WAYS TO ENGAGE STUDENTS IN CLASSROOMS

by Presidium Gurgaon Education

A great school emphasises on learning-based activities and creating efficient student engagement in classrooms. It would be convenient to understand students’ engagement as being represented by good conduct and behaviour, positive attitude and thinking capabilities of students. The reason being, students may be emotionally driven in a given activity in class without actually putting in the necessary cognitive effort to understand and master the craft, skill or knowledge involved in the learning activity.

The top schools in India concentrate on following the philosophy of creating active classroom engagement strategies to improve students’ achievements. They work on creating a feasible environment for children to promote learning without stress.

Presidium Senior Secondary school in Gurgaon is among those top ten schools in India that promote a curriculum based on experiential learning, keeping in mind the growth and development of children. Experiential learning methodology involves building ways in which students get hands-on experience of concepts by participating in the learning activity.

Presidium’s expert educationists and faculty members consider the following elements while designing learning activities that promote student engagement.

Make the curriculum meaningful

To achieve full engagement, it is important that students perceive the activities as meaningful. Research shows, when students think that a learning activity is a waste of their time and effort, they might not participate in it. They can even disengage completely from it. To ensure that activities are meaningful, teachers could try highlighting the value of an assigned activity in personally relevant ways. Also, an expert demonstration on why an individual activity is worth pursuing and how it is used in real life makes it interesting.

Foster a sense of competence

The notion of competence may be understood as a student’s ongoing personal evaluation of whether he or she can succeed in the challenge. Researchers have found that effectively performing an activity can positively impact on subsequent engagement. To strengthen their sense of competence in learning activities make sure that they demonstrate their understanding throughout the activity. Give them feedback so that they can learn to make progress.

Provide support to students

Nurture the students to help them gain control over their behaviour. When teachers control students without setting out directives and commands, their engagement levels will definitely increase. Welcome the opinions and ideas of students, use non-controlling language and give them time to understand the activity by themselves.

Initiate collaborative learning

Collaborative learning is a powerful initiator of engagement. When students work with peers, their engagement levels are amplified. Working in a group with effective strategies ensures that students know how to communicate and behave in that setting. Assigning them different roles and assessing both the student’s and group’s performance supports collaborative learning.

Positive Teacher-Student relationships

If students form close bonds with their teachers, they fulfil the need for a connection with others and a sense of belonging in the society. A positive teacher-student relationship improves student engagement significantly. Caring about their social needs, displaying positive enthusiasm, investing time in one-on-one interaction with students and treating them fairly helps in developing an effective bond between a teacher and student.

Presidium Senior Secondary school is among those top schools in Gurgaon that believe in the positive engagement of students both inside and outside the classroom. The faculty members of the school are always finding new ways of initiating student participation to facilitate achievements and success. This is one school that stands apart from the rest.