Every new school year there are always a different mix of students that enter the classroom and with this comes a different mix of student capabilities, interests and motivation. Now, this is a challenge in order to keep each student engaged in the classroom. With students having many different interests, I think it is important to find a common ground that appeals to all those interests. For example, I would teach using creative ways to deliver certain information. If I wanted to teach my class about different types of rocks, I would approach it by making it interesting using any real-world connections to ideas and topics that my students are interested in. If there were students who liked trendy jewelry, I would explain the relationship between gemstones and rocks and discuss any common traits. Instead of just categorizing rocks as just sedimentary or metamorphic, I could also compare it to bricks for students that can relate to love building things. This way, whatever seemed just rocks before, now becomes important building blocks in our surroundings. .
Another thing that I would do is try to find out what students need by asking them a few questions in the beginning of class such as what they hope to gain from this class and what support they need to succeed. Making out a survey for students to fill out about their interests and any experiences can help me as a teacher gain insight with the class I am teaching. Sometimes there can be a group of students that are very quick with finishing their work and complete activities before anyone else. For example, if there was a lab testing how temperature affects volume and students finish this early; I would make sure to be prepared with another way to test changing volume or another activity. I would offer an optional challenge to them by maybe testing them to try to add more gas to the same container or now test how pressure can affect volume too.
