Teaching and preparing every student for a bright career is quite serious business. But a teacher doesn’t have to behave seriously or humorless to fulfill his or her job. In fact, humor allows them to enhance their ability to connect with students in college.

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Including funny stories when teaching, telling jokes and sharing light moments in a classroom keeps students interested throughout the class. Many teachers also utilize relevant personal experiences while teaching.

But there is another side of the story. Humor is effective in a college classroom only if teachers use them properly. Wrong methods of humor can lead to completely opposite and unwanted results.

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It is important for every teacher to understand the pros and cons of classroom humor before utilizing it.

The Pros of using Humor in a College Classroom

A teacher with a great sense of humor can turn a class into a comfortable experience of each and every student. With that, come multiple pros:

1. Enhances learning ability

Serious learning in a classroom can make many students feel stressed after a while. To cope with the stress, their minds start distracting them to other things. So, a student might look straight at a teacher but can be thinking about a video game he played last night.

The distraction is a way of our mind to save us from stressful situations. But when learning, it impacts our attention.

A teacher can increase students’ attention span without stressing them out. Humor is key here. Utilizing humor that engages every student is impactful in terms of gaining their attention throughout the class.

2. Improves emotional and social positivity

A classroom learning is a group learning experience. Students from different backgrounds and cultures meet together to learn. The differences in culture can create a sense separation among students. But there is one thing that can bring all of them together. Humor! So, if a teacher can use his or her humorous nature to bring a class together, it allows students to feel comfortable. They can feel positive emotionally and socially in a classroom, which lightens the mood and enhances the learning experience.

3. Increases Class Attendance

In college, if students think your class is “boring”, they tend to avoid all your classes. This is another important reason why teachers need to try different ways to engage students. Humor is the easiest and most effective way of making classes interesting for students.

Also Read: How To Turn Around Annoying Behavior Of Students In Classroom

You might want to talk about a complex formula of math or go deep into the explanation of poetry. But remember, you have to make it interesting first. Humor is like a chariot you use to collectively take your class on an interesting journey of learning.

4. Improves Test Performance

A humorous conversation is interesting and entertaining. And our mind tends to retain every entertaining and interesting conversation.

Using humor in the classroom helps students retain the learned topics. And that allows students to perform better on tests.

When they retain the knowledge, their mind shifts the interest to the learning process more. So, students tend to prepare more effectively for their tests. Gradually, it increases the performance and grades of every student.

5. Reduces the fear of a subject

For many college students, one or more subjects can seem too overwhelming. Some fear mathematics, some find physics difficult or any other subject. This fear of a subject limits student’s ability to grow his or her understanding of that subject. So, even if a student is performing great in all other subjects, one subject keeps ruining the overall grades.

For such students, teachers need a humorous way of teaching to make classrooms lighter and easy to understand. Jokes and real-life funny examples help in reducing the complexity of learning material. Hence, students can eventually decrease their sense of fear and focus on pushing hard to learn effectively.

The cons of using humor in a college classroom

As mentioned before, there is also a wrong way of using humor in the classroom. If you fail at your attempts of using humor, it can create confusions and difficulties in a classroom as well.

1. Distracting Students From The Point

Humor in a classroom is not like a chit-chat experience with your friends at a party. Every humorous moment should align somehow with what you want to convey to students. If you mess up your joke or start talking about something which has nothing to do with what you’re teaching, it creates a distraction.

A humorous story or a joke can easily grab the attention of students. So, if it is distracting, students forget about the topic itself and start thinking about that joke or a story only. When you try to come back to the topic again, the minds of students shut down from it.

2. Not Figuring Out the Subject Understanding of Students

A joke won’t work if students have no clue what you are talking about. For a Ph.D. holder physicist, a joke about the galaxies can be hilarious, but for students, it might not make any sense.

Making a joke and using humor is about creating a collective understanding in the whole classroom. But many teachers get blinded by their own level of knowledge. They forget about the gap of subject understanding and make jokes that don’t seem funny to students.

In that case, students don’t connect with the topic. Moreover, they start feeling inferior and overwhelmed by the subject. So, you have to choose your intellectual jokes wisely to avoid such difficulties.

3. Using Sarcastic, Offensive or Rude Humor

Effective humor in a classroom offers a collective comfort level to all students. But if a teacher takes the wrong road and becomes sarcastic, offensive or rude, humor stops working.

Comparing one student with another, telling violent experiences, making racist comments and cursing are some of many wrong approaches of using humor in the classroom.

Also Read: 13 Ways To Deal With Bullies In Classroom?

For many teachers, just adding curse words is enough to make people laugh. But that’s not the right way of connecting with students. Similarly, a teacher can’t make sexist jokes as well.

All these wrong ways of using humor result in the separation between students and teachers. Majority of students try to stay away from such teachers.

4. Creating Awkward Situations By Overdoing It

Rehearsing a joke or a story doesn’t work at all. Humor has to come naturally to you. If you try too hard, it becomes awkward for students and they try to stay as far away as possible from your classes.

Using modern “lingos” or “slangs”, even if it’s not a part of your personality, can’t work. At the same time, making stupid statements to seem “cool” won’t provide any educational value as well. On the contrary, it would make you look lame in front of the students.

Remember that students want to admire you for your knowledge and your ability to convey that knowledge in a humorous manner.

5. Targeting Particular Students to make jokes

Targeting students to create humor is a negative way of using humor. Other students spend more time thinking about how that particular student is feeling instead of learning. Some students might laugh, but they keep on thinking negatively about the teacher at the same time.

Similarly, many teachers make fun of students who don’t score well in their tests. Low scores are a story of every student’s life, every once in a while. Every student has his or her own nightmare of a low score in tests. So, no one ever enjoys if a teacher makes fun of even a particular student about his or her scores.

What should a Teacher do to use Humor?!

To use humor effectively, a teacher has to understand all students. At the same time, a teacher should cultivate a natural, classroom-friendly humorous personality.

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When making a joke, keep evaluating how each and every student is reacting to that. See if they are laughing, or seem confused, angry or frustrated. These signs are important to change the topic before it goes too far.

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So, now you have a comprehensive idea of how humor can benefit or ruin the atmosphere in your classroom. It is all about using the right kind of humor in the right manner.

A classroom allows a controlled and disciplined environment where students come, follow the rules and learn. But what if the general rules of a classroom don’t work on a student?!

Students with required emotional support don’t usually comply with the rules of your classroom. Some students stay completely isolated and don’t allow themselves to indulge in group interactions and activities.

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On the other hand, some students act too aggressively or showcase energetic behavior. These kinds of students tend to make noises and disrupt the general classroom environment.

Both kinds of students require emotional support. But the sad reality is that many teachers don’t know how to support these kids. Which is why teachers feel frustrated.

To enhance your expertise in supporting students with emotional vulnerability, you need to become aware of the dos and don’ts of managing such students. So here they are:

Dos: When Students Need Emotional Support

1. Collaborate with Professionals of Emotional Support

If you have no experience in handling students with emotional support requirements, find help. You can communicate with professionals who help students. Such professionals are usually trained and experienced in understanding the special needs of students and handle them accordingly.

If a student had a professional emotional support specialist instructor, you can contact that professional for a detailed overview.

The more you understand your student, the better you get to help the student adapt to the new educational environment.

2. Have Conversations Before and After Class

Students with emotional requirements tend to feel like a target from their teachers. This creates a gap between students and teachers. You have to work proactively to avoid such scenarios.

