INCREASING STUDENT INTEREST AND ENGAGEMENT IN ACADEMIC SUBJECTS

USING THE PEACE MODEL

THE GOAL AND OBJECTIVE FOR TODAY

Goal:

To provide strategies to teachers/school staff for increasing student interest and engagement in academic subjects.

Objective:

To introduce teachers/school staff to the CareerVisions, Community Change, Legacy and Peace Models as interest-based approaches for student engagement in their classrooms.

OUR FOUR, INTEREST-BASED APPROACHES

TO STUDENT ENGAGEMENT ARE…

The CareerVisions Model (career explorations) engages students from kindergarten through college in a variety of fun yet challenging activities that support them in defining and pursuing their career ambitions as they analyze and address their community concerns. Students are engaged in an exploration of people, places and other things related to their field of interest.

The Community Change Model (community engagement) is an award winning approach to engage students from kindergarten through college in identifying, analyzing and addressing social issues in their neighborhood through the dynamic integration of critical questions, interesting activities and references. In practice, Community Change is applied to a single issue identified and selected by the students. Past Community Change Projects have focused on such issues as drugs, gangs, and violence.

The Legacy Model (cultural education) engages students from kindergarten through college in an exploration of their culture as it is manifested in their field of interest. Legacy gives youth an idea of the kind of people they can be for themselves and their community. The goal of Legacy is to increase student awareness of their culture in their field of interest. Through fun, age-appropriate and challenging activities, students become aware of the presence and impact of their people in a variety of subjects and fields.

The Peace Model (restorative practices/relationship building) engages students from kindergarten through college in exercises that repair harm and develop relationships. Research shows schools implementing restorative practices have seen a drop in disciplinary problems, decreased reliance on detention and suspension, and an improvement in student attitudes. Educators worldwide are using restorative practices to prevent bullying and violence. In Peace, this is done by navigating six phases of exploration: self, family, class & school, community, nation and world.

THE PEACE MODEL

The Peace Model is an interest-based approach to engaging pre-K through college students in learning how relationships are built and conflicts are managed at different levels of society within the context of any academic subject, afterschool club, or summer camp activity. Specifically, the Peace Model integrates research questions, references and exercises in navigating six sequential phases over the course of a single semester. These phases are:

1. Self-Interests 2. Family 3. Community

4. Nation 5. World 6. Group Action Project

THE PEACE MODEL (Continued)

Goal of the Peace ModelTo spark student interest in relationships and their academic subject, afterschool club, or summer camp activity.

Objective: To increase/improve: + Students’ knowledge of societal relationships within the context to their academic subject, afterschool club, or summer camp activity. + Students’ skills in building relationships and managing conflicts. + Students’ experience building relationships and managing conflicts. + Students’ attitudes towards relationships and conflicts.

Strategy: The Peace Model will meet its objectives and goals by engaging students in a creative mix of exploration- and expression-oriented exercises that are aligned with their interests and focused on relationship building, conflict management and the academic subject.

THE SIX PHASES

The organization of information (research, analysis and action)

1. Self-Identity:

Who am I? What are my interests? How is this field used to develop relationships and/or manage conflicts within oneself?

2. The Family:

What relationships exists within a family? How does this field manifest itself within families? How is this field used to develop relationships and/or manage conflicts within a family?

3. The Community:

What relationships exists within a community? How does this field manifest itself within communities? How is this field used to develop relationships and/or manage conflicts within a community?

THE SIX PHASES

The organization of information (research, analysis and action)

4. The Nation:

What relationships exists within a nation? How does this field manifest itself within your nation? How is this field used to develop relationships and/or manage conflicts within your nation?

5. The World:

What relationships exists worldwide? How does this field manifest itself worldwide? How is this field used to develop relationships and/or manage conflicts worldwide?

6. Group Action Project:

What are we going to do to address a previously identified conflict? How will we share our Peace learning experience as a group with other members of our community?

Three Components

1. Questions

• The focus of a particular lesson. • The bases for students’ explorations and

expressions during a lesson. • Developed using question words applied

to the theme of each phase.1. Who?2. What?3. Where?4. When?5. Why?6. How?

Three Components

2. References

• Data sources: provides sources of information or facts to each question.Include newspaper, internet, guest speakers, TV shows, and other forms of media.

• Should encourage the use of multiple sources, including those of varying, opposing perspectives.

• Should be within 5 years.

• The closer to the target area, the better.

• Personal testimonials should only be used as references in Phase I.

• In Phase 6, the findings from the previous phases may be used as references to inform the design of the action project.

• Try to be creative in making use of references

Three Components

3. Exercises

• Things that are done to creatively engage the students in using the references to answer each question.

• Things that are done to get the students to creatively express their findings from the references.

• Based on student interests identified in Phase 1

The 6 Es of Exercises

Engage – get all students actively participating.

Encourage – challenge, motivate and build the confidence of students to complete the tasks of the lesson.

Excite – ensure than students are entertained and enjoying themselves by linking the exercises and references to things in which they have expressed interest.

Explore – get the students to find answers to questions related to the theme of the phase using researched sources.

Express – get the students to share/showcase their findings from their explorations in a creative, fun and dynamic way. This also includes reflections and feedback on the lessons.

Evidence – any product, artifact, documentation or memorabilia from student expressions. Evidence can be used to showcase the things students have learned in class. Examples of evidence include bulletin boards, presentation boards, writings, and art work.

Please complete the feedback form provide. Your critique of our models and trainings is welcomed and appreciated.

Thank you.

For more information, contact:

Kenyatta FunderburkExecutive Director

Community Change, Inc. www.communitychangeinc.comkf@communitychangeinc.com

917.674.8269