You're juggling diverse student personalities in class. How do you keep the group engaged and cohesive?
Juggling various student personalities in a classroom can be challenging, but fostering engagement and cohesion is key to a productive learning environment. Here are some strategies to help:
How do you keep your classroom cohesive? Share your strategies.
You're juggling diverse student personalities in class. How do you keep the group engaged and cohesive?
Juggling various student personalities in a classroom can be challenging, but fostering engagement and cohesion is key to a productive learning environment. Here are some strategies to help:
How do you keep your classroom cohesive? Share your strategies.
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1. Varied Teaching Methods: Use a mix of lectures, discussions, group work, and hands-on activities to cater to different learning styles. 2. Inclusive Environment: Foster an inclusive atmosphere where all students feel valued and respected. Encourage open dialogue and respect for diverse perspectives. 3. Clear Expectations: Set clear guidelines for behavior and participation to ensure everyone understands their role in the classroom. 4. Interactive Activities: Incorporate games, debates, or role-playing to make learning interactive and fun. 5. Personal Connections: Get to know your students individually to tailor your approach and show genuine interest in their success.
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ask questions, allow the students to speak, listen to their answers... as a lecturer most of your time should be spent listening, not talking... you have one mouth and two ears use them in that ratio...
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* Fostering Inclusivity: Create an environment where all voices are valued, allowing students to express their thoughts comfortably. * Varying Activities: Use a mix of discussions, group work, and hands-on exercises to cater to different learning styles. * Encouraging Collaboration: Pair students with diverse strengths to promote teamwork and shared learning experiences. * Setting Clear Expectations: Establish guidelines for behaviour and interaction to maintain respect and focus. * Providing Positive Reinforcement: Recognise individual contributions to boost morale and engagement.
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See the students as individuals rather than a part of the class. Get to know them, what their interests are and try to see beyond their potential. If you work with passion and love, you will quickly see through them and have the strenght and motivation to challenge them individually.
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Using a variety of teaching strategies is key to keep the class engaged. The new learner needs discussions, online engagements ,incorporating QR codes and polls,researching online to respond to questions posed, making a small presentation during the lecture are some interesting ways to keep students engaged. All of which takes planning and knowing your audience.There has to also be willingness from the lecturer to change strategies to suit the audience. We must be mindful that whatever worked 5 years ago( pre COVID) may not necessarily work today. People have shorter attention spans, even mature students, so keeping everyone engaged require learning new strategies, experimenting with them, to get a best fit for your students.
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It's imperative for students to feel welcome, supported, and engaged during lessons of this nature, and would recommend establishing general rules on how each student should conduct him/herself when communicating with fellow peers. Having varied activities to retain students' attention could also be beneficial for everyone.
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One thing I have realized is that you quickly get a sense of students' communication styles within the first few minutes of a lesson. Then, you can adapt your teaching approach. One great way is way is to use peer correction. If a particular student is a bit slower than others, besides correcting them myself, I get their classmates to correct them. This ensures that I don't waste valuable speaking time by focusing on one particular student Another way is to ask specific students for their thoughts, on particular questions. Another strategy is to use soft interjections if a student happens to be taking up too much speaking time during their turns.
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Creating a cohesive classroom is both an art and a science. Over time, I’ve developed strategies to foster inclusivity, engagement, and collaboration. Setting clear expectations is key; at the start of each course, I establish guidelines for communication, participation, and respect to create consistency. I encourage collaboration through group activities, peer feedback, and team projects, helping students connect and appreciate diverse perspectives. Personal engagement is vital—I strive to understand each student’s strengths and challenges to provide tailored support. Leveraging technology enhances interaction, especially in hybrid settings, while modeling empathy and respect creates a safe, inclusive environment.
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To keep a group of diverse student personalities engaged and cohesive, I: Incorporate Varied Teaching Strategies: I use a mix of discussions, hands-on activities, and multimedia to appeal to different learning preferences and ensure everyone feels included. Foster Collaborative Learning: I assign group tasks that leverage each student's strengths, encouraging teamwork while promoting mutual respect and understanding. These approaches help create an inclusive, dynamic classroom where all students stay engaged and work well together.
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These are the things I follow in my classes to keep the students engaged: • Laying clear rules from the beginning. • Allowing the students to explore. • Everybody learns differently. Provide opportunities for all learning styles. • Include physical movements now and then. • Feeling distracted doesn't always need a reason. It's common. Don't make it an issue, use some small games or small talks to lure the class back to the topic. • Building a personal level relationship with students allows you to design the class activities according to the needs of the diverse students. • Being lenient and assertive at the same time helps achieve the learning outcomes. • Each person in the class is responsible for the work that they must complete.
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