Talk to such students before and after every class.

In a safe and calm place, you can go over all procedures and expectations.

You can convey what sort of behavior you desire from the student. And the student can convey what he/she requires from you. This open conversation will work only if you keep yourself calm and listen to the student as well.

At the same time, you can ensure the student that you have studied and understood all the past experiences. Tell the student that you are prepared to help him/her get the best educational environment. But also convey your determination in not letting go a bad behavior.

Inform that you will never hold any grudges, but the student will have to face the consequences of his or her wrong actions.

Remember, you have to keep your tone friendly while talking. Show your determination with your words. Such conversations will help you and the students adjust in the classroom.

3. Build a Rapport and Trust with Students

Even with all the conversation, you will face difficult days in the classroom. Some days will present overwhelming challenges with students who need emotional support.

Don’t let the bad days impact your behavior on the good days with these students. You don’t want to lose the opportunity of building trust and rapport.

Try to find common factors between you and the student. Indulge in a game or have a simple conversation about favorite food, TV show or a place. Anything that would help you break the ice.

4. Have a Plan for Worst-Case Scenarios

Even imagining the worst scenarios with students who require emotional support seems frightening.

But you do need to think about thoroughly and make a strategy as well. Some students with special emotional support requirements tend to face a breakdown from time to time.

Also Read: How To Make Homework Less Stressful For Students

You can understand the possibility of such scenarios by looking at the history of that student.

Without a plan, you will feel unable to make any move, which will put other students at risk. What you need is a plan with the exact steps required to handle worst case scenarios.

Go through the previous breakdowns and see what triggers those breakdowns. Also, consider a scenario where you have to handle those same situations.

Think about the availability of aids for students, another room nearby where you can safely transfer other students. Prepare in every possible way to handle breakdowns.

5. Stay Calm to Stay Reliable

Students who require emotional support require reliable adults nearby to help them out. A reliable teacher motivates, when students feel positive, and provides safety and fair treatment when students feel out of their emotional sync. You have to be extremely calm in order to fulfill this requirement.

Every time you feel you are making progress, one bad scenario brings you back to the square one with these students.

This happens many times, which makes it difficult for teachers to stay calm. But you have to remind yourself that you are the only one there to help your student.

You have made a promise to the student and yourself. So, be ready to handle every situation in a calm manner.

Don’ts: when students need emotional support

1. Don’t Hold any Grudge

You talk to the student with special emotional support requirements and everything seems fine in the classroom. You are supporting the student and the student is fulfilling what you expect in the classroom.

But suddenly, out of nowhere, the student starts acting out. You don’t know why that student is being disrespectful, especially to you.

Students, who require emotional support, tend to behave badly to avoid indulging in an activity, to gain your attention, to deflect your attention or to even test boundaries.

The reasons can differ from time to time. But they occur when the student feels uncomfortable in any manner. He/she doesn’t want to attack you specifically.

However, some teachers tend to take things personally, which breaks the connection and trust. You need to remind yourself of the emotional needs of such a student.

Make yourself realize that bad behavior has hidden causes. So calm yourself down and start thinking about the real reasons why your student has behaved badly. Because if you don’t, that student will lose his or her ability to trust adults who promise to help and support.

2. Don’t Get Manipulated

Students, who require emotional support, can be manipulative from time to time. They tend to act too aggressively or too isolated to make you act their way.

For example, if a student doesn’t want to indulge in a group activity, he might act as if he is not capable of doing that task.

Such situations confuse and manipulate teachers to make decisions according to the students. You have to save yourself from such scenarios.

Also Read: 9 New Year Resolutions Every Student Should Have for 2019

To do so, you have to focus on being fair, firm and consistent with your decisions in the classroom. So, you shouldn’t allow a student with emotional requirements to misbehave, just because the behavior is better than his or her worst days. If you don’t allow that behavior to other students, don’t allow it to that particular student as well.

At the same time, don’t become too aggressive and threaten a student with a consequence, if you can’t follow it up.

3. Don’t Feel Scared If your Plan Doesn’t Work

A behavior management plan takes time and consistency to work. A plan can seem perfect for a student for a while and become ineffective after that. But don’t pull the plugs right away.

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See what the problems are and make small adjustments to handle the behavior of a student of yours. So, if a student acts badly to avoid one subject, you can work to make that particular subject easier and entertaining.

Communicate with professionals and discuss your concerns regarding the current behavior management plan. At the same time, be patient and give your determination to the current plan you have.

4. Don’t Allow Misbehavior

This requires critical thinking when you are handling a student who requires emotional support.

There are not certain rules. Sometimes, you allow a few misbehaviors to obtain the trust of a student. In other scenarios, you don’t want to let the student get away with bad behavior, because you want to be fair to the whole class.

You need to judge the behavior of a student with emotional support requirements. Then, decide how you want to handle his or her misbehavior.

Hopefully, you now feel more confident about offering your emotional support to students with special emotional support requirements.

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Handling the annoying behavior of students is an informal job description of every teacher. But handling such behavior is not enough, you have to have the ability to turn it around. As a teacher, it’s a responsibility to ensure the positive growth of students.

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For that, you need some great strategies and actual actions. This article will help you do it all.

Make Strategies

Some of the annoying behaviors can involve rudeness, disruptive nature, disrespect, and other forms of bad behavior. Such natures are a part of every person and they occur every now and then. Mature people know how to deal with it, some students don’t. You have to have that clarity in heart and mind first of all. Only then, you can set aside all your anger or frustration and think straight to turn around the issue.

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With a calm and sorted mind, you can make some concrete strategies to tackle the problem:

1. Understand the core reason for Annoying Behaviors

First and the foremost, you need to find why those students of yours are behaving annoyingly. You can’t take any valuable action without knowing what a student is going through. Talk to the parents and find out if there has been any tragedy or a change in the life of the student. A divorce, disability, death, a new baby and other reasons can cause a change in the behavior of a student.

With a thorough understanding of the emotional and mental state of a student, you can decide actionable steps to help him or her.

2. Decide a goal

In your head, you can think of a step-by-step goal to resolve the problem. Give yourself a time period and a set of efforts, you can make to improve your relationship with the student. Also, think if there is a need for psychological, educational or any other professional counseling to tackle the issues.

Take action

After creating a strategy, you can start taking actions to manage an annoying student and help him or her at the same time.

1. Learn to respond in a composed manner

An annoying behavior has less to do with students and more to do with your mindset. It is completely natural to feel frustrated or angry when a student behaves in a bad way. But that anger or frustration shouldn’t guide your actions. You have to learn to acknowledge your frustration and calm yourself down before responding to such an action.

Why is this important?!

When you calm yourself down first, you can think of a positive approach to resolve the problem. At the same time, you can set an example for all students as well.

So, whenever you face an annoying student, give yourself a few seconds or minutes to calm down and think. Then, talk in a positive tone.

2. Dislike the Misbehavior, not the Student

It is difficult for many people to distinguish between behavior and the core personality of other people. Hence, we tend to judge a person due to his or her one misbehavior. If that happens between you and a student, that student can start feeling distant from you.

Make sure that you tell the student that you only dislike his or her misbehavior only. So, you can say, “You know you’re a great student, but this behavior of yours is unacceptable.” This approach helps the students understand that they just need to change one bad behavior and not their whole personality.

