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Words of Encouragement By Maria Angel Ferrero

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Words of Encouragement By Maria Angel Ferrero

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" While engaging students online can be more challenging, the learning experience can be as good or even better than in the traditional physical classroom. With the proper planning and tools, remote teaching can be as effective as in-person teaching."

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Google Meet: Online Web and Video Conferencing Calls | Google Workspace

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Use Google Meet for secure online web conferencing calls and video chat as a part of Google Workspace.

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15 Free Digital Tools to Boost Students' Engagement Online

A review of digital tools and ideas for teachers to support formative assessment in online classrooms

Engaging students online is nothing like engaging students in physical classrooms. It can be challenging, especially in times of crisis as students have to deal with more stress and anxiety.

For many learners, online learning is a new experience. And even when they have the best intentions, they can easily get distracted and lose interest. This can cause a higher number of students dropping out of school or resiting classes. Also, students with special needs and learning disorders are more likely to feel lost and disengage.

While engaging students online can be more challenging, the learning experience can be as good or even better than in the traditional physical classroom. With the proper planning and tools, remote teaching can be as effective as in-person teaching.

To save you time, effort, and money, I have compiled a list of the top free tools to increase your students' engagement online. No matter if you are a newbie or an expert, these tools are the best in their market and are free, or almost.

This post will tell you everything you need to know about from the best online tools and resources for engaging students online.

Collaborative Annotation

Diigo is a social bookmarking with excellent organization tools. The main value of Diigo is how it increases both students and teacher productivity while making it fun. Teachers can create student accounts for an entire class with just a few clicks and access to premium functionalities for free ( apply here).

You can create your personal library in the cloud for each of your courses, with links, pages, notes, pictures, and invite students so that they can access it and annotate. Students of the same class are automatically set up as a Diigo group so they can start using all the benefits that a Diigo group provides, such as group bookmarks and annotations, and group forums. Students can then collaborate and all read the same article and discuss synchronously right on the page.

You can also provide feedback to students' work and writings by posting sticky notes and making screen captures and marking it up. Diigo provides powerful search capabilities.

You can find anything easily, even your own annotations. Diigo also provides excellent organization capabilities, with both tagging and lists, to suit different needs.

Evernote is one of my favorite apps for learning. Is one powerful tool. Evernote is a note-taking app that can do much more than just taking notes. Like diigo, Evernote lets you save any content, forever. With Evernote you can do almost everything you want, is like a second brain. From a simple checklist to writing business plans, from class note-taking to academic research, from organizing your ideas to organizing your team.

Evernote is compatible with all kinds of devices and operating systems, and it is accessible also through the web app. You can share with your students complete notebooks, composed of unique resources, and organize it with tags. Guests are allowed to annotate and collaborate if you give them permission, or just read if you restrict it.

Evernote has a free version that's quite complete for students. But the premium version is accessible and gives you the power to add notes to pdf files, do a text search on all your content, save and access revision history of your notes, send yourself emails with notes and integrate other apps like google drive. For a quick guide on how to use Evernote, you can read this article.

Notion started as a collaborative document editor. But you can do many other things. Students can use it to take and share notes in class or to organize their tasks with to-do lists.

But as an educator Notion can be the perfect workspace for your syllabi, notes, assignments, grades, and much more. You can create your course syllabi and share it with your students or create a wiki for the class.

Notion offers built-in templates that make student and teachers' life easier. Students can find tools for building grade calculators, personal budget, job applications. While teachers can adopt ready-to-use templates for lesson plans, schedules, and class directory.

Notion is free for both students and educators. With an official institutional email address, you get access to unlimited block storage and no file upload limit.

Hypothes.is is not like any other annotation tool. If I have to be honest, is one of my favorites. Not only it's a remarkable tool, but it is also open-source and completely free. Hypothes.is goes beyond traditional digital annotation, they enable sentence-level note-taking or discussion on classroom reading, news, blogs, scientific articles, books, terms of service, ballot initiatives, legislation, and more. The beautiful about it is that it promotes web literacy and digital citizenship in students, more than any other app.

