When you have a large group full of children, it can be hard as an educator to ensure that you are engaging young minds fully. At WiseUp, we know that children learn in many different ways; while one solution may work for one child it may completely daunt another. It is important to make sure that these aspects are taken into consideration when teaching in any environment by parents, teachers and instructors..
The following are some scientifically proven ways of engaging young minds, both inside the classroom and outside.
Make Learning Meaningful
If you have ever tried to teach someone something which they believe has almost no bearing on their day to day life, you will see that it is easy for that learner to become bored and disassociated. In order to remedy this, it is important to add as much perspective and meaning to activities, in order to fully engage students. Research has shown that if students do not consider an activity relevant to them, then their engagement will be significantly lowered. All of our activity options at WiseUp link to students everyday life, as well as the UK national curriculum. This teaches learners valuable skills for their personal development which are transferable to a range of environments, including the classroom, playground, workplace and home.
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Relate studies to personal interests
This point goes hand in hand with the last, but relating children’s studies to their personal interests is a proven way of engaging students, as well as making them happier in general. Not only does this allow students a chance to express their individuality, but it also helps to demonstrate that the learnings can have real world benefits. At WiseUp, we use well known everyday examples to demonstrate the success of learning a multitude of different skills.
Lesson Variety
Everyone learns in a different way, so creating a schedule which allows for a variety of different activities is the best course of action for ensuring that all children are learning. Games, group work and outdoor activities are all proven ways of engaging children in their studies, which strengthen key skills such as group work, initiative and proactive thinking. Our many activity options have a strong ethos of being student led which allows learners to make decisions on their own timings, planning and group management.
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Don’t focus on academic results
Teaching children through activities which focus not on their academic value, but their curiosity, passion and desire to learn, is something we strongly emphasise at WiseUp. Studies have shown that students who pursue an activity of their own perceived accord, with a desire to learn and understand, are more likely to outperform peers who are merely motivated by grades, or parental pressure.
This demonstrates the value of letting children develop their own passions without constant pressure of academic relevance. This is a great way of tying all of the previous points together, and ensuring that students drive and passion for learning remains through their years of study.
Get in Touch
At WiseUp we know a great deal about getting people of all ages engaged in team building and educational activities. We are firm believers that taking children out of the classroom and doing something exciting and new cannot only be a lot of fun, but can really help to reinforce classroom learning and grow important character skills. Get in touch below to find out how we can provide exciting activity days in your school.
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