Interest, Application and Goals. These three basic but essential strategies are important when it comes to teaching the next generation of students. Educators have to up their game in order to engage this group of students.

 

One of the best ways for children to learn is when their interest is captured. Notice how children are very motivated in winning when playing games like Monopoly and Chess, or how an entire class of rowdy students become quietly enraptured by a rare video screening session.

Imagine if you could use Mathematical games in class to motivate all your students, including the weaker ones, into learning Maths of their own accord. Word-game sessions can similarly be organised to encourage the learning of the English Language, when students are allowed to pit their language skills against each other before the eyes of their respected teachers. Games such as Hangman can be organised for the entire class with a little preparation, and you can get free samples of Mathematics games which may be played with students at www.shimes-education.com/extra_info_pages.php?pages_id=43

 

Good videos for class instructions may be hard to come by, but you may surf YouTube and bookmark interesting videos which you may use for the next science lesson such as http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-r2YRkTSAG4.

 

Making subjects applicable to the lives of students makes learning liveable for the less motivated students. A lesson in Science on nutrition may be started with an announcement that “students who wish to grow as tall as Lebron James or girls who want a good figure should study this topic intensively!” Children have the most diverse dreams you can imagine and by reinforcing the message that they can learn it from the books would motivate a fair bit of self-learning.

 

Helping students set meaningful goals would give them a strong sense of direction and focus. This is needed most of the time as not all lessons may be 100% engaging to every single student of the class. Take the time to set personal goals with each of your students. These goals should put a smile on their faces when they think about it. A hard-working student may ‘Aim for 80 marks and above in all major tests’. A less academically inclined student may ‘Aim to be a pilot when I grow up’, which a teacher must explain, involves getting rather good grades in school. Have your student design an A4 poster of his/her dream or goal and have them paste it on their bedroom wall. Such ‘vision boards’ have proven to work miracles for adults, so can they for children.




By: Justin Lee