What Makes Learning an Engaging Experience?

To those who are new to teaching, or unfamiliar with the demands of being an educator, the question of how to keep students engaged may present only more questions. How to keep everyone's attention and focus on the lesson at hand is not easily included in regular lesson planning, as this is heavily reliant upon differentiation based on the needs of students. Professional educators are equipped with knowledge, techniques, and resources to keep learning exciting, and actively engaging for all students.
To elaborate, hands-on, active approaches to learning have been very effective with the young children (ages 4-5 years old) I teach, as these children enjoy engaging in a wide range of experiences. After all, most experiences are still new to them. I have also found that I am able to maintain student interest in lesson content with a multitude of techniques and research based practices, including positive energy and enthusiasm for learning, asking questions giving children the opportunity to share what they know, and even giving them the opportunity to "teach" me something new. Engagement goes up exponentially when four-year-old's can correct their "mixed-up" teacher! Young students do have limited attention spans, although by alternating between very focused activities and vigorous gross motor activities, teachers can maintain student focus for longer periods of time, maximizing learning opportunities, often with students believing they are only engaged in play.
Reflecting on the best teachers I have had, and applying my knowledge of research-based practice, I can see that these teachers stood out to me because they were adapting themselves to my learning needs. In contrast, teachers I remember less fondly were very rigid in following "the plan," with little interest in differentiation or integrating multiple modalities of learning. Following the plan with no willingness to make adaptations leaves a large gap between the style of the teacher and the needs of the learner.
As professional educators, we know how to plan, how to teach, and how to assess. However, we must be sure that our process is entirely student-centered, and be prepared to deviate from the plan, if that is what our students need. Keeping children actively engaged makes learning fun and meaningful, while ensuring lesson content is relevant and developmentally appropriate demonstrates the professional approach to teaching every student needs to succeed. All students learn differently, and being a highly qualified professional educator gives us all we need to adapt and meet the needs of all students. For more information on creating engaging learning opportunities, click here, here, or check out the infographic below.