3. Allow the student to explain his or her actions

If you simply call out an annoying behavior, it won’t help in the process of turning it around. Instead, you should give a chance to the student to respond. Ask the student to explain his or her actions. Let them explain what they did step-by-step. Then, ask how their actions were wrong.

Know More: 7 Difficulties Modern Teacher’s can Face

This approach allows students to evaluate their behavior and understand how they misbehaved. Many times, emotions of a student don’t allow a clear perspective of mind. But when they revisit their actions, it helps in understanding the problem. Hence, you can effectively change the annoying behavior of students.

4. Choose a Problem-Solving Approach over Punishment

A conflict with annoying students can’t be about winning. As a teacher, it is easy to punish and feel that you have done the right thing. But punishment is not always the right way to turn around misbehavior. On the contrary, it can further increase the problem. A student can’t punish you, but he or she can keep annoying you with the same behavior. That’s what happens if you take the road of punishment.

Instead of punishing, present yourself as a problem-solver. Ask your student, why he or she is behaving that way. Also, present yourself as a solution. Say that you are there for them and you want to help them correct their misbehaving habits.

5. Listen, Respect, and Then, Respond

If you want students to listen to you, it’s necessary that you listen to them as well. Always be open to a conversation, so that, students can convey their concerns and feelings with you. Listen without making immediate judgments. Students can sometimes take time to express everything they want to say to you. So, give them enough time when talking.

At the same time, you have to respect their feelings too. Just because you have a mature mindset, doesn’t mean they have it too. Students worry about all those things which you have already dealt with. But you can’t tell them that their problems mean nothing. Their problems are real to them. So, respect what your students say.

If you follow the process of listening and respecting your students, the responding part gets easier. You can offer ideas to tackle problems. And, at the same time, tell students about the annoying behavior and how it’s bad for them as well.

6. Set disciplinary Rules in your Classroom

When you are trying to understand your students, it’s good to let them understand you as well. We all have some trigger points in our mind. Certain actions or activities can make us frustrated or angry. It naturally happens to you as well.

To resolve the problem, you can make a list of annoying behaviors you see in your students. Keep that list to yourself only.

Now, make a list of rules to counter all those annoying behaviors. Set those classroom rules, so that, students become aware of what you expect from them.

7. Understand if there is a cultural difference

Education has become a global sector today. So, students from all cultures are everywhere learning and getting degrees. This can create cultural clashes in some scenarios. And those clashes can happen between a student and a teacher as well.

For example, if a student looks down when you are talking to him, can have two meanings in different cultures. You might take it as annoying and disrespectful, but for the student, it can be a way of showing respect. You see, in many cultures, students don’t directly look at their teachers.

Such cultural differences can also create problems. So, understand about the culture of your students, especially if you have a diverse classroom.

8. Help Students Cultivate Social and Personal Skills

You can replace the annoying behavior of students with social and personal skills. No matter what subject you specialize in, a teacher can always help students learn better social and personal skills. You can share your experiences, tell stories and allow students to talk in the classroom. All these steps help in improving communication, sharing nature, kindness, and other skills in students. And all those qualities don’t allow a student to misbehave.

9. Acknowledge and Reward Acceptable Behavior

While punishment is not effective, rewarding acceptable behavior helps a lot. No matter how old your students are, they look up to you and want to impress you. So, you can let them know when they behave correctly.

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For example, if a student helps to stop a fight between two other students, acknowledge the effort. Also, give a treat or some other form of reward to the student who stopped the fight.

Now, you are punishing the students who fought, only rewarding the one who stopped the fight. This way, students know that you are all about solving a problem.

10. If a Strict Talk is necessary, Have it Privately

Some annoying students are hard to handle. So, disciplining them requires some strict talk too. You can follow that approach in certain cases. But make sure you offer a private and safe environment. A strict talk with your students is about making them realize the depth of the problem. It should not become humiliating. So, you should not shout at a student in front of the whole class, or right in the middle of the hallway. This puts a negative impact on the student.

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Now, you can begin your approach with the help of given strategies and actions. Hopefully, you will succeed in creating a perfect classroom.

Know More: How to make Homework Less Stressful for students?

Organizing a party for your kid is a fun activity for You. But you have to make sure that kids feel entertained and enjoy your party.

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Actually, that’s the whole point of a kids’ party, isn’t it?!

Going beyond the cake and food, you can include elements to make kids’ party entertaining. To do so, this article has some entertainment ideas.

So, check them out!

1. Face Painting and Costume Services

Theme parties are great to create a new world for kids where they can become their favorite characters and play.

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You don’t have to take too much stress. There are reliable face painting and costume services to help you organize theme parties.

Dressing up as cartoon characters, prince and princesses, and other fun activities will surely impress kids at your party.

These activities work with safari themes, superhero themes and other kinds of theme parties.

Kids always remember and look forward to such parties.

2. Get a Photo Booth

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A memory of enjoying with friends is precious for kids and adults both.

Most parties for kids involve children and their parents. So, you can make your party memorable by renting out a beautiful photo booth for your guests.

To make it more entertaining, you can get some props such as colorful wigs, large eye-glasses, and others to make pictures more interesting and memorable for kids and their parents.

3. Puppeteers and Magicians

A puppet show telling a funny story will surely engage all the kids at a party.

Hiring puppeteers will also allow some calm time for kids without feeling bored.

Hence, they can re-energize themselves for more activities.

Another great way to entertain kids would be hiring magicians. Cool tricks appropriate for kids can make every guest at your party amazed.

Kids love magic tricks and so this would be a sure shot to entertain kids at your party.

Make sure you hire puppeteers and magicians who specialize in performing for kids.

This will keep the stories and magic tricks appropriate for kids.

4. Music and Dance

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Music brings a spark to any party. But here you need to focus on kids-oriented music.

Hire a DJ who specializes in playing for the kids. Disney theme songs and other music choices for kids will bring every guest to the dance floor.

Dancing together will help kids make new friends and socialize.

You can also have a karaoke set up to offer a fun place where kids can sing selected songs.

5. Tossing the Balls

A few light ping pong balls along with some plastic cups. That’s what you need to make a fun party game for kids.

The game involves placing cups in a row and giving plastic balls to kids. They all try to put their balls in cups from a distance. The first kid succeeding in this wins the round.

This game is simple to arrange and easy to manage. So, it won’t be stressing you out during a party. Plus, the kids at your party will enjoy playing it.

6. Play a Guessing Game

A guessing game brings a mystery to a simple game making it entertaining for kids.

You simply need some paper bags and small-sized objects that can easily go in those bags. You can use small toys, pencils, fruits, and other items.

The objects are packed in the bags. The kids can look at the bag and guess the name of the object. You can set certain prices for every correct guess.

7. Call Animal Trainers

Expert animal trainers bring beautiful birds, reptiles and other animals. These shows are easy to organize if you have a large backyard at your place.

Arrange proper seating arrangement for kids. Consult with the animal trainer in advance to understand what he/she requires from you.

Certified trainers help in arranging a safe environment.

Having a portable zoo at your place will amaze the kids attending the party.

At the same time, they will get a chance to learn more about birds, reptiles and other animals.

8. Take Your Party Outside

If you really want to make the party interesting, why not choose an entertaining venue!

Adventure parks, local zoos, bowling alleys, and other entertainment centers in your city are perfect to organize a kids’ party.

All the entertainment factors are already available at those places. So, you can go there and offers every kid something interesting to enjoy.

This also reduces the stress of organizing a party. You can consult with other parents and simply manage kids.

