How would a teacher be able to engage Elementary students on topics that may not be as interesting to them?
Hi Jacquelyn, I am an undergraduate student taking a Methods of Science class. My instructor was telling us the key way to get all students ingaged is to make it fun! Try to incorporate any hands on experienments or activties that you can to tie to the lesson and it will also help them remember what was taught! It might take a little more planning time than the average lesson, but it will be so much more benificial to the students' learning outcomes. I hope you are able to find a solution to your question!
Hi Jacquelyn!
I think students will be more engaged in topics if they can see it as a part of their daily life. When you relate a topic to students daily lives it is more likely for them to be invested in what your explaining.
Hello Jacquelyn! I have this same question. I think that doing a hands-on activity would be very helpful. I also think that it helps if you show interest in that topic. Students don't want to sit and listen to a lecture all day long, they want to be entertained!
The first thing I always think of is... it has to be fun! Science is such an exciting, engaging topic for children since they are naturally curious. When your lessons begin with an engaging phenomenon that invites students in to observe, wonder about, ask questions about the curiosity is naturally peeked. They want to know more and want to try to figure it out! Helping students discover how the science is about them personally also helps engage them in the topic. Science is all around us and as students find those personal connections they become eager to dig deeper.
Here is a great article from the Science & Children journal that talks about just that https://common.nsta.org/resource/default.aspx?id=10.2505%2f4%2fsc08_046_04_40
I hope that helps some! jen
Hello Jacquelyn. Every child is interested as long as they are stimulated. Therefore, visuals, hand-on and minds-on activities engage the students. I was not interested much in science as a child but always became interested when we conducted experiments, dissected, built, etc. Science is not everyone's cup of tea but it is our duty as educators or future educators to instill it in their little minds/hearts that science is just as important in their education as is any other subject.
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