Educators need to create an account and then send the registration link to their students. Students will then be able to access the readings assignments and start annotating. You can also create private annotation groups. So, for example, if you want your students to work in smaller groups, you can send them special links. This link will also serve as the group home page with a list of members and texts annotated by the group. You can also link to a stream of annotations created by group members from the group home page.

Hypothes.is has a Chrome browser extension and is compatible with almost all Learning Management Systems (Canva, and Moodle included). For a quick guide on how to use it in your classroom, go here.

Visual collaboration and communication tools are also a brilliant way to make your online classes more dynamic and to motivate your students to be more active. There are several apps for doing this, but Mural and Miro are my favorite.

Visual Collaboration

A digital workspace for visual collaboration. As an educator, you can apply for a free facilitator account and start collaborating with other educators and students. With the educator account, you can have up to 10 team members (which can edit, facilitate and create murals) and 20 guests (only for collaborating to murals you give them access to) to your mural spaces. With Mural you can conduct virtual brain-storming sessions, use canvas layouts and frameworks designed by experts for different activities (business model, mind-mapping, empathy map, many others). you can break out your classroom in groups so that students' teams can collaborate in different workspaces. You can apply for a Mural educator account here. Here you can find a tutorial on how to use Mural for education.

Similar to Mural, Miro is an app that acts as a virtual whiteboard for team collaboration. Educators and students can apply for a free education account that has the same functionalities as the pro version. Even if you don't apply for the education account, you can create your free account and have up to 3 whiteboards to play with. You can invite an unlimited number of viewers and have small teams collaborating in your whiteboards. Otherwise, with the educational plan, you can invite and collaborate with as many students as you want and create unlimited whiteboards. To apply for an education account, you just need to apply here.

Engagement and gamification

Games are by far the most effective way to keep students engaged in learning, off and online. There is nothing more gratifying for learners than getting rewards and recognition when they work hard for it. Not only games are fun, but they facilitate learning. There are plenty of apps available for educators (and anyone else) for creating challenges, evaluations, and assignments while leaving the boring side apart. These two are my favorite.

The most famous interactive quiz platform is Kahoot, a free student-response that uses many gamification techniques to engage students' participation and enhance learning. With Kahoot, you can both host live quizzes and self-paced challenges for out-of-class review. You can play Kahoot games in single mode or in team mode and offer plenty of fun features to stimulate students to play and learn. Kahoot offers a basic free plan where you can invite up to 50 players, host online games, play, and create as many Kahoots as you want and have assessments of reports ready to download. Premium plans start at 5 USD per month and you get more amazing features and more players.

With sli.do you can empower your students to ask questions, vote in polls, and be a part of the lecture by using a simple Q&A and polling tool. Sli.do is a great tool for promoting active learning in online classes. It allows you to involve your students in your lecture and give them the freedom to express their opinion via live polls, quizzes, brainstorming. The possibilities are vast.

With polls, you can learn if your lecture's content resonates with your students. You can also use them to drive meaningful discussions in your class.

Use quizzes to find out how much your students remember from your lectures. Use them to recap the content from the last lecture. Or motivate your students to pay attention during your lecture by hosting a quiz at the end.

Use the questions feature to collect students' questions throughout your lecture and address them as they come in or in a dedicated Q&A session at the end of your class. You and your students can upvote and provide their answers in real-time, making peer-learning possible.

Another awesome feature is the switcher app. With Slido Switcher, you can display polls or questions on top of your presentation using your smartphone as a remote control. Whether you use PowerPoint, Keynote, or Prezi, our Switcher app allows you to switch seamlessly between your presentation and Slido.

Sli.do offers an education package starting at $5 per month. But you can also use the free version for free for up to 100 participants.