9. Have a Balloon Modeler

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Balloon modeler services are easy to find these days. The artists work with balloons and turn them into beautiful hats, toy guns, animal characters, and even cartoon characters.

Every kid can make his or her own wish and get favorite balloon models to take back home after the party.

10. Pamper Services

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If you are organizing a party especially for girls, you can focus on offering pampering services.

Mini sessions of pedicures, manicures, nail art, and other pampering services at a party would make girls really happy.

You can hire services that offer kid-friendly pamper services. Then, the party is on for your little girl and her friends.

11. Cup Bowling

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If you can’t take kids to a bowling alley, design an indoor bowling alley during a party.

Use disposable paper cups and tennis balls to organize small bowling tournaments for kids at the party.

Throwing balls and knocking cups, this is definitely an idea of an entertaining day for kids. You can keep the score and include small prizes to make the game more exciting for kids.

So, that’s a wrap on entertainment ideas for your kids’ party. But you can allow your creative juices to flow and create new ideas as well.

There are various ideas such as scavenger hunt and others, which you can twist and modify as per the theme of your party.

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Hopefully, this article has given you enough ideas to organize your kid’s party with entertaining elements.

You can start by making a list of everything required moving forward!

Know More: 21 Fun Children’s Day activities games and Ideas

 

A new year is about to come with new opportunities. Many people will be welcoming the new year with personal resolutions. Students can do the same too!

No matter where you are supposed to be as a student, there are some resolutions to help you ensure educational success.

This article will give you 15 New Year resolutions to make 2020 a successful year in terms of education.

1. I will say No to Procrastination This Year

Do you always have to finish your assignments in one night with close deadlines?! Then, you have a tendency to procrastinate. This bad habit of pushing responsibilities away doesn’t allow you to learn effectively.

How about giving yourself a break from procrastination this year. Promise yourself to plan and act on your plans on a daily basis.

This way, you will enjoy your life as a student and learn more effectively.

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2. I will take One Class out of Syllabus

When learning becomes a fixed cycle, students lose the excitement and curiosity about learning new things.

You can bring a positive change in your life as a student by taking one class out of syllabus.

Your education plan surely has fixed classes you attend to attain your certificate or degree. But this resolution will allow you to indulge in your hobbies.

For example, if you are studying to become an engineer, choose a class that aligns with your hobbies such as painting, dancing or writing. It will help refresh your life and bring new excitement.

3. I will Start Building my own Network

Networking or communication is a skill every student has to learn. It is easy to talk to your friends every day.

But are you comfortable talking to new students who come to your class every year?! Your networking skills help you everywhere you go. From professional to personal life, networking abilities allow you to understand people and communicate effectively.

This resolution will give you a kickstart. You can begin by talking to at least one stranger every day and build a network with students from different classes or branches.

4. I will Save and Invest Money

Finance management skills have become a fundamental of living a prosperous life.

No matter if you earn thousands or millions, you can’t leverage the power of money without the knowledge of financial management.

Know More: 10 Simple Christmas Gifts For Teachers

With small saving and investment opportunities all around us, every student can start improving the knowledge of finance and practice investments.

You just need a determined mindset to keep growing your knowledge and restrict yourself from wasting money.

5. I will find my Mentor

A mentor is a person who has reached a position where you want to be physically, mentally and educationally.

Depending on your goals as a student, you can choose multiple mentors. However, it is better to follow one mentor who has skills you want to learn.

So, promise yourself that you will find a mentor for yourself and follow his or her path to perfect whatever you want..

6. I will get Real-World experience with a Job

No matter how effective your educational program is, nothing can prepare you completely for real-life scenarios.

Real-world problems and challenges prepare you as a professional. So, you can choose to join internships that align with your career goals. However, this resolution is effective for students who are sure about what they want to do.

There are other things you might want to think about. Taking a new job can impact your involvement in studies. So, you need to compare the benefits of a job with your classroom study material.

If an internship offers you real-world experience, allow you to gain contacts and boosts your confidence, then, it would be a good move.

You can also join internships during the holidays, so that, you won’t have to skip classes.

7. I will Travel to one New Destination at Least

Forget about new video games and spend your saved money on exploring new places.

Traveling is the best way to learn and boost confidence. But going to the same place every year for vacation is not traveling. You should try and visit at least one new destination in a year to enhance your perspective of life.

When you make this resolution, try including your friends as well if possible. Travel in groups to make your trips cost-effective and more exciting. Or, you can travel alone and challenge your inner survivor.

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8. I will ask more Questions

If you restrict yourself from asking questions during a class, this resolution is critically important for you. Asking question is good for every student, but many don’t.

The fear of sounding silly doesn’t allow you to expand your knowledge. And those unanswered questions become the reason you underperform during exams.

Give yourself the authority of asking as many questions as possible. Be it a silly question. It doesn’t matter as long as the question makes sense to you.

9. I will Commit to Improving Myself

The gist of all resolutions is this one where you promise yourself to commit and improve.

Whether it is completing an assignment, preparing for good scores on tests, indulging in more activities or anything else. It all comes down to how committed you are about improving yourself this year.

Become a coach for yourself and guide yourself through the challenges. This will give a great year with happiness and sadness blend into each other. At the end of this year, you will feel fulfilled and improved as a student.

10. I will Speak Up in Class

It’s often noticed that some students feel uncomfortable speaking up in the class or involving in an open discussion. Speaking up one’s mind is always a good action to grab the teacher’s attention. So, this New Year, try to come up with your ideas, opinions, etc and showcase participation in open discussions too.

11. I will eat better and stay healthy

Similar to an academic goal, to eat healthier is one resolution many of us can’t ignore. In the present scenario, most students are likely to depend more on junk foods. These foods are high in calories from sugar or fats.

So, this new year start cutting down on fast foods, sleep well, eat healthier, drink a lot of water, go exercise regularly and stay healthy and happy.

12. I will do regular exercise

Anything that keeps you moving can be referred to as exercise, it doesn’t always mean that you need to sweat or pay for trainers; an ultimate Frisbee or hula hopping is also accountable.

Doing exercise on a regular basis promotes positive and clear brain function, helps the immune system, increases your energy levels, etc.

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13. I will do at least one kind thing a day for someone else

Make it a goal to put a smile on the face of strangers each day. Your one act of kindness means a lot to them. You can help an old woman/man to cross the road; help a baby to find his ball, show kindness to animals, etc.

If you actually look around, these opportunities are always surrounding you. Only you need to open your eyes and see.

14. I will get sufficient sleep every day

You may probably know-how important sleep truly is. You will only get into know when you get older.

You need to get a night of adequate sleep for about 7-8 hours daily. This means no phones, no computer, and no social media at least 30 minutes before you sleep.

15. I will spend only less time on social media

The presence of social media has become inevitable in everyone’s lives. Nowadays it is the first thing you check after waking up and the last thing you check for before sleeping.

This attitude should be changed. Make sure your presence in social media is limited and not an addicted one.

Don’t scroll up feeding your Instagram post while walking around. Take in the sights, sounds, and people around you more often.

So, choose the resolutions you want to work on this year and stay determined! 

Also Read: 9 Union Territories of India and their Capitals

Parenting is one of the hardest jobs. It becomes challenging when you go out with your toddler for social gatherings. All the eyes gaze criticizing the behavior of your kid.

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At social gatherings, parents have to ensure that kids cope with their problems comfortably. At the same time, they also need to ensure that other people don’t get bothered. Parties, movie theaters, supermarkets, and all other social gathering opportunities require advance preparation to discipline your toddler.

