Classroom Engagement
I believe classroom engagement is very important in your everyday class lecture. You have to be organized and prepared for every class lecture or you can lose your class fast .Your students will not be engaged and fall out of interest with the course and possibly drop from the course. Then you will have a retention problem on your hands which will be no good.That's why classroom engagement is a vital piece to the instructor if he or she wants to have a successful learning environment.
Princess,
I use field trips and guest speakers a lot in my classes to get my student connected with the field they are about to enter. They need to see and hear how what they are studying will be used in the workplace.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Field trip to a chapter coding meeting motivate students to enhanced their craft and become passionate towards their chosen career path. mirror effect?
Craig,
One thing that is consistent with being an educator is that nothing is consistent. By being able to adapt and substitute instructional activities and delivery modes the class can continue to go forward. You did a great job of just that and was able to salvage the class session rather than losing it.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I had an issue the other day where the computer equipment that I was to use in class for my class was not working. This made thing difficult but I was able to go on with out it and continue right along so that I wouldn't lose the classroom attention.
Lyndsie,
They are great ways to encourage the engagement of students. I use graduates and they tell my current students about the value of the content being shared along with the skills being developed. Field trips show the students what the world they are preparing to enter is really like. Both enhance the learning of students so use them to help "sell" your course to the students.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
It's only very recently that I have become an instructor and I have already considered having class speakers and/or field trips to expose the students to our field. Learning about something in theory compared to actually performing the duties is a completely different experience. Have you noticed that doing these types of activities also help to keep their attention as well?
Keith,
I concur with your observation that classroom engagement is important and is best facilitated by being organized and prepared for each class. Engagement often occurs when the lesson is relevant to the students and involves (or at least allows for involvement) by the students. One of my favorite instructors used to assign end of chapter questions and then use 3x5 cards with each student's name to select the person to answer questions after reviewing the chapter. He then graded their answer on the spot. You can bet that the students paid attention to him when he got to the portion of the class when he wanted students to answer those questions.
Kimberly,
Both of these sharing efforts help students to see the realities of what they are going to face once they enter the workplace. They increase the value of the content to the students and help them to see why they are being asked to learn what they are.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Guest speakers have spoken to the class about career advancement. We have had several field trips to a laboratory to observe what a MLT does in a clinical setting.
KEITH,
Thank you for making the key point concerning classroom engagement. You are right about it being critical for student retention. What are some ways that you promote and support classroom engagement with your students that you would be willing to share with other instructors?
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
