Instructify

You are boring. No, not the person sitting next to you. You. I don’t care if you are the “cool” teacher, but you are going to be perceived as a total bore unless you do something to make sure those kids are paying attention to you and not daydreaming or becoming distracted by their newly found way to draw their own initials. Here are some tips to help you stay in control of the classroom, based on some of my own observations along with the help of some other great articles I’ve found:

1. Be Interactive – It’s one thing to ask questions aloud, hoping that one of your students will raise his hand and pipe right up to join in the conversation, but it’s another to actually engage your class by making the whole group get involved at once. This is why in-class games like Jeopardy can be so much fun and ultimately more beneficial than a lecture. Find games or activities that require active participation by the whole class, rather than just wait for one or two go-getters to do all the talking. You also have to keep pace with the entire class, not just the ones who already get it.
2. Be Interesting - History teachers, listen up. I had the hardest time paying any sort of attention in history class because of the horrifying monotony and relentless memorization of dates and events that I still am not sure really happened or not. Make a history lesson interesting by providing information about those heroes of yesteryear that aren’t just the ones found in the text books. Have your students literally act out, too. Give assignments that allow them to take on the roles of historical figures and act out pieces of history. It will help them visualize the past, and put things into perspective as well.
3. Be Funny – As a disclaimer, I don’t suggest you do anything that will get you in trouble, but having a sense of humor can really get your students to pay attention to you. When was the last time you wore KISS makeup to your Algebra class? Okay, so maybe that’s taking it a bit too far, and you want your students to take you seriously, but don’t forget to keep it light. I used to have a teacher who would threaten to “stand on the desk and yodel” if we’d rather listen to him do that than lecture. Luckily, he never had to, but it always got a laugh when he said he might.
4. Be Relevant -  Your students are not dumb. They also don’t live under rocks. Use pieces of pop culture and current events to pepper your lectures, and you might even see a head or two rise off the desk. Teaching about electromagnetism? There are some episodes of LOST you can check out to help support your lesson. And hey, who knows, maybe you can bring in some ideas you found on your favorite educator’s blog?
5. Be Confident – If you don’t know what you’re talking about, then your students will see right through you. How can you expect your students to be passionate about anything that you could give a rat’s patoot about? Be sure of what you’re saying, don’t keep referring to the teacher’s edition, and try to make eye contact every once in a while. Your confidence and leadership abilities are paramount for establishing you as the authority. Don’t be afraid to be human, but don’t forget that you are in charge and they will see you falter if you let them.

These are just a few of the ways you can get your students to stay awake and engaged in the classroom. We’d love to hear about what techniques you employ when it comes to keeping yours engaged. Let us know in the comments. -JEREMY S. GRIFFIN

Photo: credit:  ***pim*** on flickr