Engagement – it is a very popular idea in education over the past few years. It seems to make sense. If students are part of the learning process they will be more inclined to work harder and therefore receive a better education. However, the more I think and talk to people about how we engage our students, the more I realize that this means different things to different educators. In some cases I have been told that engagement is asking questions of students, in others they are put in full control of the outcome of an assignment or task. Obviously there may be as many methods to engage students as there are teachers trying to accomplish the task. But it seems to me that students are not engaged because they are active, they are engaged because you have created a classroom situation or assignment that has caused them to think at the highest level of Bloom’s Taxonomy. The levels at which they are applying, assessing, and synthesizing what they are learning.
So I will pose the question because I believe that it time that we do more than talk about what we are doing and that one teachers method may be helpful to many others. How do you engage your students? Is there a good method you use for this? Do you have a particular assignment(s)? Does it happen in your class on purpose or by accident or both?
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I had very good success with my students when I mix it up in class. I usually go over and grade something with them, present a short lecture topic, give a worksheet or activity to practice the topic, or have a practice quiz over the topic. The practice quiz is treated like a real quiz at first, then students can use notes or the other students or myself to finish the quiz. This way they know how much they need to study for the real quiz. Of course,in Chemistry it is easy to mix it up with a demo or lab, but I like to vary what we are doing all the time and this makes the time pass quickly.
From day to day, I work to engage my students through questioning rather than lectures. We grade assignments together in class so I can reteach concepts my students are having trouble with. This works especially well with grammar concepts that are hard to grasp.
More engaging, though, would be the perfect high school project, the After Prom Project, and currently, my students in speech are leading discussions from the chapters they are to read. Each student in speech has been responsible for leading the discussion each day in class. I become a part of the circle and interject only when I think I need to. This way, they lead the discussion and take it whatever way they see fit. No one has to listen to me lecture, which makes everyone happy.
I am continually looking for more engaging assignments, especially where grammar is concerned. Since we are changing it up in the English Department next year and requiring one semester of grammar at every level, it would be great to have more engaging projects to go along with the grammar instruction that these students need.
This is the biggest problem I have with my students. Many of them hate school, and especially English!
I use my sparkling personality as much as possible. I think kids react well to humor. When I put examples on the board when we are studying grammar, I try to make them funny sentences. I also do this on tests and quizzes.
When I write a sentence to be corrected on the board, the kids always find the easiest mistakes first. Somedays I give candy to the student who finds the final mistake in the sentence. They never know what day I am going to do that, and they don't know how many mistakes are in the sentence.
Reading is the biggest challenge, because we read everything orally, and many of my students hate to read. The kids like to "popcorn" or choose the next reader. It's pretty funny, because a student will ALWAYS choose someone that he or she thinks isn't paying attention. They police themselves well.
One of the things I like to do with students is to have them identify the type of home they live in using the textbook as a guide: windows, doors and kitchen areas, etc. Examples
Type of home: 1, 1 1/2 or two story.
Type of windows: double hung, casement, awning,fixed.
Types of doors: flush-left or right,glass sliding, bi-fold, atruim.
Kitchen shapes: L, U, island, peninsula.
This activity reinforces information in the textbook, takes it into the real world and back to the classroom. The students seem to enjoy the activity because they can apply what they are learning.
Thanks to the great administration and teachers for the great ideas to help students learn and for teachers to share ideas!!
I feel that when it comes to student’s engagement I have an advantage with my subject area. But as with anything some methods work better than others. No matter what the lesson is I’ll have an activity, whether it is a writting some sort of paper or a hands-on project. It seems that small groups or partners work better than letting the student work individually. Although there are ground rules for each activity there is a lot of creative freedom and when the students are in groups I notice that they motivate each other to participate and be engage. On the most recent project, Golf Tee Jump Game, I let the students choose their own group members. I was a little leery but it ended up working out very well. It just seems that if I act like what we are doing is something important and get a few students on my side the others follow along.
If my blog does not make sense to anyone let me know I tend to bounce from subject to subject.
Taxes are a subject most Americans prefer not to discuss. My students are no exception. I bring in current newspaper articles from many local newspapers and have the students read the articles to the class. The class then is challenged to evaluate the article and determine how it may affect them as working taxpayers.
We do a lot of "vocabulary front loading" before beginning to work with the actual tax forms.
We examine pay check stubs to learn about the various taxes deducted. Students complete tax forms using various case studies with different filing statuses before finally being able to complete their own taxes. Students learn how to read a tax table from an actual IRS Tax Instruction Booklet. Exploring the IRS web site to learn about on-line filing and services which may assist them in filing electronically ads a technical aspect. The unit will conclude with a field trip to a local tax office to address any questions students may have. Students are offered the option of bringing in their own taxes to complete. Some graduates still call at tax time to seek assistance and I look forward to seeing them. If they are filing taxes, that usually means they are working taxpayers and our goal of making them employable has been accomplished.
One of my favorite engagement techniques in science is to have very small groups of students prepare and present various lessons on topics related to what we have studied the first 3 nine weeks, but would not cover otherwise. They pick the topics, choose their presentation style, do the preparation, select at least two visual aids, and present the lesson in front of the class. We cover about 5 to 8 additional topics this way in only about 2 weeks. And students learn what it is like to prepare for and present a lesson.
Students love games, so when we review for the State Rules of the Road Test we divide into two groups. They ususally like male vs female. We can have the teams ask the questions or I can. Each team selects a spokesperson. I ask a question and if the team answers the question they get the points. If they miss the question the other team gets a chance to steal the points. Last time we did this the teams missed one question each. They were asked about seventy questions and signs. That was a very good percentage. We finished in a tie. The class did not want to finish in a tie so they asked if I would keep asking question until someone won. Imagine students wanting a teacher to ask more questions.
My subject matter lends itself easily to project-based learning. However, sometimes it is difficult for my students to connect their newly learned skills with their future home - it still is too far into the future. I try to give them opportunities to use their skills for others or their community instead. In clothing class, they make projects for themselves but also make an infant blanket for Riley Children's Hospital. The students are quite excited to make an item that will encourage and support a struggling infant and their family. I find that they care a great deal about the quality of their work since their blanket will likely be used as a "keepsake" in someone's home.
In the DCFS Level 1 Credential Program, Amy Florie and I incorporate a project-based experience with children for each "lesson" we cover. The students may not be ready for parenting or to enter their career just yet, but will remember the principles learned much better when they actually apply them with children. They soon learn that adequate preparation is essential and find that they must be engaged and ready to be successful(or the children will take over and my students have a very difficult day!)
I tell my students that a newly learned skill is valuable. When you use that skill for others it becomes meaningful! I try to give my students the opportunity to feel like their learning has purpose and meaning - right now, right here.
I haven't been in the habit of making comments on the blog, but I have really enjoyed watching my Spanish II students working on their latest projects. After learning their food vocabulary,the students have been required to "invent" a restaurant and then construct an original Spanish menu and an ad for the restaurant. The creativity has been fantastic! Plus, the students have been learning how to use their imaginations, divide work within a group, apply knowledge, and use their computer skills. They have seemed to enjoy the project and they have worked hard. The final activity in the unit will be acting out a dialogue.
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