Have you ever found yourself in a position when you glanced at students and caught them daydreaming and looking spaced out? And just when you think you have prepared the best lesson and the most engaging activity, you find the students scatterbrained.
Undoubtedly, being an educator, your overriding objective is to give your students nothing but the best. However, even though you try to do everything in your capacity, sometimes it becomes incredibly challenging to engage the entire classroom in the lesson.
There’s no denying the fact that every student has a distinct personality. For instance, some students may not be fond of the conventional ways of engagement in the classroom. In contrast, others might not prefer video lessons. And thus, this restricts the participation and engagement in the class activities. As a result, it’s nothing less than a struggle to convince students to speak up, voice their opinions, and join in the class participation.
But, being educators, isn’t your primary responsibility to develop a teaching process and content that benefits students of all personalities? Isn’t it indispensable to figure out ways to make the classroom environment interactive so that students can absorb as much information as possible?
If you find yourself wondering how to create a positive learning experience for your students, there is no need to sweat. This article reveals some tips to build an interactive classroom environment that fosters enhanced academic performance and promotes learner’s emotional and social well-being:
Come up with exciting projects
No teacher ever intends to exclude students. However, being an educator, you must present all the opportunities to those students who often feel left out, especially the special needs ones. For this reason, you can pursue a master’s program that accelerates your teaching career and imparts comprehensive knowledge to serve such students. You can view this site to learn about the online degree program and be an active participator of inclusion.
With an MAT in special education, you can keep your students engaged by bringing the students together for a group project. Working on a group project will help students learn how to collaborate, which might help them later in their lives.
Promote a sense of discipline
For years, educators have been on their toes and trying their best to create a positive learning atmosphere. Establishing such an environment is no more a nice-to-have option but a requisite for better learning. Get it right, and the students will become more focused, take the reins of education, get ready for more risks, and experiment more.
If you want to create an interactive learning environment, first establish a safe and positive environment. You can do so by developing a clear code of conduct. Avoid presenting your list of set of rules to your students. Instead, involve students in making one by asking them how they would like to be treated by other fellows. Students who are equally in charge of making a list of rules are more likely to feel ownership towards the classroom rules.
Communicate directly with students and parents
Communicating with students can profoundly impact their classroom behavior. Asking input from students about what activities should take place in classrooms can ingrain a sense of trust and ownership in them. These activities may include choosing a learning background music or identifying topics of greater interest.
And if you find yourself settling on any decision, stop and ponder – will it be more beneficial if the students give their opinions and make the choices instead. Moreover, keep the parents in the loop and regularly communicate the updates and relevant information.
Reinforce positive behaviors
It’s easier to get inclined to destructive behaviors instead of good ones, no denying that. Due to this reason, as an educator, it’s your responsibility to reinforce positive attitudes. Instead of reprimanding your students for their negative behaviors, which is a type of negative reinforcement, appreciate their positive actions.
If you observe any student acting out and taking inappropriate actions, praise the one that takes the right actions. Also, practice saying thank you whenever students follow your instructions, listen to lectures attentively, and participate in class discussions.
You can also go a bit extra mile and distribute tokens of appreciation such as certificates, badges, and other reward systems. That way, you can help the learners develop intrinsic motivation and produce positive behaviors.
Maintain a positive mindset
Your teaching enthusiasm can leave a significant and long-lasting effect on students’ motivation, which, in turn, will enhance active participation. Therefore, make self-care a priority and take care of your emotional and physical well-being.
Try to keep an optimistic mindset; after all, your state of mind plays an integral role in creating your desired learning environment. So, carve out some time from your daily routine for yourself and do what helps you get your mind off things.
Additionally, you can practice deep-breathing exercises, stretching, and meditation to unwind and de-stress during your off-time. Practicing mindfulness can assist you in remaining focused entirely on the task at hand. That way, you can communicate effectively with learners and build strong relationships.
Final Words
It’s paramount to evaluate the effectiveness of learning activities time and again to establish a positive and interactive learning environment. You must also determine if these activities facilitated the student’s understanding and met the associated learning goals.
And while the above-discussed strategies, for sure, will help you a great deal. However, the foolproof method to reach an interactive learning environment is through practice and investing efforts.
Therefore, keep refining your teaching styles, prepare valuable content, and brace yourself to make mistakes. The classroom environment will be no less than perfect when you do all of this. And you will be well on your way to becoming a true professional in this teaching domain.