Have you ever played jeopardy? Well, Factile is a free learning platform that lets teachers create engaging Jeopardy-style quiz games for the classroom. You can create and personalize your own game boards or use pre-made quizzes shared by the community. With Factile you can either host jeopardy games, regular multiple choice quizzes, memory games, and create study flashcards to improve students' learning proficiency. As Kahoot, you can play Factile in teams or individually. With the free version you can create up to 5 teams for each game and you can host up to 3 games. For as little at 5 USD per month, you can play and create as many games as you want and have over 50 teams. The premium account offers other amazing features like buzzer mode, play memory and choice games, play, and share flashcards.

Interactive Activities

Online assessment and homework need not be boring. There are plenty of tools you can use to overcome the physical distancing and the lack of face-to-face interaction between you and your students. Collaboration and social co-creation are possible online thanks to technology. These are my favorite/

A free platform that allows you to curate and organize content from different platforms to save and share with students, colleagues, and friends. You need to create a collection - something like hashtags topics on Instagram - and students can contribute to adding text, pdf, videos, URLs, images, and Flipgrid shorts. These are brilliant ways for students to express their learning. Apart from this, the teacher can encourage creativity among the learners by inviting students to approach the assessment the way they want to. The idea behind Wakelet is to curate content like you will do for blogs (like Medium) or magazines. You can synthesize a bunch of different content, filter out the noise, and keep what is valuable in one sole collection to better communicate about a specific concept or topic. Wakalet is completely free and its potential is amazing.

Flipgrid is a free social learning app to create and share short and exceptional videos. As an educator, you have free access to the app and you can create different grids - classrooms - and topics of discussion. Each grid has a unique code that you can share with your students so they can access the topics and the videos being posted by the professors and classmates. It is a magnificent tool for reflective learning and for building solid learning communities within your classes. As an educator you can post discussion prompts and students may respond with short videos, whether they are learning in class or at home. Flipgrid is completely free. For more info on how to use it, read the beginner's guide here.

Backchannel discussion

Backchannel discussions are a great way for learners to have an on-topic conversation during a lecture. It is an effective way to keep your students engaged during an online session and continue the conversation afterward.

Unlike quiz tools like Kahoot, backchannels are not based on competition or gamification. The aim is not to test students' knowledge. Instead, a backchannel is an informal way for students to interact with the educator and their classmates in the form of an online forum designed to complement classroom activity.

Initially conceived for business team communication and project management, slack can also be an outstanding tool for education. From planning and teaching curriculum to managing student services, slack offers amazing functionalities for both students and educators. You can create one workspace for each course, each with a set of channels for classroom work, discussion, group projects, and office hours. Students can use channels to post clarifying questions and comments throughout the lesson, and their classmates can use emoji reactions to second questions or show support for comments. Slack is compatible with Zoom, so when running a virtual classroom on Zoom you can directly access slack channels and questions. You can use threads to organize smaller group discussions around specific topics during the class. Slack is free, but for a better experience and more control over your interactions, and data premium plan is a better option. Slack offers 85% discount on the premium plan to education institutions. You can apply here.

Padlet is a productivity software and we are pretty keen on making your work life easier. It's essentially an online bulletin board, something like a notice board. It is an outstanding tool for making classes more interactive as it has a wide range of features such as sharing and collaborating documents, videos, post. But the best of it is their Backchannel option.

Padlet Backchannel provides a familiar messaging interface for both synchronous and asynchronous class discussions. You can use Padlet for student conversations during a lecture, for brainstorming ideas, or for Q&A session. You can make your Backchannels private, password-protected, secret, or fully public. You can also make them read-only or add admins. Another exceptional functionality is their Profanity filter that replaces bad words with emojis. You can also turn on discussion moderation and approve all messages before they show up for other readers.

While Padlet is not for free, it is still accessible at 99$/year per educator and includes unlimited student accounts.

Video conferencing and virtual classroom

Video conferencing is one of the best ways to get in touch with your students remotely. It's a brilliant tool for having engaging conversations and lectures where you need interaction and peer discussion.

