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There are a lot of questions to respond to so I will attempt to respond to one or two. Experiments are the best way to engage students. However, not all classes can consist of an experiment. As my experience has grown, I have realized that the students need to do some of the teaching, talking, explaining, etc. Instead of answering their questions, I rephrase the question and give it back to them. Through experiments and students taking on the responsibility for their own learning, they have become less about immediate gratification and more about, don't tell us the answer because they want to be the ones to solve the issue.
Behavior is an issue unto itself. We could discuss it for days and still not resolve it for every situation. The answer to misbehavior certainly is NOT what I learned in college. The professor told us to ignore the behavior and it will go away. Right. That never has happened in the 23 years that I have been teaching.
As for classroom engagement, if I don't have a quick video clip, I will tell a corny joke, or I will ask a seemingly simple question. For example, when learning about moon phases, I put a picture of Neil Armstrong walking on the moon. After we ooh and ahh over it, I ask, "If Neil Armstrong was the first man to walk on the moon, who took this picture?"
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