Even though I am a teacher by profession, I always remind myself to take off my teaching hat and put on my learning hat especially when I am around my pupils regardless of their age, there is so much to learn from them, always. They whizz through us like a fresh breeze of air with the brightest ideas many of which they are unaware of. Our job is to help them find their path and purpose while having fun along the way.

I would like to thank you for the opportunity to lay out what I stand for as an educator. Before elaborating on some of the techniques I like to incorporate in class to keep students actively involved, I would like to quickly write about ‘’Active Learning’’ as all come under its umbrella.

Active learning is an instructional approach in which students actively participate in the learning process instead of sitting quietly and listening. Active learning builds on constructivist learning theory, which suggests that people learn by connecting new ideas and experiences to what they already know.

For students Grade 7 and up, I like to incorporate active learning by using the following methods.

• Discussion / Even with a teacher with fantastic presentation skills, students become bored very quickly when they’re only hearing the teacher talk. Involving students in discussion is a time-honored method to keep attention levels up and manage a classroom effectively. Ask questions or let them ask questions.

• Interactive lecture (students respond to or ask questions) / Encourage students to respond to questions raised by their peers. This method gives the opportunity to observe the classroom both on the academic and social interactive levels.

• Quick writing assignments (AKA One-Minute-Papers) / Have students spend one minute writing about what they know about a topic or what was confusing or difficult for them. I like to use this feedback to modify the next class session.

• Think-Pair-Share / Have students think and/or write for a minute about a question. After a minute, have them pair up with a classmate to discuss their answers. Then have the pairs share out with the whole class. I find this exercise very powerful for self-reflection as well as voicing opinions in a non-threatened / simultaneous setup.

• Post-exam reflection / Have students reflect on how they studied for an exam (this can be multiple-choice from a list of common techniques, or free response), how they felt about their performance, and what they might do differently next time.

• Idea mapping and debate / I like to involve students in activities like idea mapping and debating that require them to construct knowledge through higher-order thinking (such as recalling, applying, analyzing, evaluating, synthesizing, and verbalizing concepts). This contrasts with knowledge passively transmitted to students solely via listening, transcribing, and memorizing, especially in learning a language as a second language.

Younger learners (Grade 1-6) need to engage actively and imaginatively with people, objects, and their environment and develop skills through experiences and roleplay. Thoughts and methods I like to follow and incorporate in the classroom are:

• Classroom setup / Small-scale configurations in a classroom setup can maximize active and collaborative learning in contrast to traditional lecture-style classrooms, for example, round tables of 4 students facing each other, and a separate reading corner with carpets, and cushions, allowing students to free-seating from time to time.

• Classroom games / Who does not enjoy playing games? Playing games is one classic method to activate students’ thoughts and engage them in the topic.

• Give students choices / I like the students to know that they have a say in what happens in the classroom. This makes them feel appreciated and gain enthusiasm when they are included in the decision-making. For example, ‘’Which book shall, we read for story time today? – Scaredy Squirrel or Charlie and Lola?’’

• Incorporate mystery / Create suspense about what is next in the next lesson and give students small clues to encourage them to go above and beyond and do some research. This may become the most valuable habit to build for future success.

• Classroom jobs / Help young learners feel at place in the classroom, giving them a purpose and accountability beyond just ‘’student’’. It is a great way for them to be the centre of attention for the appropriate behaviours as well as keep them engaged.

• Relate lessons to real life - roleplay / Learning materials that relate to real life boost student engagement immediately and are often more memorable. For example, if teaching numbers, I like to include some fun math-related activities like shopping roleplay with real objects and money.

Eda AKYÜREK