The most common software for videoconferencing used by businesses and educators. Zoom has a freemium service. It's great for hosting webinars, meetings, group collaborations, and calls. With a free account, you can invite up to 100 participants, have face-to-face interviews, and up to 40 minutes of group conference. With the current pandemic situation, Zoom has removed the 40 minute limit for educators. You just need to create an account with your institutional email address.

An alternative open source web conferencing system for online learning. The goal of the project is to provide remote students with a high-quality online learning experience. BigBlueButton is amazing because you can have the same Zoom pro functionalities for free. The software is really user-friendly. BBB has a whiteboard that you can share with your participants, you can breakout rooms for team collaboration and create polls during your virtual lecture. Here you can find a user guide on how to use BigBlueButton for education.
Another great software is google meet, which you can access for free if you have a google classroom account. Also, you have which offers amazing functionalities with its pro version.
Final words

While engaging students online can be more challenging, the learning experience can be as good or even better than in the traditional physical classroom. With the proper planning and tools, remote teaching can be as effective as in-person teaching.

You can anticipate and prevent students' disengagement and procrastination by implementing these tools.

Engaging students online is not much more difficult than engaging with them in a physical classroom. Online methods provide a wide range of alternatives to promote active learning and teamwork.

Ready to shift to Online Education? Receive monthly tips and tricks on how to make your online classes more engaging.

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15 Free Digital Tools to Boost Students' Engagement Online

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A review of digital tools and ideas for teachers to support formative assessment in online classrooms Engaging students online is nothing like engaging students in physical classrooms. It can be challenging, especially in times of crisis as students have to deal with more stress and anxiety.

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How to Keep Kids Engaged in Class

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Edutopia is a free source of information, inspiration, and practical strategies for learning and teaching in preK-12 education. We are published by the George Lucas Educational Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization.

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Keeping students engaged in math practice

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Here's how nearly one million teachers use Prodigy in the classroom at no cost!

Help students master math standards with a fun and engaging gameplay experience

Adjust and align Prodigy's in-game math content with your lesson plans

Track student development to decide where to best spend your time

No trial period, no hidden costs for educators. Our optional parent memberships ensure Prodigy stays free for all teachers.

Prodigy for Teachers

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Here's how nearly one million teachers use Prodigy in the classroom at no cost! Help students master math standards with a fun and engaging gameplay experience Adjust and align Prodigy's in-game math content with your lesson plans Track student development to decide where to best spend your time No trial period, no hidden costs for educators.

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Engagement Strategies for the Elementary Classroom

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Engagement Strategies for the Elementary Classroom

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Teacher Resources

Teaching Strategies

Glazed eyes. Doodled-over papers. Half-hearted math assignments on rumpled worksheets.

It's pretty easy to spot when student engagement is low in your classroom. So how do you build a classroom filled with positivity, encouragement and excitement for learning?

Good news! There are lots of amazing student engagement strategies you can use to inspire a love of learning in your classroom and build a positive school culture overall.

When students are engaged, research shows they're more likely to follow behavioral expectations, be kind to their peers and succeed academically.

What is student engagement?

Student engagement is when students show up to class excited to learn, participate in learning and demonstrate a positive attitude.

There are three types of student engagement:

Behavioral -- Students behave and don't act out. They bring everything they need during class, follow instructions, work carefully and participate in class discussion.

Emotional -- Students feel like they're a part of the school community and are happy to be there! They greet you with a smile, interact positively with their classmates and look alert during your lessons.

Cognitive -- Also known as intellectual engagement, students are eager to learn and think deeply about the subject matter. They ask challenging questions, and often go above and beyond when completing assignments.

Big-picture engagement is so much more than students who don't fall asleep during geography class. Douglas Willms, director of the Canadian Research Institute for Social Policy at the University of New Brunswick and a member of the US National Academy of Education, defines student engagement as:

The conclusion? Engaged students = lifelong learning students.

Why is student engagement important?

Student engagement is important because it's linked to increased student achievement. Since the 1980s, hundreds of studies have found that when teachers use strategies designed to capture students' attention and actively involve them in the learning process, student achievement soars.

