Here are not five but 3 and a half ways ways to make biology lessons engaging. The top three ways are the use of technology, taking lessons outside the classroom and brining lessons to live inside the classroom. However, all of these advice will not work if the most important half is not considered. You must be willing to make the leaning journey exiting irrespective of the age or ability of your learners. You need to make an effort to be an exiting and patient biology guide.
Why thinking about ways to make biology lessons engaging is important?
Biology is a part of the three main science topics that every child needs to cover throughout their school years. It gets introduce in its more straightforward form in KS1 (infant) and KS2 (junior), then becomes a permanent feature in KS3 (lower secondary) and KS4 (upper secondary). Students can choose to sit a combined science exam covering all three sciences, including biology, physics, and chemistry. Alternatively for their general education, level exams pupils can do a triple science option that means studying all three subject separately. Biology is also a critical A-level as it is a prerequisite for many advanced career degrees.
Given the importance of biology in human and Earthly life preservation, it is vital to engine interest and help children understand this fascinating subject from a very early age.
However, given its scientific nature, the danger of making the subject boring exist at all of the educational stages. To ignite the love for biology and nurture this science’s love amongst future generations, a teacher must bring the excitement to the classroom.
We have spoken with the educational specialist to discuss the top five way to jazz up your biology sessions.
Use the technology on offer
Want to spice up your biology lessons? Biology lessons can be real fun! Biology subjects have lots of visuals. Use this opportunity to create digital biology courses or biology exercises to engage your students much more than traditional paper tests. In this video, I’ll show you five creative biology lesson examples made with BookWidgets, an Edtech tool that can be used for many educational purposes. Want to use and adapt these biology lesson examples? Just click on the link below and make a free copy of the exercise in your account.
Go outdoors:
The base for the biology syllabus is the life around out. So remember to use. There is so much to learn outside the classroom. Outdoors of of the ways to make biology lessons engaging.
For the out of classroom nature studies – create a basic risk assessment form that you can quickly adjust depending on the year group and location. If your school is far from natural beauty, use what is available in your school year or playgrounds. You will be amazed and pleasantly surprised by the rich flora and fauna that surround us.
Make it real inside:
Your classroom is your theatre! Engage your learners in a live play – bring them to live biology. There are ample or resources out there for a DIY job. Visit Hamilton trust or TES resources to pick ideas. Pick up an escape room pack or get the learner to use their bodies to study how a human body works. A range of science event companies can bring wow to the classroom. Search for a range of exciting hands-on workshops such as Mother Nature Science, Working Science or Chemistry, Physics and Biology Made Easy with MyScienceFun
A crucial half a point to consider:
At the different stages of child life, different approaches to teaching required. Remember that the national curriculum and the exam body exam syllabus are only there to tell you what you have to cover. However, they are only guiding stars. You need to make the journey and take the pupils with you. It is up to you to be the ultimate guide! Would you like to be bored to death when exploring your city? the answer is probably no. Build an open roof double-decker hop on and off the bus. Get your audience on it, and do not forget to make them laugh with your witty commentary. OK, we cannot guarantee that your visitors will instantly engage with you. Be patient! Help them to see, feel and experience. You will win their attention, just do not give up.
Take things nice a slow with the little ones. Please help them to overcome their fears and teach them to take learning risks. Once they pass the cute stage of infants and juniors, they got a nack of driving you mad! Yes, you are allowed to moan about the lack of engagement from your pupils. (If you are working with teens – read The Teenage Brain book or a helpful article in the Guardian. BUT! Remember that they are learning. They are learning to be emotionally mature and not follow the crowd. They are learning about being a part of a group – they pretend not to like something to fit in within their peer group. You have to remember that you are there to help them to come out better people. You have to make an effort to avoid being a bore.