There are both right and wrong ways of disciplining your toddler at social gatherings. This article will help you learn all the right ways:

1. Take Care of Toddler’s Basic needs in Advance

If you go out with a hungry, tired child, he or she is more likely to create a scene.

Discipline a hungry or tired child is almost impossible. These are the basic needs you need to prepare for in advance.

If your kid is tired, don’t take him out. Or, allow your toddler to sleep during the car ride.

If you are going out for dinner with family or friends, don’t assume that your toddler can wait for the food to be served. Feed properly, at least feed enough to satisfy the hunger of your child.

2. Prepare your Toddler Before Going Out

If you put your kid in a strange situation, things are more likely to go out of hands. Preparing in advance is a logical way to discipline your toddler at social gatherings. You should have a talk with your kids or follow a roleplay sequence at home before going out to a new place.

If your toddler is old enough, you can address questions such as:

Where are we all going today?

What are the reasons to attend a gathering?

What will happen when we reach there?

How are we supposed to behave?

Why do we need to behave specifically?

Find age-appropriate ways to help your toddler understand how to behave. This will allow kids to stay ready for new situations and keep them disciplined. But make sure it all seems fun to your kid. Don’t make them feel scared of the place before even reaching there.

3. Don’t Make them Feel Alone or Insecure

Toddlers can feel insecure if they see you ignoring them. It is easy to indulge in conversations at social gatherings. Your toddler knows no other way than to act out in order to gain your attention. It is their way to reassure that you are concentrating on them.

Talking to your kid consistently is very important at social gatherings. Ask them if they need anything or simply include them in your conversations. This way, kids feel relaxed, which reduces the chances of them acting out.

4. Increase Child’s Involvement

Whenever you go out for social gatherings with your toddler, think of things you can do to involve your kids in some activity. Boredom is another reason why kids become restless and start acting out. No kid likes to sit quietly and watch, while you talk to your friends. They need some kind of activity to focus their mind. And obviously, if the toddler is concentrating on something, he or she stays disciplined.

You can keep your kid’s favorite toys with you. Or, find other creative ways to involve your child, according to where you are.

5. Don’t Ignore Toddler’s Restlessness

When adults feel anxious, they tend to move faster and get out of a situation. But that’s not how toddlers behave.

A toddler can feel more restless if you talk loud, fast or try to move out of an environment quickly.

Instead of increasing the pace, you should try and decrease the pace and allow your toddler to calm down.

Know More: 10 Incredible Movies For Toddlers

Calm yourself down first of all and follow up with deep breathing. Then, connect with your toddler by making eye contact. Sing a slow, soft song you generally sing to calm your kid down. Twirl your toddler around gently. These slow-paced activities can help your child feel relaxed again.

6. Bring out the Child in you

Sometimes kids can make silly demands and act out if you don’t fulfill their demands.

Maybe you want to stop your child from running around, but he doesn’t want to. In these situations, you can bring out the child in you.

Take your kid out and run around. Your exaggerated silliness and make your kid laugh and resolve the stressful situations smoothly.

7. Listen and Empathize

In many situations, toddlers simply want to convey what they feel, which can seem like they are acting out.

So, all you need to do is listen and empathize with their feelings.

Don’t immediately jump into conclusions or try to solve the problem. Wait and listen to what your child is saying.

This will help them calm down and behave well.

8. Set some Boundaries whenever appropriate

You can’t fulfill every demand of your kid, just because he or she is acting out at a social gathering.

For instance, you can’t give your child candy every time he or she asks.

Instead, you can deal with the situation by offering an alternative to candy.

Setting the boundaries is important to make your child understand that they need to ultimately listen to you.

If they feel that acting out is a way of getting away with everything, this will become their habit or trick.

9. Go to a nearby Private Place in case of a Meltdown

If your toddler has a meltdown, it would be wise to calm the kid down a little and try to find a private space nearby.

Take the kid to your car or a room to talk and calm him/her down. This way, you can save from creating a public scene and focus solely on your child’s needs.

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Preparing your toddlers for social gatherings is not a one-talk solution.

Your kid requires constant assistance and you need the patience to deal with unwanted situations. If you keep following all the techniques offered in this article, they will help you discipline your toddler for sure.

Bullying is one of the most challenging factors in classrooms these days.

Schools and colleges face the problem of bullying, which involves physical altercations, gossiping and rumors.

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No matter what method a bully uses, it can have a negative, lasting impact on the students and the overall learning environment. Which is why handling bullies the right way is extremely important in classrooms.

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Here, in this article, you will come to know some of the practical approaches to deal with bullies in your classroom.

1. Make Students aware of different kinds of Bullies

Bullies in classrooms usually attack students who lack the emotional understanding of bullying. Bullies try to overpower their targets with different approaches. It can be the physical appearance, popularity, or other ways.

It is important that your students understand all kinds of bullying behaviors. Help students grow emotional intelligence, so they can counter a bully effectively. Also, work on the bullies to help them cultivate empathy and inform them about the consequences of their bullying behavior.

In a classroom, there are usually 7 kinds of bullies.

  • Physical bully- using physical power to strong-arm others
  • Verbal bully- using harsh words on other people
  • Prejudicial bully- prejudices in terms of religions, races, sexual orientation or others
  • Bully victims- who have been a victim of bullying in the past
  • Serial bully- who constantly bully others
  • Relational bully- uses friendship and other relationships to overpower others
  • Group bullies- they bully in groups

You have to understand all kinds of bullies and also make students aware of these kinds.

2. Read Signs of a Bully in your Classroom

Not all bullies become visible, as they do not always use physical bullying.

That’s why you have to be extremely focused on the behavior of boys and girls in your classroom. A relational form of bullying usually stays between the bully and the victim.

Hence, you need to keep an eye on how students are interacting with each other. No need to interfere all the time, just observe and definitely interfere to inquire, if you suspect any form of bullying.

3. Stay Available Everywhere and Every Time at School

Apart from your classroom, there are many other hot spots where bullies attack their victims. In fact, the conversations of classroom lead to other spots in college such as the hallway, bathroom, lunchroom, or other areas. It is important that responsible officials stay available near all the hot spots of bullying. At the same time, you should try and ensure that you stay available to the students throughout a school day.

Know More: 13 Tips For Teacher To Tackle Bullying in the Classroom

This way, any student, who wants help, can easily come to you and ask for your assistance.

4. Teach the Skill of Fighting Bullies Collectively

Mostly, students stand and watch one kid getting bullied and don’t do anything. But in some cases, it is better to collectively come together and take an ethical action against the bully.

In your classroom, you can promote a sense of unity among students. Ask them to recognize and call out a bully. Also, promote a behavior of reporting a bullying behavior to the authorities, teachers and even parents. The kids should not only inform about their own encounters but also stand up and talk about the bullying encounter, which other students face.

5. Find Class Leaders and Connect with Them

The emotional vulnerability of victims doesn’t allow them to come forward and talk about a bully. And a teacher only has limited exposure to the social environment of students. That’s why you need your own informers in the classroom. This way, you can find if a bully is active and bullying one or more students.

The best informers in your classroom are the leaders. Every class has one or more leaders who actually care about the educational environment and work for the betterment of the students. Your goal should be to find those students and connect with them. Let them help you keep an eye on bullies and find victims who generally stay hidden.

