation, but it can also help to engage students in learning. Students who are required to pay attention during the lesson are more likely to be truly engaged in their learning.
For more information regarding total participation techniques, I recommend the following book: Total Participation Techniques: Making Every Student an Active Learner, 2nd Edition. These techniques are often interspersed throughout your lesson and include activities such as chalkboard writing, hold-ups (such as true, false, yes, no, A, B), and inside-out circles.
- Here’s a podcast from Truth for Teachers that provides additional ideas and resources to engage students in learning through participation techniques.
- Check out these 10 Fantastic Reasons To Use Digital Escape Rooms to learn why digital escape rooms are perfect to encourage participation.
You might also want to check out 11 Fun Ways to Get Students Moving in the Classroom or these 18 Effective Teaching Strategies, which include more information on participation techniques.
I hope this list has helped provide you with ideas on how to engage your students in learning. I would love to hear your ideas on how you’re already doing it; connect with me on social media to share your ideas.
More ideas to engage students in learning:
- 10 Fantastic Student Engagement Strategies To Keep Students Focused
- Fun Middle School Fast Finisher Activities That Will Engage Your Students
- 10 Creative Reading Response Activity Ideas to Ignite Classroom Engagement
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