You can lead students to the textbook, but you can't make them read it. Engagement -- behavioral, cognitive and emotional -- is essential for deep, meaningful learning. Willms notes that:

Want to see these results in your classroom? Keep reading to find research-backed strategies for increasing student engagement.

17 Student engagement strategies to use today

Is engagement a "nice-to-have" or a "must have" in your classroom? Let's look at 17 strategies for increasing student engagement.

1. Educational technology

Today's students are surrounded by online distractions. But what if technology could help - instead of hinder - learning?

Educational technology helps students develop necessary 21st century skills while also keeping them engaged and learning.

Here at Prodigy, helping students love learning is our number one priority. Our adaptive math platform turns learning into an adventure, complete with epic quests and amazing rewards.

While students explore Prodigy, they answer curriculum-aligned math questions to complete challenges and earn prizes.

As a teacher, your free Prodigy account lets you easily differentiate content for every student and gives you real-time data about where students are excelling and where they need more practice.
Want to know more? Here are seven fun ways to engage & reward students with Prodigy
Sign up now!

2. Classroom management strategies

In a busy classroom, distractions draw your students' attention away from your lesson and impact their learning.

Classroom management strategies help you build a structured environment where students are encouraged to bring their best selves to the classroom. It might seem counterintuitive, but rules and routines can actually minimize distractions and enhance the learning experience.

While each teacher has their own unique set of strategies, here are a few to get you started:

Create classroom rules that set expectations. Increase student buy-in and let students help you shape the rules! Decide on shared classroom values and create guidelines that reflect them.

Build routines that get students' attention. Give students signals that it's time to face the front, listen to instructions and start learning. When students are focused on you, they're engaged and ready to dive deep into the lesson.

Establish standards for your classroom community. Students are more likely to stay engaged and share their opinions when they know how their classmates will respond. Shut down dismissive or demeaning language, respond to answers neutrally and create a safe environment for questions.

For even more effective classroom management strategies, check out 20 classroom management strategies and techniques.
3. Active learning

Sitting still for a whole lesson can be a bit much for some of your students. Active learning strategies get students engaging with the lesson in different ways.

As a bonus, many active learning techniques encourage students to work with their classmates to discuss a problem, solve an issue or drill down on a new concept. This provides multiple entry points into the lesson and engages student learning.

Some popular active learning activities include:

Three-step interview -- Make groups of three after a lesson. During a 5 to 10-minute interview, the interviewee will quiz their classmate on the lesson they just learned, while the notetaker records the conversation.

Play devil's advocate -- Challenge students to debate and think critically about an issue. When students understand there's more than one side to the story, they're more likely to develop intellectual curiosity and engage with the lesson.

The pause procedure -- While you're teaching, pause every 10 to 15 minutes to give students a chance to discuss their notes with a partner, write questions or compose a quick paragraph about the lesson.

To learn more about active learning and how you can use it in your classroom, read about eight active learning strategies and examples (and get a downloadable list).
4. Blended learning

Blended learning combines online learning tools with traditional classroom methods in several different ways.

In a blended learning classroom, students work to master concepts before they move on, closing learning gaps and building a solid foundation for more advanced work.

A popular blended learning technique is the station rotation method, where students rotate through group activities or learning, individual work and online learning. (Learn more about how you can use Prodigy as part of your station rotation setup!)
For more info on different blended learning models and how you can bring them to your classroom, read our guide on how to implement the six blended learning models.
5. Quick writes

Journaling isn't just for language arts anymore. Having students write down their thoughts and questions is an engaging and insightful practice in the science lab, geography class and beyond.

Before, during or after lessons, challenge students to complete quick writes, where they compose a short paragraph about their thoughts on the lesson or any questions they might have. Writing down their thoughts is a great way to encourage them to think more deeply about the material.

Plus, you'll get to know your students better, understand where they are in their learning journey and build connections with them. Don't have time to mark every entry? Each week, have students pick out their best for you to look at.

