5 Ways: Engaging Screenagers Can Connect With Teachers
5 Ways: Engaging Screenagers Can Connect With Teachers
Why are most Engaging Screenagers afraid of talking with teachers (or boss, etc.,) even though they know it will help?
Even in the professional world, having a mentor or coach can be vital to making life so much easier, and yet few Engaging Screenagers (Aren’t we all Screenagers?) seek to find this kind of support.
Part of it is lifetime conditioning, as most Engaging Screenagers are not taught how to approach authority figures.
Part of it is effort and availability, as many Engaging Screenagers would rather hang out, play video games, etc. (junk-engagement,) because it’s easier than making the effort find the time and go to meet with teachers and truly connect (optimal-engagement.)
Learning to instruct the Dale Carnegie course, I learned how important it was to as Dale says to be sympathetic to others’ opinions and desires both in-class and out of class.
Yet, as a university lecturer, I struggled to get my undergraduate students to share their interests/goals to support their learning. (Learn more in my blog from yesterday.)
So how can Engaging Screenagers connect with teachers?
Way 1) Learn when you teachers are available and go connect.
When I began teaching in the university, I gave (and reminded in every class) learners my office hours and my contact info (in case my office hours didn’t work, and yet less than 5% would come see me.
At the end of the semester the less than 1% of students who were in trouble would often say, “I didn’t know when…,” or “I couldn’t find your office hours.”
I quickly got smart and started using office hours sign-up sheets in class, but still, that didn’t help everyone.
I even reserved classrooms, so students could “drop-in” and get extra support.
Way 2) Ask questions before, during, and after class.
Teaching in the West, students were much better at asking questions in and around class.
It’s unfortunate, however, the students who were falling behind, were often absent either physically or mentally. (Sorry if that offends, I mean none.)
Teaching in the East (here in Asia,) the majority of students have been trained to just sit, listen, and don’t ask questions (junk-engagement.)
That lack of in-class interaction kills huge opportunities for deeper in-class learning (optimal engagement.)
By the way, if you have a teacher who is always “too busy” to be bothered to support students’ questions, tell your principal, dean, lead trainer, etc.
Way 3) Share interests/goals information with your teachers whenever you are asked in class.
I would say it blows my mind how students (in school, in university, in business training) don’t like to give information, but I was one of them who resisted all those years.
I think I resisted because I could see no value in giving the extra effort, and I am a giant interpersonal learner (that means I learn best by talking.)
When you are in class, Engaging Screenagers, complete your worksheets with your future interest/goals focus whenever possible.
Also participate in group discussions while sharing your goals focus whenever possible, and you can encourage others to do the same.
This deepens the learning by opening the compare and contrast thinking.
Good instructors will share group exercises that allow this, but yours doesn’t ask him or her to “adjust” your group exercises.
Way 4) Relate your learning to your life as often as possible.
Let me give an example. My (almost screenage) Screenager daughter doesn’t like math but loves to bake, and so she’s learned to apply her math learning to her baking with improved results.
Living here in Asia, we see learning math is the pinnacle of education as the social pressure focuses on that subject (math) as the measure of achievement.
Great teachers will make the learning authentic (relating it to your real world) as often as they can, but the responsibility is still on you, the learner, to relate your learning to your interests.
Way 5) Get your teacher to use Engaging Screenager Interactive eWorkbooks.
Basically ask your teacher to teach from Google Forms (or any app that makes learning interactive for the whole learning time [not just Clickers/other polling apps].)
Persuade, influence, entice, etc. your teacher in any way you can to teach from Google forms instead of a slide deck (slide decks are good at giving information, but not good supporting learning,) and ask them to include authentic questions to relate your learning to your world.
Also, get your teacher to include automatic grading on a few of the questions so you will get immediate feedback on your understanding.
When your teacher teaches from Google Forms, complete the forms and questions as fully as possible.
When you answer the questions, imagine you are writing about your interests/goals or like you are writing your term paper/final project/quiz/exam.
This will increase your value in the exercise.
I know this may sound like an advertisement (this is my research focus, but I don’t make any money from Google), but remember this’s been my passion for over 25 years, and that in-class interaction can be so valuable for sharing key learning analytics.
Epilogue
Currently, I see many teachers getting pressure from parents to, “teach the old way, like I was taught.”
My question on that is, “What makes them think that was the best way?”
Technology can be so powerful if we learn discipline and focus it to learn.
Also, there are too many options (distractions) out there for interactive teaching and most of them make a profit from the teacher, or district, or university, purchasing them.
With too many options, most people don’t chose at all.
We have worked with schools/training departments and after a few of the influential teachers begin to teach from Google Forms and the learners (and supervisors) get demanding to use them.
After people start demanding interactive eWorkbooks, we get what Malcolm Gladwell calls The Tipping Point in his book, and most all of the remaining teachers/trainers follow.
How deeply do you engage? The old saying, “You get out of life what you put into it,” is more true in connecting with your teacher now than it has ever been.
Share interests, connect with teachers, thrive your life.
Remember, come join tomorrow to see more Improving Your Engagement with Screenagers and others inspirational experiences and ideas for Optimal Engagement in the ScreenAge.
Remember to engage tomorrow.
Following with you.
Keep it simple.
All the Best, Warren
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