Online Courses for Teachers

Boosting Student Engagement Using Active Learning Strategies

(Grades PreK-5) / Flex Course

PDI Course Number: 150T02 / UCSD Course Number: EDUC42506

Course Description

Do you struggle to get, and then maintain, your students’ attention? Do you find it difficult to engage students in their learning? It’s not surprising that many teachers find themselves wondering how to “capture” their students’ attention, particularly in the digital world we live in. This online continuing education course is designed to prepare PreK-5 teachers to boost student engagement and community within their classroom walls using a variety of active learning strategies. The course begins by introducing teachers to the different types of engagement. Teachers will learn specific strategies to capture their students’ attention. From there, the course explores several teacher-driven, as well as, student-driven engagement techniques, all of which are designed to improve student engagement and boost classroom community. From establishing a positive classroom culture to exploring specific scaffolding techniques, teachers will learn how to transform their lessons so that students stay active and engaged. Strategies for making classroom experiences more relatable and fun through such things as classroom transformations, virtual field trips, expert talks, and project-based learning are explored. Additionally, teachers will examine a variety of interactive edtech tools to assist them in their efforts to build intrinsic motivation, capitalizing on their students’ love for technology. By the end of this course, teachers will feel more confident and successful in their quest to boost student engagement and community within their classroom. By the end of this course, teachers will feel more confident and successful in their quest to build their diverse classroom libraries as a way to promote the principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion through intentional read-alouds. This course is worth 3 ⅓ semester units/5 quarter units (50 hours of training) from University of California San Diego (UCSD) Division of Extended Studies. For detailed information on receiving university credit for your PDI professional development course, visit our credit page.

Need help? Kimya Nabavi, PDI Program Coordinator, is ready to assist.

I really liked the content and felt that it was very pertinent to my needs as a teacher. The resources were wonderful and I plan on using them alot. - Katharine Tomas