Facilitating Classes That Strengthen Student

Engagement

Lindsay Esteslestes@howardcollege.edu

9-low prep ways to engage students during class

You will leave with….

Why is student engagement important? ◦ After two weeks we tend to remember…

Background

10% of what we read 20% of what we hear 30% of what we see

50% of what we see and hear 70% of what we say 90% of what we say and do

PASSIVE

ACTIVE

Edgar Dale, Audio-Visual Methods in Technology, Holt, Rinehart, Winston

Describe a time your students were highly engaged in class. ◦ What do you believe contributed to this

engagement? Content, process, structures, planning?

Write

De-brief

Share

Balance Engagement

Teacher Talk

Independent Work

Partner Work

Group Work

Ways to Engage to Students

Prior to a lesson

During a lesson

After a lesson

Anchor

Activate Prior Knowledge

Learning happens when you connect new information to existing information

Should be: ◦ Low Risk/Low Stakes

◦ All students should be able to contribute something

◦ Focus on what the STUDENTS know

◦ Connect what the students know to what they will be doing

Activate Prior Knowledge

◦ Post images and/or key vocabulary that will be taught/used in the day’s lecture

◦ Using the vocabulary, students write a prediction of what they will learn or discuss

◦ Students share predictions

Vocabulary Predictions

Import Export Expansion

Vocabulary Predictions

• Using these vocabulary words write a predication of what we will learn about America’s growth in the 1800’s.

Introduce new topic to students.

Give students a few minutes to draw whatever comes to their mind when they think of the topic.

Lecture/Present new information

After the lecture, have students draw what comes to their mind related to the topic.

Next students write about what changed in their drawing and why.

Students share with a partner.

Talking Drawings

Up-front/front loading

Its worth the time

How could you use some of these engagement ideas in your classes?

Activate Prior Knowledge

Serve as Checks for Understanding

Break up the monotony of “sit and get”

Allow students to discuss and process new information directly after receiving it

During the Lesson Engagement Ideas

◦ Teacher introduces topic and presents information

◦ Half-way through the lesson, students “roll the dice”

Roll the Dice

Roll the Dice:

US’s Involvement in WWI1--Predict2—Explain- the difference… 3—Summarize…3 key ideas4—Evaluate…Do you agree with…5—Question…Write 5 questions6--Connect to Prior Knowledge

Roll the Dice

Quick Talks (Energizers/Checks for Understanding)

◦ At mid-point of a lecture, stop and have students give “quick talks” about what they have learned so far.

◦ Students get in teams of 3-4, they must speak for 60 seconds to share all they know about the topic (WITHOUT STOPPING); when one stops talking, the next one must start.

◦ Give student teams a few minutes to prepare, but only have 1-2 teams share.

Quick Talks

Half-way through the lecture/lesson, stop.

Have students write two questions they have about the content of the lecture.

Collect the questions and answer.

Questions

How could you use some of these ideas in your classes?

During Lesson Engagement Ideas

Assimilate and process information

Learn from others

Checks for understanding

After the Lesson--Ideas

The First Word Assign key vocabulary from the lecture to

groups or pairs of students.

Students generate a short phrase or sentence for each letter of the word vertically

The First Word

First Word Examples: Sun is the star at the center of the solar system

Orbits are the paths that planets take around the Sun Lunar eclipses occur when the Moon gets blocked by the Earth

Asteroids are big rocks that orbit the Sun

Rings-- the planet Saturn has them

The First Word

First Word Examples: Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun

You can see some planets with your naked eye

Some other planets are: Earth, Venue, Mars, Jupiter, Pluto, and Neptune

The Earth is the only planet with life on it

Every year, the Earth orbits the Sun once

Mercury is the planet closest to the Sun

Lipton, L., & Wellman, B. (1999). Patterns and practices in the learning-focused classroom. Guilford, Vermont: Pathways Publishing.

The First Word

Silent activity

After the lesson/lecture, post a question(s) on the board.

Students write a response to the questions on the board.

Students respond to each others’ writings by simply drawing a line from the response and writing their thoughts.

Chalk Talk

Key Vocabulary

Interactive

Connections

Shows understanding

Word Wall

Key words from today’s lesson

Word Wall

student engagement

activate prior knowledgeThe First Word

Roll the Dice

Talking Drawings

Vocabulary Predictions

Quick Talks

Chalk Talk

On your own: Choose two words from the word wall that you did not know prior to today. What do they mean?

With a partner: Using five words from the word wall, describe…

Word Wall

Choose one strategy that you could use with your students. How would you use it in your classes?

Share

The hardest working person in a classroom should always be….

the student

Remember