Many students struggle in STEM-related subjects: science, technology, engineering, and math. Struggling in science can be discouraging for students, parents, and educators. As students increase in grade level, the emphasis placed on science in the public-school system increases, making many students feel they will never catch up. Here are some science strategies to help students reach grade-level standards.

Guidelines to help students catch up in science.

Differentiation

Differentiated instruction helps educators see each child’s learning needs, which is needed in science classes. For instance, a teacher could provide an inquiry-based activity for those students that grasp the concept and at the same time provide specific instruction to struggling students. This method allows the fast-learning students to widen their knowledge while simultaneously allowing the struggling students to get the best.

Scaffolding

Scaffolding instruction is essential for educators with struggling students. Before moving to the next lesson, take a few minutes per day to review the studies of the past few days. Humans need to interact with content three times before the content is committed to memory.

Mnemonics

Students will find this memorization tip helpful. These acronyms help them to remember information easily. For example, The Dog Deserves To Get Treats can be used to remember the types of biomes: Tundra, Desert, Deciduous Forest, Taiga, Grassland, and Tropical Rain Forest.

Know the different learning styles

Three major learning styles are auditory, visual, and kinesthetic/hands-on. Make sure you widen the scope of your learning instructions for your students by including all types of learning styles. Students with a visual learning style will benefit from graphic organizers. In contrast, students with a kinesthetic/hands-on learning style will prefer activities such as Total Physical Response.

Multisensory instruction

Multisensory instruction brings together what students see, hear, do, and feel. Linking these senses during education can help students recall information. The Total Physical Response activity is in this category, as it combines learner motions with verbal vocabulary.

Use technology to increase engagement

Students get more excitement and motivation to learn when they have mastery of the learning process. Applying technology in the classroom allows them to do just that. For instance, many online programs have virtual laboratories where students can investigate science terms and manipulate different aspects of the experiment, allowing them to explore the concept themselves. The potential for the use of technology in the classroom is endless. You must look out for potential pitfalls in this approach and endeavor to steer clear of them as much as possible.

Teach perseverance

Those who never give up are the most successful students because they keep going no matter how tough the task. Students who consistently struggle sometimes lack perseverance because they become easily discouraged by each setback. The most important thing to teach children early on in life is to develop perseverance by helping them believe that they can do anything they put their mind to as long as they keep working on it and never give up. Though a beautiful gift to be cherished, they need to know that life is not always a beautiful piece of cake. Teach your students that when bad moments happen in life, they must be willing to pick themselves up and get on with it. 

Provide encouragement

You could become a source your students can draw from when they’re low on energy. Always encourage your struggling students to keep trying and not become discouraged by making learning a positive experience for them to be self-motivated for the rest of their lives! 

Take the time out to try different strategies with different students to see what works for who because not all of these strategies will work for every learner. The important thing is that no learner is too far behind to be helped, so try never to give up on any learner!