Engaging students is a key priority for any teacher, particularly in the STEM subjects where popularity has fallen in recent years. For biology teachers, there’s inspiration all around you – but it can still be difficult to make the subject more interesting and accessible for students. Start by tapping into your students’ natural curiosity of life, making biology relevant to them by relating topics taught in the classroom with their everyday lives. This form of integrative learning has many benefits, including improved student learning retention and creative thinking. Even if biology isn’t a student’s strong point, it can easily become their favourite subject when taught in a way that encourages and rewards participation. Take a look at our tips on planning and delivering engaging biology lessons that inspire the best results from your pupils.
Sometimes in life, instead of giving advice, we allow those around us to learn lessons for themselves so they can truly retain the information. The same method can be applied in the classroom and has proven to be very effective in an environment where practical learning can often be few and far between.
Allow your students to feel like professional researchers by setting them achievable experimental tasks based on the hypothesis-test-conclusion format. A Harvard study showed that this form of active learning facilitates deeper learning which in turn can improve information retention and exam scores.