Engaging Student Critical Thinking and Motivation
Think about your favorite classes from your time as a student. Beyond containing interesting subject matter, these classes probably stand out for their engagement, for their content, and also for how they helped you build skills transferable beyond the classroom. When you look back on these classes, you likely remember specific activities and the ways they encouraged you to think—whether that meant thinking like a scientist, historian, writer, or problem-solver in your field—as well as how inspired you were to keep learning.
Good teaching prioritizes student experiences. When you draw on multiple strategies for classroom engagement, you acknowledge that learning comes in various forms. This awareness benefits a wider range of students to succeed in your course, helping them craft the skills they need to thrive in the future. You may choose to foster engagement through short freewriting activities, field trips, or semester-long projects. Whichever strategies you use to connect students with the course content, including a variety of these practices in your teaching will show long-lasting dividends.
By the end of this chapter, you’ll be able to…
- Encourage students to engage in metacognition: reflecting on their own thinking and learning processes.
- Incorporate a range of active learning activities, like polls and debates, into your everyday teaching practice.
- Understand the benefits of group work and identify best practices for structuring it within the classroom setting.
- Consider how experiential learning, such as gallery visits or field trips, can support your students in achieving their learning goals.