Quick Student Engagement Ideas for Busy Teachers

STUDENT ENGAGEMENT. I set out to find what seemed to work and why; what made students' learning clocks tick and how could we, as faculty, be more involved in the winding mechanism. I also wanted to identify ideas and opportunities that other educators could use in their own classrooms to increase student engagement and create higher levels of learning. I polled over 1000 faculty members AND college students to discover what teaching and learning methods resonated most with each of them. The numbers from my research told a story, and as I analyzed responses, I began to build a framework that would become a new model for engaging students in the classroom. The data showed that students do want information. They want it now, but they also want it in relevant and 'snack-sized' portions delivered in an engaging manner. All faculty members can substantially improve their classroom learning environments if they make a conscious choice to apply new ideas and employ the four M's (Movement, Materials, Mindfulness, and Media) of the Enterprising Engagement Model framework set out in this book. By being exposed to these results and strategies, you will discover suggestions and ideas that you can use to tweak or improve your own teaching patterns and routines. This book is meant to serve as a tool to help teachers get more out of their students and get more out of themselves. Furthermore, this book includes topically appropriate checklists, models, and strategies; all materials that you can use to control your own, custom success plan. From one simple question I opened the door to hundreds of successful learning ideas, activities, and principles. I'm offering you a shortcut through which you can selectively borrow from best practices and start using them immediately. From these 'ready-made-activities' you can shop for things you like. My research findings and resulting strategies will also appeal to administrators, parents, trainers and others interested in an engaging learning environment. I invite you to join me on an intellectual adventure to discover what makes for creative college learning and how you can make it work for you. You might find one or two things here you would expect, but most will surprise you (and some will even shock you, as they are highly contradictory to academic conventions). Get ready for a fun, inspirational journey of learning!