Here are some prompts to help you get started:

6. Reciprocal teaching

Not every student loves reading. But reciprocal teaching techniques can increase reading comprehension and get students excited to participate in your language arts lesson!

Using reciprocal teaching strategies to predict, question, clarify and summarize small chunks of text. Our ELLs are engaged in close reading, sharing thoughts and helping each other understand a Newsela article on the pressures of social media. #ell #closereading #newsela pic.twitter.com/dJiIxy9avJ
- Kirsten (@kirstenmll) October 22, 2019

Reciprocal teaching involves four key parts:

Predicting what is going to happen in the text

Questioning the text and asking questions like who, what, when, where, why and how

Clarifying the text and identifying confusing concepts or unknown words

Summarizing the text and condensing the reading to its most important parts

Reciprocal teaching strategies center around the concept of "I do, we do, you do." First, model how the strategy works in front of the whole class. Then, students practice together in groups. Finally, they practice the technique on their own.
To find out more, read about four reciprocal teaching strategies you can use today!
7. Class participation strategies

If just three or four of your students are answering most of the questions you pose in class, the rest of your students probably aren't staying engaged with the lesson.

Lucky for you, there's lots of simple techniques you can start using today to encourage every student to get involved in your lessons!

Popsicle stick names -- Write every student's name down on a popsicle stick and pop it in a spare mug. When you need answers from the class, just pull out a popsicle stick and ask the relevant student to share.

Think-pair-share -- A classic for a reason, the think-pair-share technique challenges students to think about the answer to a question on their own, pair up with a classmate to discuss, then share their conclusions with the class.

Wait time -- There's nothing worse than asking a question and being met with a room of blank stares. Instead of going to fill the silence with your own answer, just wait. Giving students the space they need to develop an answer will pay off in the long run!

Whip around: Pose a question, then go around the room and ask every student to contribute. If they have the same answer as another student, that's fine! Encourage them to rephrase it in a different way to boost comprehension for the entire class.

8. Flexible seating

Desks aren't always the most comfortable option, especially for students stuck in them all day.

Flexible seating gives students the opportunity to learn in a comfortable, adaptive environment that suits their needs. Reading is always more of a treat when it's on a comfy couch, and students can (quietly) bounce away extra energy on an exercise ball during a social studies class.

Flexible seating options can make the classroom feel more welcoming for even the most reluctant learners.

Flexible seating options can work for any classroom and budget. Try:

Stools

Standing desks

Bean bag chairs

Cushions and mats

Or whatever else your imagination can think of!
For more flexible seating ideas from teachers like you, check out 21 flexible seating ideas for your classroom.
9. Culturally responsive teaching

When students see themselves reflected in lessons and teaching materials, they're more likely to be engaged and empowered to share their perspective.

Bring in guest speakers from the local community -- According to a 2015 study by the Economics of Education Review, students often work harder when they share a background with an educator. Diverse guest speakers can bring context and engagement for students they share a cultural background with!

Pose relevant word problems -- Students get a kick out of seeing their names in a word problem on a test or worksheet. Try linking your questions to student interests or referencing diverse cultures.

Differentiate learning -- Use a learning station strategy to easily differentiate for every student. Students can rotate through stations that include small group instruction, completing a worksheet, group work, creating artwork or whatever else fits the lesson.

Diversify your learning materials -- What voices are speaking in your classroom? Work to find teaching materials about and by under-represented groups to show your whole class the value of diversity.

When students understand the classroom is a place for everyone, they're more likely to speak up, get involved and participate in the learning process.
To learn more about focusing on diversity in your classroom, check out our list of 15 culturally-responsive teaching strategies and examples.
10. Personalized learning

Some students race through math worksheets, others need a little more time. Excelling students might have already grasped the latest concept, while some or even the majority of students will need more instruction and perhaps remediation.

In the face of all this, how do you make sure all levels of learners are staying engaged in your classroom?