6. Bridge the gap of communication with every student

Usually, a teacher builds a group relationship with the whole class. Sure, some students come closer and the communication reaches more personal level. So, these students can easily seek a teacher for advice or assistance with anything. But what about the rest of the class?!

Not every student is outspoken or bold enough to connect with the teachers. In fact, many times, some students don’t feel the need to communicate with teachers on a one-on-one level. In that case, you, as a teacher, have to make efforts. You have to move forward and bridge that gap of communication. Try communicating with each and every student in your classroom.

This does two major things. First of all, every student becomes close enough to share his or her problems with you. At the same time, you come to know the emotional strengths and weaknesses of each individual. And that can help you identify bullies and victims in your classroom.

7. Include Parents to Work Together for Kids

Teamwork of teachers and parents is essential to winning the fight against bullying. You need to find more effective ways to engage parents in the process of bullying prevention.

Utilize PTA and PTO meetings, send newsletters to parents, connect with them on social media and conduct conferences if possible. All these steps can help in recognizing bullies and creating intervention strategies as well.

It is extremely important that you win the trust of parents. Only then, they will indulge in your methods of helping students. So, if a parent complains about a bully, it’s your duty to conduct a thorough investigation.

8. Become an anti-bullying voice of your students

In many situations, students make a collective effort to stop the bullies. But they don’t attain proper response from the school authorities.

Know More: 8 Anti Bullying Book Every child Must Read!

This is when your support matters a lot. You have to work as an advocate for students who try to fight against bullying. Become a voice and help students reach out to school authorities.

You can help in creating policies to actually change the ground realities of a classroom and school bullying.

9. Take Immediate Actions to Handle Every Incident You come across

Your actions should speak louder than your promises. Students won’t come to you for help if you simply send every bullying incident to higher authorities. You can’t normalize a situation by saying, “they are just energetic kids.” Never minimize the impact of bullying. You have to send a strong message to every bully that you are not going to allow such behaviors. So, help every victim and let every bully face the consequences of his or her actions.

This approach would actually help in stopping incidents at initial stages. So, you can save your students from escalated versions of bullying behaviors.

10. Don’t ask Questions to a Victim in Front of Other Students

A victim of bullying can feel extremely scared to talk about his or her experience. Many times, there is peer pressure of not talking about the incidents with elders. So, you have to be cautious when asking questions to victims.

First of all, create a safe environment where you can have a private conversation with the victim. Allow the kid to feel at ease and then begin the questions.

After the conversation, make sure you show your commitment regarding resolving the problem. Let the victim know how serious you are about helping him or her.

11. Give a Chance to the Bully to Talk Privately

A Private conversation with a bully can help a lot. See, it’s not about fighting the bully, it’s about fighting bullying behavior. For that, you need to talk to the bully and encourage him or her to recognize the behavior.

Don’t let the bully put the blame on his or her victim. You can say, “Just tell me what you did and how wrong it was.”

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If you are successful in helping the bully realize his or her mistake, then, you can change the behavior. You can explain different ideas to stop bad behavior.

12. Get professional help to improve emotional sides of bullies and victims

Victims need to regain control of their emotional sides. They need a boost of self-esteem and an understanding of self-worth.

At the same time, a bully requires an understanding of his or her emotional side as well. There can be suppressed issues, which require consistent communication and conditioning.

For such purposes, you should get help from a counselor. Allow both bullies and victims to have separate sessions with counselors to address issues and overcome them.

13. Keep Checking with a Bully or a Victim

After an incident and your assistance, things will get back to normal. But you can’t stop there. You have to check with the bully as well as the victim consistently.

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Help victims in any way to deal with the memory of past experience. Also, offer tips to handle future encounters. At the same time, treat the bully with similar concerns. No need to hold grudges.

So, that’s how you can take some concrete steps to deal with bullies in the Classroom

It’s Christmas time. Yippee!

A fun day with family and gifts.

But the most important thing is sharing and appreciating each other.

Time to decide on what gifts we are going to give our family, friends and our loved ones.

We might even spend a lot of time thinking what would the person like the most as a Christmas gift?

Maybe just a greeting card or a watch or some toy. But what can you gift a teacher?

Read till the end to get awesome ideas on gifting your teacher on Christmas Eve.

1. Anything handmade

Teachers don’t expect any gifts from their students. But, it’s Christmas.

The eve of gifting.

What makes a gift so special is how it is made?

Handmade gifts are really awesome to receive and it shows how much love and effort you have put in it.

Starting from a handmade greeting card to a hand-woven sweater or even socks will make your teacher literally happy.

You might even turn out to be the Teacher’s favourite student.

>>Greeting Card<<

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A simple card with decorations and a personal message is always a good gift.

Try making a pop-up card or a musical card. Write your personal message and gift it to your teacher. Nothing is bigger than a personal message.

>>Scarf<<

It’s an epic fact that people feel absolute pleasure when someone gifts them with something they have poured all their effort into. In that list, knitted scarfs and sweaters never betray us. It is a sure thing that it would impress anyone. If you know how to knit, don’t hesitate to show off your skills. Just take the thread and start knitting. A good scarf can protect your teacher from cold weather.

This gift would just make her so happy that she will pamper you so much that even if you don’t complete your homework, you will get an excuse. LOL.

>>Chocolate/Cookie<<

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What’s Christmas without cookies? Make some homemade cookies for your teachers on this beautiful day.

Home-made chocolates are an excellent choice of the gift if you have enough time to make them.

Best secret Santa gift is chocolates stuffed stocking or socks. Chocolates show love and passion and that is what Christmas is all about.

>>Wish upon a Star<<

Make origami stars and gift it to make their house beautiful. Origami stars are easy to make and require only a piece of paper. Creating a piece of art for your teacher will sweep them off the floor.

2. Personalized Gifts

Is your teacher a coffee or a juice lover?

Try buying a mason jar or a coffee mug. Try personalizing it but printing your teacher’s favourite lines from a poem or novel, or his picture, etc. every time he uses it, he will remember you and cherish the moment.

Drinking coffee in a personalized mug will always be the best gift to a person. Personalizing the gift will indicate that you have put your effort on gifting. It is really easy and simple and you need not worry whether they will like it as it has their favourite piece of art in it.

3. Invitation to dinner

Is your teacher staying alone for Christmas? Family in other country or unable to visit them this Christmas?

Just send a personal invitation to your teacher inviting him/her to your family dinner.

Christmas is all about family and sharing. So invite your teacher and make his dinner the best dinner he has ever had.

A teacher might bring a cake or a gift when he arrives for the dinner. Invite him with a bouquet or a glass of wine. You can also plan an after dinner party and play a few games. This will indulge the people together and create a personal connection with your teacher. Connecting with people is what matters when it comes to Christmas.

4. Decorations For Tree

Who wouldn’t want their Christmas tree to have more ornaments and decorations? If you want to give a gift to your teacher and his family, just go for some tree decoration items like stars, candies etc.

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This gift of decoration will be showcased on their Christmas tree and they will remember you forever. You can also get them hanging snow globes, snowflakes that symbolize the season.

5. Books

There is no wrong time to gift a book. Especially to a teacher, gifting books can be an overwhelming great idea. Find out your teachers favourite novel or favourite author and buy them a book. Gifting a book may seem an easier way, but it will be of no use if you gift the same book your teacher already has. Find out his taste and buy a book of that genre. Books can be really satisfying and will stay longer with them as they are unperishable.

