I have been asked to facilitate an exploration of student engagement with a K-8 teaching staff as they return to start a new school year. I am sharing some of the material and activities I gathered, thinking that some of you may find it useful in a workshop you are preparing or in conversations with individual teachers.
The first message that I want to communicate is that student engagement is a very complex teaching and learning issue. This statement from Kahu and Nelson does the job.
Student engagement is defined as an individual’s psychological state, including their emotional and cognitive investment in learning. This state is influenced by the student’s perception of the learning environment, including factors such as the relevance of the content, the quality of teaching, and the relationships with peers and staff. The model they propose emphasizes that engagement is a dynamic and multifaceted process that evolves over time and can be impacted by both individual and contextual factors.
[Kahu, E. R., & Nelson, K. (2018). “Student engagement in the educational interface: Understanding the mechanisms of student success.” Higher Education Research & Development]
I am going to ask participants to take a reflection pause early on and record their thoughts to these questions which we will reference throughout our session:
How do you define student engagement in your classroom?
What signs or behaviors do you look for to determine if a student is engaged in learning?
Can you describe a moment when you felt your students were highly engaged?
What contributed to that engagement?
How do you address disengagement when you notice it in your students?
What role do relationships and classroom culture play in student engagement?
What challenges do you face in trying to keep all students engaged?
The first author’s work we will examine is Heather Lyons who wrote “Engagement is Not a Unicorn (It’s a Narwahl).” I’ve had the opportunity to record a podcast with Heather where she explored a matrix around non-compliant, compliant, interested , and absorbed engagement.
After discussing how Lyon’s concepts connect with participants’ responses to the reflection questions on engagement. We will examine Peter Liljedahl’s classroom observations.
Slackers:
Description: These students show minimal effort in their academic tasks. They tend to be disengaged and uninterested in participating actively in the learning process. Behavior: Often, slackers will avoid work, give superficial answers, or try to appear as though they are working when they are not.
Stallers:
Description: Stallers delay their engagement with tasks. They may appear to be working but spend most of their time avoiding actual task completion. Behavior: Stallers might ask for repeated instructions, engage in off-topic conversations, or use other tactics to avoid getting started on the work at hand.
Fakers:
Description: Fakers pretend to understand or be engaged without genuinely grasping the content or making a meaningful effort. Behavior: They might copy answers from others, give vague responses, or nod along without truly following the material.
Mimickers:
Description: Mimickers try to replicate the actions of successful students without fully understanding the underlying concepts or processes. Behavior: These students often rely heavily on examples or procedures demonstrated by the teacher or peers but struggle to apply knowledge independently or in new contexts.
Thinkers:
Description: Thinkers are deeply engaged in the learning process. They actively work to understand the material, solve problems, and apply their knowledge. Behavior: Thinkers ask questions, make connections, explore different strategies, and reflect on their learning experiences. They are often seen as genuinely curious and motivated.
After comparing Liljedahl’s observations of students to their own, grade level teams will consider his suggestions for generating more student “thinkers”.
- Creating a Culture of Inquiry
- Implementing Rich Task
- Scaffolding Learning
- Encouraging Metacognition
- Providing Timely Feedback
- Modelling Thinking Processes
- Creating a safe Learning Environment
These conversations around teacher actions will be extended with a short video from John Spenser where he explores Flow Theory and connections to engagement. His suggestions should reinforce teachers’ thoughts about conscious choices they might make.
The last element that we will explore uses Amy Berry’s continuum of engagement to explore strategies for having students assess their level of engagement and plan for any needed changes in their actions.
My goal will be to have teachers reach a decision on at least one area of practice that they want to develop during the first months of school. The good news is that I get to work with the staff in a follow-up workshop where we will examine how peer coaching can support teachers in reflection and implementation of new practices. We should be able to develop peer coaching plans to support student engagement explorations.
Let me know what you find if you explore any of these elements.