According to a study from the Gates Foundation, supplementing math instruction with personalized learning techniques substantially improved students' test scores:

Personalized learning techniques help students stay motivated and engaged in learning and encourage them to practice self-advocacy. Some common personalized learning strategies for student engagement include:

Involving students in academic goal-setting for themselves

Giving students multiple opportunities to show their knowledge, from assessments to journal entries

Using flipped instruction strategies to help students learn at their own pace

For more personalized learning techniques, check out seven personalized learning strategies and examples for your classroom.
11. Cooperative learning

Cooperative learning involves delivering instruction through small groups and encouraging students to work together as they explore new topics and concepts.

The best part of cooperative learning is that it can be as formal or informal as you need and it works across different subjects and grade levels!

Cooperative learning prioritizes:

Positive interdependence -- Students learn that each group member's efforts are important for success

Promotive Interaction -- Students offer encouragement and feedback to other group members

Accountability -- Every student accepts responsibility for fulfilling their role

Soft Skills Instruction -- Students develop interpersonal skills that help them work together effectively

Group Processing -- Students work together to determine how they'll meet their goals

What does this look like in your classroom? Create formal or informal learning groups and ask them to explore problems. Cooperative base groups stay together for most or all of the year and can work together to meet bigger academic goals.
For more information on how to use cooperative learning in your classroom, read all about cooperative learning principles and strategies.
12. Service learning

According to the National Youth Leadership Council, service learning is "a philosophy, pedagogy, and model for community development that is used as an instructional strategy to meet learning goals and/or content standards."

Service learning promotes student engagement through hands-on experience and a student-centered approach to community service.

Plus, one study found service learning increased students' grade-point averages 76% of the time and kept students more engaged with course content.

Not sure where to start with service learning? Try:

Supporting a local animal shelter with a fundraiser

Collecting books for a local library and tracking the results

Running a food drive in the school community and creating relevant marketing materials

Want more ideas? We've put together a teacher's guide to service learning!
13. Inquiry-based learning

Inquiry-based learning allows students to focus on an open question or problem, using evidence-based reasoning and creative problem-solving to come to a solution.

As a teacher, inquiry-based learning helps students move beyond an initial "Why?" and into the realm of critical thinking and understanding.

There are a few different ways to structure an inquiry-based learning project, including:

Confirmation inquiry -- Students get the question, answer and method, and build an investigation into how the method works

Structured inquiry -- Students get an open question and investigation method and use the method to craft an evidence-based conclusion

Guided inquiry -- Students design their own method -- usually in groups -- to reach the conclusion of an open-ended question.

Open inquiry -- Students pose original questions and investigate them. Once they develop their own methods and reach a conclusion, they present their findings for discussion.

To successfully bring inquiry-based learning into your classroom, it has to be intentional and research-backed.
Read about inquiry-based learning definition, benefits and strategies for more ideas on how to structure effective inquiry-based learning projects!
14. Project-based learning

Researchers who analyzed 82 studies found that project-based learning helps create a classroom environment where the majority of students are engaged and excited about learning.

Similar to inquiry-based learning, project-based learning challenges students to work individually or in groups to address an engaging, intricate question related to the curriculum.
The question always:

Stays open-ended, so students can explore where they want

Encourages students to apply skills they've already learned in the classroom

Allows students to develop their own approaches to problem solving and product innovation.

Instead of following teacher-directed instruction, students develop critical thinking and interdisciplinary skills to keep them intellectually engaged in their learning.

Critics of project-based learning point out that it can be difficult to objectively grade assignments and really tie in student learnings to specific curriculum skills. But you know your classroom best, and you know what your students can achieve when presented with a challenge!
To find out more about what project-based learning could look like in your classroom, check out The Definitive Project-Based Learning (PBL) Guide.
15. Brain breaks

Bring brain breaks into your classroom to get students up and moving!

Brain breaks are quick exercises or activities that give students a way to channel some of the extra energy they've stored up. In the middle of your class, pause for a few moments to do something fun and unexpected!