6. Gift cards

If you totally have no idea of what to buy, just gift them a gift card or a gift token. Gift cards are prepaid cards of stores where your teacher can select own gifts for themselves. If your teacher is a music lover, gift him an iTunes gift card. From Walmart to Starbucks all accept gift cards. This can lessen your pressure of buying the perfect gift.

7. Candles

Fragrance candles are a good idea.,They light up one’s mood. Fragrance candles are not only for lovers or crush. Fragrance candles are something that is used to light up the whole house. Candles are also available in different fragrances. From scent of Christmas tree to gingerbread, from hot chocolate to scent of snow, these fragrance candles will remind Christmas Eve to the person being gifted.

8. Music lovers

If your teacher loves music, buy him/her an album of their favourite artist. Or buy a music player if it comes within your budget. Music albums might be old-fashioned with all iTunes and online streaming. But, nobody hates to have their own physical collection of their favourite artist. You can also buy them headphones or a Bluetooth headset. Might seem materialistic yet it would be the perfect fit for your beloved teacher.

9. Pen Drives

To gift something that is very useful to a teacher, you can always rely on buying a pen drive. Pen drives are cheaper and will be very useful for the teacher. Data storage devices are much needed now a day as everything is computerized.  Customized pen drives are also available.

10. Others

Gifts do not always have to be costly.

It’s Christmas, just chill.

Go to the store next door and browse through all options available within your budget. From socks to indoor plants, from flowers to fragrances, everything will be a delightful gift for Christmas.

Christmas is an auspicious day when we get to thank everyone for being there in our lives. It becomes more special when you gift your teacher, as they are the most important people because they shape your future. They have spent their precious time and life bringing your talents to the world and trying to make you a better person. So it is worth it to stress a little on what could make a pleasant gift for them.

Merry Merry Christmas!

It’s easy to assume that an introvert has lesser capabilities than an extrovert.

But thankfully, that is not true at all.

So, educators need to remove this misconception from their mind and value the capabilities of introverts as well.

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If you open your eyes and see the social lifestyle everywhere, it is biased slightly towards the extroverts.

People, who are outgoing and gregarious, are seen as the symbol of success in society.

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Standing out and being heard are necessities of surviving in modern society.

Everybody is asked to stay dynamic and aggressive as if we all are on a roller-coaster ride.

However, the mind of a natural introvert doesn’t work like that. Introverts feel overwhelmed in a dynamic environment. But those introverts are restricted to the current social scenarios. The similar introverts come to your classroom and face the challenges of being in an extrovert-driven environment.

The biggest problem in our current social scenarios is in the way we look at introverts. Natural introverts are often judged. People feel concerned about them as if they have some mental disease.

Many people also think introverts are shy people, which is not true at all. For a shy person, other people create anxiety. On the other hand, introverts get overwhelmed by the stimuli coming from too many people around them.

Introverts feel exhausted not anxious. They just need some alone time to get their energy back.

Classrooms become a never-ending group activity for introvert students. Too many stimuli don’t allow a positive environment for introverts. So, their educational performance tends to go down and they become the so-called shy students in the class.

In a nutshell, we all need to redefine the method of teaching in a classroom to motivate introvert students.

Secret#1: Observe and Learn about Introvert Students in your Classroom

1. Avoid Typecasting in the Classroom

In your classroom, there are students with all kinds of characteristics. Being their teacher, you can surely see those characteristics by observing their behavior. However, you should never indulge in typecasting or making your observations a fact in the classroom.

If you address a student as “sensitive” or “the quiet one”, it tends to impact the introvert student as well as other students in the classroom. While other students start looking at introverts as a shy person, the introvert feels that he/she is the odd one out in the class.

So, whenever you are talking regarding an introvert student in your classroom, don’t let your observations become a typecast.

2. Observe the Unique Qualities of an Introvert

To understand the capabilities of a student, you have to look beyond the “introvert” label.

A student can look introvert at the first glance.

But if you observe, you will find unique qualities such as creativity, kindness, observant and other personality traits. These personality traits usually stay hidden behind the introversion.

An introvert, who seems shy to you, can have plenty of jokes, which he cracks with his close friends at home.

You need to talk to the parents to understand how the student behaves in other environments.

Find out all the scenarios when the student acts freely and looks happy. This will help you create similar scenarios in the classroom as well.

3. See How Long they take to Answer

Introverts don’t always raise their hands immediately after hearing your question. They do know the answer, but they try and collect their thoughts first, which can take a while. You need to observe this quality in introverts.

Know More: 13 Tips To Tackle Cyber Bullying Among Students

Ask a question and allow an introvert student to work on his/her answer.

During this time, you can handle the extroverts, who want to answer your questions right away. Regular observations like this will help you find out the true capabilities of introverts in your class. Not all of them are out of answers, as it generally seems.

Secret#2: Communicate with Introvert Students

1. Have a One-on-One Conversation

An introvert student usually avoids sharing thoughts and challenges if you communicate in front of the whole class.

Statements like-

“What is your problem?”

“Do you need something else?”

They never help an introvert student.

You need to provide a safe and one-on-one interaction to communicate with such students. An introvert child feels that he or she is supposed to blend in the classroom. But they feel unable to do so, which makes them scared and confused. Sharing these thoughts is another task, which they avoid. But you can make them convey their feelings in a safe and quiet environment.

Present yourself as a helper and promise to assist in every possible way to improve the bad situations. This assurance will allow an introvert student to share his/her thoughts.

2. Give Subtle Signals of Appreciation

The skills of introverts tend to go unnoticed in front of extroverts. You can change that by indulging in subtle indirect communication with introverts. Even a smile or a pat on the back can let your introvert student know that you see their capabilities.

When introvert students feel appreciated, they feel free to open and indulge in classroom activities.

Secret#3: Bring Changes in the Classroom Teaching

1. Modify the Classroom Space to Create a Low-Key Environment

The design of a space impacts the behavior of people. For example, people behave differently in a large park than, in a small terrace garden.

The large size of space allows people to act more dynamically, but it makes introverts uncomfortable. On the other hand, a low-key environment offers more intimate space for people.

You can use the same concept to adjust the design of your classroom.

Just like any other communal zone, you can make it smaller and more intimate to provide quietness. In a smaller space, all students can become calm and focus on thinking and studying. This way, introverts, and extroverts both types of students can feel a part of the learning environment.

2. Design a Quiet Period in your Classroom

As mentioned before, introverts require some quiet time to reenergize themselves. But generally, classrooms keep on going on and on without no quiet breaks.

You can help both introvert and extrovert students by designing a quiet period in your classroom.

Decide a particular time when all students have to indulge in quiet activities such as drawing, reading, meditating and others. This way, quietness will become a part of the daily routine for all students.

This does two things. First of all, introverts get a chance to attain their energy back by staying calm and focused.

Plus, it allows extrovert students to understand the advantages of quiet activities, which makes them see introvert students as normal.

3. Utilize Different Teaching Channels

Your teaching method can have diverse strategies in the modern age.

There are plenty of technologies to utilize classroom blogs, social media pages, online videos, and others to help all students learn effectively.

Know More: Why Do Students Fail? Faculties Perspective!

You can even use simple methods of writing and make it helpful for introvert students.

For example, instead of asking for an oral answer, you can allow all students to write their answers. An introvert might feel shy to raise hands to answer orally, but you will definitely get a written answer from them.

4. Encourage Quality of Participation in Students

All students in your classroom should learn the value of quality participation.

