Throughout my career as a science educator in Colorado, Washington, and now in Florida, I’ve collaborated with many tremendous educators to solve the challenge of engaging students in science. Over time and through trial and error, we’ve learned the importance of engaging students in relevant content that is meaningful to them, engaging them in monitoring their own learning, or engaging them through strategies that make learning accessible.
However, I believe the most important factor in achieving a high level of student engagement in science is providing opportunities for students to participate in active learning experiences. As the K-12 science coordinator in a medium-sized school district in Central Florida, it is a critical part of my team’s work to find and create these opportunities and share them with teachers across the district.
There are five examples of these active learning experiences that stand out as effective strategies to achieve student engagement through relevancy, self-monitoring of learning, and accessible learning for every student:
- Finding current content that students care about or could care about
- Sharing high-interest images or videos paired with an instructional strategy that helps students process their learning
- Allowing students to explore interactives with guiding questions
- Giving students the opportunity to show what they know through different ways
- Chunking experiences so students achieve bursts of achievement and feel successful, not overwhelmed
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