This is one of the hardest part of the job. Grabbing the attention of students, and making them participate is something that needs to be exercised everyday. Without it, deep learning will never be reached.
Some teachers are equipped with diverse strategies. However, they can be quite repetitive, which might threaten the possible engagement. That's why it is imperative to think outside the box and come up with other techniques.
In some classes, I used to apply a different approach, which involves that students take command of the class.
Learning by asking
It is common to see teachers ask students questions during class about any specific topic. This is how they know if students are assimilating the content. There are different ways to conduct it. Some use a series of round tables and others organize discussion sessions.
However, these methods tend to become boring for some students if they're bombarded with the same techniques over and over.
So, there is another way to do it by just interchanging the roles. I mean, students are the ones who make the questions. Teachers rarely use this strategy. But passing the responsibility to make questions to the students gives them analytical thinking to discover the knowledge by themselves.
Also, it is very convenient because it will eventually make students formulate their own conclusions. Of course, this method has to be prepared, taking into consideration the subject that is taught.
As it is my field, languages, students can grasp new sentence structures and expressions the teacher uses. In other words, the questions will make teachers answer naturally as if they were in a regular conversation. That way, each students will see the target language being used in real scenarios.
Practical questions
To make this work, teachers have to set one rule clear. All questions has to be based on thinking verbs. That is using the verbs such as: believe, think, hope, and suggest.
And why these verbs?
Simple, because they make teachers elaborate in their answers. I mean, they'll be more in the explanation mode than in the plain informative style.
So, whatever subject you teach, you should tell your students to form complex questions. Queries that make you think. And don't underestimate the potential of students. Because if they are properly motivated, they can formulate questions that require thoughtful answers.
Beyond learning
This method also gives students critical thinking. They'll be able to start reasoning and concluding before venturing into hasty inputs.
In the same way, they learn how to break down problems, segmenting them into the most basic element to find a suitable explanation and subsequent solution.
As you can see, this method develops reasoning and judgement. It can be considered too advanced for little children. But it is a good idea that they start with this type of learning at an early age. Obviously, everything needs to be prepared so students can know what they are doing.
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