TL;DR:

• Trying new ideas at the end of the school year can increase student engagement and help retain content.
• Versatile methods like choice boards, creativity tools, game-based learning, and interactive lessons boost engagement and curiosity.
• Incorporating student input, STEM activities, and problem-solving challenges further enhance learning experiences and promote essential skills development.

Why try new ideas?

With the school year winding down, educators may notice a decrease in student engagement. For some, they may notice that students are not retaining the content as well. We’re all about “summer slide” or “summer learning loss.” While it is important to take a break over the summer, there are ways to keep the momentum going and finish the year strong. With a strong finish, we can hopefully increase interest and excitement for learning to help students value the process of learning itself.  And maybe we can even spark curiosity in students to seek their own learning opportunities over the summer. 

As teachers wrap up the content, look for ways to review, or simply take a break and try something different, these ideas have worked well to boost engagement in my classroom. Click To Tweet

I believe that the end of the school year is a great time to try something new so we can then reflect on it over the summer. For some of our classes, we may need to think about how to reteach some of the content and offer additional opportunities for students to develop their skills not just during the school year but also over the summer.

So what are some ways that educators can do this? 

We can help students in many ways by choosing versatile methods that are not specific to the content area whether through choice boards or class playlists, STEM-related learning opportunities, or diving into PBL. With these options, we can build content knowledge while also developing SEL skills to prepare students for the future and boost engagement in learning. 

Boosting Engagement and Curiosity 

When we create learning experiences that will more meaningfully engage students with the content, it generates great interest. When we move students from being simply consumers to creators, it increases motivation and amplifies student achievement.

Students having the opportunity to provide input into the lesson and brainstorm ideas and plan with us will also boost engagement and build a learning community in our classrooms. 

As educators, it is important to continue to reflect on our practice and make time to learn about student interests so that we can better provide for them. With a variety of ways for students to show what they have learned, we will foster student agency, boost engagement, and increase student motivation in learning. 

Exploring New Options

Here are some ideas to explore.

Choice Boards

Choice boards are a great way to include a variety of options for students to explore and practice the content in a meaningful and authentic way. It also helps teachers to differentiate instruction through choices. Providing students with multiple ways to process information and build their knowledge fosters student agency in learning. A choice board can be created on paper or digitally. 

Creativity Tools

Buncee is a great option for multimedia presentations and interactive lessons. It has the Immersive Reader which promotes language accessibility for students. There are so many options to choose from for creating a visually engaging presentation!

Book Creator is a multimedia creativity tool to create books that can include audio, video, text, images, and other content. It also has features such as captions, translation in 120+ languages, and improved screen readers. Students can also collaborate on a book with a partner or as part of a class.

Genially is a versatile option that has a variety of templates to choose from. It can be used to create presentations, make a class website, design choice boards, newsletters, escape rooms, storybooks, and more. 

Game-Based Learning

Students enjoy playing a variety of games whether traditional games, ones they make up, or participating in the many digital options available. These are great for teachers to gather feedback and be able to provide additional support for students. Some of our favorites include Blooket, Gimkit, Kahoot!, Quizizz, and Quizlet Live! 

Interactive Lessons

Formative has been a great option in my classroom for many years. It has a variety of options for students to complete quick activities or assessments or do a self-paced lesson. It helps teachers to track student progress and better understand the questions that students might have.

Fun Activities

Skribbl.io is a fun drawing game that I used in my Spanish classes. Teachers can add a list of vocabulary words. Students use a code to join the game and try to guess the word as it is drawn. Gimkit has a similar feature.

Another favorite is Bingo Baker where you can generate Bingo cards and print unique cards or have students use their devices. Bingo is always a fun way to review vocabulary and content! 

Student Input

Learning from students about their interests by gathering feedback is important. I have used LessonLoop, which enables educators to share anonymous student engagement surveys to gather feedback from students. The students’ responses help educators to guide their next steps and better plan for instruction by valuing the input of every student. 

STEM Activities and Problem-Solving

Engaging students in STEM activities is not something that should only be done in a STEM-specific course. My students used Hummingbird robots from Birdbrain Technologies to create design challenges. CoSpacesEDU, an augmented and virtual reality platform, can be used with any grade level or content area to have students create. There are some easy-to-try hands-on STEM challenges that help students to build many essential skills.

I recommend trying the Cup Tower Challenge and the Straw Challenge. I recently learned about ImaginGO, an instructional software that spurs creative and imaginative thinking. It engages students to invest and incorporate their own innovative ideas to solve complex problems. It is a great way to get students up and moving more! Lobee Learning offers amazing project-based STEM resources for use in school programs and for the summer. Lobee provides all project materials, digital learning content, detailed instructor guidance, parent engagement, student outcomes, and even live virtual instruction.

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Bringing It All Together

As teachers wrap up the content, look for ways to review, or simply take a break and try something different, these ideas have worked well to boost engagement in my classroom. And because these tools are not specific to one area of focus or grade level, they can be explored right away. Hopefully, they provide new ideas for the end of the year that will lead to more meaningful and engaging learning experiences for all students!

Trying these activities or leveraging these tools helps students to develop social-emotional learning (SEL) skills and promote more active learning. Students will enjoy and become excited about the learning process.

Continue exploring ways to create unique, authentic, and meaningful opportunities for students. Start class with a fun hook, try a new method, do something completely unconventional from what you might normally do, or just ask students for their ideas. Cultivating a learning environment where students feel valued will have a positive impact on student learning and foster the development of many essential skills. 

Taking risks with new methods is a great model to set for students and will better equip students with the essential skills that they will need moving forward. 

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About Rachelle Dené Poth

Rachelle Dené Poth is an ed-tech consultant, presenter, attorney, author, and teacher. She teaches Spanish and STEAM: Emerging Technology at Riverview Junior-Senior High School in Oakmont, PA. Rachelle has a Juris Doctor degree from Duquesne University School of Law and a Master’s in Instructional Technology. She is a Consultant and Speaker, and the owner of ThriveinEDU LLC Consulting. She is an ISTE Certified Educator and currently serves as the past -president of the ISTE Teacher Education Network and on the Leadership team of the Mobile Learning Network.

At ISTE19, she received the Making IT Happen Award and a Presidential Gold Award for volunteer service to education. Named one of 30 K-12 IT Influencers for 2021. Additionally, she is a Buncee Ambassador, Nearpod PioNear, and Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert.

Rachelle is the author of seven books about education and edtech. She is a Columnist for Defined Learning, Getting Smart, and NEO LMS and has her own podcast, ThriveinEDU. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram at @Rdene915.