Quality of participation is about giving enough thought and effort to everything you want to say before actually saying it.

Encourage this habit in terms of classroom questions and even when students communicate with each other.

As introverts require time to gather their thoughts, this approach will surely help them and motivate them in indulging in giving their answer.

At the same time, the same approach will improve the learning ability of extroverts as well. Generally, your extrovert students say the first thing that comes to their mind.

This is true when you are asking questions and even when they are having conversations with other students.

The approach of quality participation will develop a tendency of analyzing thoughts and coming up with the best possible answer.

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Now, you have the top 3 secrets of motivating introvert students in your classroom. Though these methods are directed towards introverts, you will find that extroverts also get better learning experience with these methods.

So, understand introverts, attain diversity in your teaching approach and communicate to motivate.

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The lack of interaction in the classroom presents the issues of bored students, decreasing grades and lower attendance in the classroom. Smart instructors try fun group activities to increase the interaction level and interest in the classroom.

Why do you require Fun Group Activities for College Students?

Making a connection is one of the biggest challenges for teachers in the classroom.

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This lack of connection creates a gap between the teacher and the students.

For a 40-year-old teacher, iPads can seem fascinating and a great gift to humanity. But for the 20-year old students, the gadget has been there always.

Similar gaps of thoughts between teachers and students require a bridge. And fun group activities can help build that bridge.

Of course, group activities are about students working together as a team. But it also allows the teacher to understand the core perspectives of every student in a class.

With that, a teacher can decide his or her approach to teaching.

In many cases, you come across student groups that stay reserved and don’t interact even with each other.

Such groups require an energetic environment of learning to become more interested in learning.

Here come the effective group activities that help those college students.

Now, let’s discuss some effective and fun group activities to help your college students learn better:

1. Assignment in Motion

Students of a theatre group never feel bored or isolated. The whole idea of a theatre group is to come together and perform as a team. So, why not bring a theatre group experience to your classroom studies.

No matter if you teach physics, advertising or literature, you can turn any subject into an act of a play.

First of all, divide your students into small groups. Then, ask them to come up with a scenario based on the topic learned and demonstrate that scenario by acting.

So, if you have discussed the solar system, ask students to choose planets as their characters can create a story around those characters. So, students can come up with characters such as “an angry Sun”, “A silent moon” and “A happy earth”.

Similarly, if you teach literature or advertising, you can ask students to demonstrate a story or an advertising campaign in groups.

This group activity is fun and allows students to collectively learn. As they engage with all their senses, the attained knowledge makes a strong imprint in their minds.

2. Building Card Towers

Group activities can also help in teaching students to communicate with each other and respect a healthy competition.

For both the purposes, you can utilize this great group activity with your college students.

Building card towers is a group activity, which will require you to divide your students into groups of an equal number of members.

You can include clauses such as the tallest tower will win a prize. At the same time, ask students to talk slowly, so that, they don’t interrupt other groups.

This group activity is perfect to boost creativity in the students and allow them to face difficulties in a collective manner.

3. Puzzle and Quiz Challenges

You can turn your topics into puzzles and create a fun quiz, which would require multiple people to solve them.

Know More: 14 Fun Classroom Activities for Students

For this, you can create 5 to 10 puzzles and divide each puzzle into 10 clues. Then, mix all the chits of clues in a bowl and allow students to randomly pick their chits.

After that, it is every student’s responsibility to match clues with every other student to find all clues that are related to each other.

This way, students will have to work and search to build their own group.

When all the students find a group, they can work to solve their puzzle by finding a collective meaning behind each clue.

This activity gives a feeling of treasure hunt and mystery, which engages all students in the form of groups.

4. What’s Your Problem?

Students like complaining, especially when it comes to teachers and their strict demands.

You can use this common habit to allow students to indulge in a group activity.

“What’s your problem?” is a game based on open-ended queries. You ask students, “What’s your problem regarding…….?”

For example, you can ask, “what’s your problem regarding this assignment?”

Then, the first student can say his or her problem regarding the assignment.

Now, the student next to the first one has to provide a solution for the first problem and raise another problem regarding the assignment. The cycle keeps on going on till every student gets an answer.

This activity generates critical thinking, problem-solving and the ability to appreciate other people’s point of view.

5. Find the Mistake

Another activity that every student like is finding mistakes in what a teacher says. It is fun! You can deliberately make mistakes and allow students to collectively find those mistakes.

How?!

First of all, begin your class by announcing some deliberate mistakes during the whole class. But no student can point your mistake until he or she has noticed at least 5 mistakes.

Students can get help from each other to find 5 mistakes and allow one person to answer them.

Then, you can change “King John” with “King Henry”, give wrong years to historical incidence, change the name of a planet, or make other mistakes during the whole class.

This activity is a great revision exercise and also allows students to form their own alliances to come up with the required number of solutions.

Plus, the whole process is fun, as students get to find your mistakes.

6. A Divided Assignment

If doing the whole assignment seems like a burden for students, why don’t you offer a deal of cutting their burden?!

Know More: 10 Interesting Activities That Helps Kids TO Refresh their Mind

Offer an opportunity to divide an assignment into fractions and complete it as a group.

For this, you will have to divide your students into groups. Then, divide an assignment into fractions and assign those fractions to each member of a group. Do this with every group in the classroom.

Each group has to work collectively in order to provide a harmonized piece of work to justify the given assignment.

At the end of the given time period, every group gets to represent their work, and the most harmonized work gets extra marks or other rewards.

You can leverage this approach for computer programs, writing essays, creating a song, designing an ad campaign and other topics, depending on the subject you teach.

7. Healthy Critiquing among Students

Critiquing is a complicated activity to conduct. But you can make it healthy in nature by utilizing an approach where students criticize the work of other students along with a solution.

This activity is also conducted in groups. You divide your class into groups and each group has to work on a writing piece, a hypothesis, a philosophical question, a computer code or any other form of assignment you provide.

After the given period of time, each group presents their idea and thoughts. All the other groups can make notes including mentioning the mistakes in the presented idea and provide a solution at the same time.

This exercise will help college students understand the concept of healthy competition and problem-solving. They will also learn to enjoy figuring out mistakes and learn to appreciate innovative views of others.

8. Word Limit Answers

This is another collaborative game you can play with your students in college. This game is fun and matches the concept of limited characters people get when posting on social media.

In this game, you offer a limited number of words to every student. For example, you can say that every student can utter 20 words only.

Then, divide students into groups of 3 to 4. Now, you can ask questions and students have to answer.

Every group can discuss their answer among each other. And then they can divide the whole answer into 20-20 words among themselves. So, each member of a group answers one part of a question.

9. Classroom Charades

Divide your students into 2 groups. Now, members from each group come in front one-by-one. The opposite team tells a subject-related word or phrase.

Now, the student in the front has to act without saying anything, and his or her team members have to guess the right phrase or word.

This group activity is a popular one, so every student usually knows the rules. You just have to change the topics and make it about the subject you teach.

You can also make it more fun by mixing two topics together. For example, you can allow students to choose physics and/or movies, or pick literature with celebrities.

This will bring a fun twist to the game. Students feel confused if the word is from the subject or a celebrity or a movie.

It’s Your Turn Now!

Discipline and control matters, but only to a certain extent.

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College students will feel more interested in studying if they enjoy each other’s company and also feel excited about your class.

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Fun group activities can help you attain both the goals. So, follow the given ideas!