Content standards articulate an essential core of knowledge and skills that students should master. Standards clarify what students are expected to know and be able to do at various points in their K-12 academic career. Most states (excluding Iowa) have implemented state standards in various content areas.

Activating prior knowledge not only helps students make connections, but it helps them become engaged as well! Purpose: To help them make connections of prior knowledge and apply it into the new material. This helps students understanding what they are reading.

It’s absolutely impossible for our students to learn without experiencing connections to the concepts we teach them. We can achieve this through providing both context and relevance. So it’s essential that we are making strong learning connections to help them develop the thinking habits they need to succeed.

Marzano, et al (2001) describes six different types of tasks for engaging students in generating and testing hypotheses:

• Systems Analysis.
• Problem Solving.
• Decision-making.
• Historical Investigation.
• Experimental Inquiry.
• Invention.

HOW

1. Communicate clear expectations. Be specific in what you expect students to know and be able to do.
2. Create an environment in which there is genuine respect for students and a belief in their capability. Encourage students to meet expectations for a particular task. Offer praise when standards are me.

Active learning requires students to participate in class, as opposed to sitting and listening quietly. Strategies include, but are not limited to, brief question-and-answer sessions, discussion integrated into the lecture, impromptu writing assignments, hands-on activities, and experiential learning events.

Some common personalized learning strategies for student engagement include: Involving students in academic goal-setting for themselves. Giving students multiple opportunities to show their knowledge, from assessments to journal entries. Using flipped instruction strategies to help students learn at their own pace.

Create a more engaging virtual classroom

1. Present your best (online) self.
2. Use technology to your advantage.
3. Find what inspires your students.
4. Set goals and help students stick to them.
5. Keep it interactive.
6. Break down the lessons and make it digestible.
7. Make your students feel valued.
8. Be patient with your students.

Here are some strategies that can be used in the classroom to help motivate students:

• Promote growth mindset over fixed mindset.
• Develop meaningful and respectful relationships with your students.
• Grow a community of learners in your classroom.
• Establish high expectations and establish clear goals.
• Be inspirational.

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1. Discover why you procrastinate.
2. Break the material down into chunks.
3. Reward yourself.
4. Create a study routine.
5. Be clear about why you want to get good grades.
6. Use a mind map to organise the information.
7. Make a “boring” subject interesting.
8. Understand the topic, don’t just memorise it.