Keeping Students Engaged: Classroom Teaching Techniques

October 17, 2014

Whether you’re teaching a group of elementary school students or college students, one of the greatest difficulties you will face is keeping their attention for an extended period of time. Especially now that technology is so prominent in students’ lives (and even in the classroom), it’s likely that your students are more tuned into their electronic devices than they are to what’s being presented to them. However, having a few effective teaching techniques under your belt before you even enter the classroom can reduce your chances of having to struggle with students who are not paying attention.

With help from Faculty Focus, we’ve compiled a few great teaching tips that can help you keep your students engaged, see below:

1. Be Clear: Talking too fast or trying to breeze through your lesson can easily cause students to lose their focus. Especially when it comes to taking notes and retaining the information, talking too fast hurts students’ ability to get it all down on paper, and therefore, could even encourage them to stop taking notes all together. Instead, speak slowly and clearly, and always be willing to return to a topic if students need more clarification.
2. Switch It Up: While some lessons will require you to lecture, try not to design every class to be lecture based. Rather, switch up your teaching styles and incorporate group work and hands on activities so that there is a change of pace in the classroom.
3. Make Grades and Attendance a Priority: If your students know that their grade weighs heavily on their assignments and attendance, chances are they will take the class much more seriously. In terms of assignments, emphasize that in class assignments and participation also contribute to their grade – you’d be surprised at how quickly hands are raised!

In addition to using these strategies and techniques, it’s important to realize that your classroom’s furniture and setup also play a role in keeping students focused. For example, if desks are set up in a way where some students will have to turn around to see the board, it’s likely that they’ll be more inclined to lose focus and remain facing forward at their desk. That’s why at Nickerson Corporation, we offer furniture that is reliable, comfortable and flexible for your school’s classroom! For more information on our products, please give us a call at (631) 666-0200 today!