There's no limit to what you can do during a brain break, but here are a few of our favorite ideas:

Sing a quick song

Play a round of silent ball

Do a one-minute drawing about the lesson

Have students line up using specific criteria, like tallest to shortest or by birthdate

Do a quick sun salutation or downward dog to engage students' minds and bodies

Bring an inflatable beach ball to bounce around the room, but don't let it touch the ground

Start a freeze dance party -- play some music and bust a move, but challenge students to freeze in place when you pause the tunes

With so many different ideas, you're sure to find one or two that work for your students.

16. Gamification

What if you could challenge your students to be more engaged? According to a 2011 study, gamification in the classroom is correlated with increased student motivation and engagement.

Gamification involves setting learning and behavior goals, then creating a points system where students can work their way towards the goal and earn a reward.

There are lots of different ways to structure your system, but it doesn't have to be complicated. We recommend using a points system where students earn rewards for:

Attendance

Good behavior

Exceptional kindness

Academic achievement

Every student enjoys rewards and recognition for what they're doing well. In addition to boosting student engagement, gamification can also improve:

Time on task

Classroom behavior

Content delivery and processing

To find more examples of how to use gamification in your classroom, read 5 Easy Steps for Gamification in Education.
17. Interdisciplinary teaching

Interdisciplinary teaching challenges students to make connections between different subjects. Work across different subjects and with colleagues to create assignments that foster creativity and experimentation, while also expanding your students' worldview.

Some common interdisciplinary teaching activities include:

Present students with a news story, then give students a related question to solve on their own or in a group.

Challenge students to plan an exciting vacation! They can develop a budget, research their destination and develop an itinerary.

Go on a field study to a local park or nature reserve and explore poetry, ideas, literature and scientific concepts related to the scenery around them.

For more interdisciplinary teaching ideas, check out ten interdisciplinary teaching activities and get design steps!
Final thoughts about student engagement strategies

Where can student engagement be improved in your classroom? Are there places in your teaching practice where small changes would have a big impact?

Douglas Willms got to the heart of the matter when he noted:

Use techniques that make students active partners in the learning process. When students feel supported and encouraged, there's no telling what they'll be able to accomplish!

Prodigy is a game-based learning platform for students in grades 1-8. Over a million teachers around the world use Prodigy to turn math into an epic adventure and help engage students.

Ready to find out how Prodigy can level up math learning in your classroom? Sign up for your free teacher account today!

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" A long-term disposition towards learning -- viewing learning as fun, seeing it as important, seeing the value of working with and functioning as part of a team, being part of a social institution. To me, those are critically important lifelong skills."

" Students who are highly engaged and are effective learners are most likely to be proficient in mathematics and students who hold positive dispositions towards schools and learning, who attend school regularly and who have positive self-beliefs about mathematics."

"There is a back and forth process as children are going through school in which they develop social skills and motivation; that begets academic achievement and academic achievement begets more motivation and social skills. Engagement and learning go hand-in-hand."

"My students are very engaged and beg me to play Prodigy!I have seen one of my lowest students at the beginning of the year start to shine in math because he was doing Prodigy for at least 20 minutes every day."

Kelli Gardner, 1st Grade teacher, Minnesota

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Using reciprocal teaching strategies to predict, question, clarify and summarize small chunks of text. Our ELLs are engaged in close reading, sharing thoughts and helping each other understand a Newsela article on the pressures of social media. #ell #closereading #newsela pic.twitter.com/dJiIxy9avJ
- Kirsten (@kirstenmll) October 22, 2019

"Students attending [school using personalized learning] made gains in math and reading over the last two years that are significantly greater than a virtual control group made up of similar students selected from comparable schools."

Cooperative learning prioritizes:

The question always:

"Engagement requires that students know they've been heard, that their voice matters."

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17 Best Student Engagement Strategies [Teachers Swear By!]

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A sure-fire list of the 17 best student engagement strategies that will get your class excited about learning that you can start using today!