How to Answer: What techniques do you use to keep students actively involved during a lesson?
Advice and answer examples written specifically for an Elementary Teacher job interview.
6. What techniques do you use to keep students actively involved during a lesson?
How to Answer
Effective teachers maintain student engagement and participation throughout a lesson. Planning lessons must include strategies to keep students' attention, challenge them, and spark curiosity. Be sure to include how you plan with student engagement in mind and the strategies you use to ensure students remain focused and engaged throughout the lesson. It can't hurt to include some strategies you rely on should all else fail in your lesson. This will communicate to the interviewer that you are well prepared to handle whatever is thrown at you and constantly thinking about keeping students engaged and excited about learning.
Written by Audra Kresinske on August 22nd, 2021
Answer Example
"When I am planning, I make sure to include engagement strategies into my lessons like leading with a hook or engaging story, cold-calling students with a variety of questions, creating a game or friendly competition, stating a compelling anecdote or evidence to agree/disagree with, or simply infusing fun and joy wherever I can. If I see students begin to struggle or fall off, I plan for quick brain breaks to get wiggles out and for an opportunity to make noise, or I ask specific students to be my helpers throughout the lesson. A combination of several of these strategies typically does the trick to ensure my students are engaged, participating, and enjoying the lesson."
Written by Audra Kresinske on August 22nd, 2021