As I contemplate student engagement and behavior, I
reflected on my middle school years and the teachers that I had. Two stuck out most prominently in my
memories. One recognized that a group of
us were always finishing first and then would become rather mischievous. She created a small group and began to give
us challenging group projects based on current units of study that we could
complete during independent work time. I
remember her encouragement and the freedom that she gave us. The other teacher was much more
traditional. We read from the textbook,
took notes, completed worksheets, and did the occasional structured projects
with presentations (create a diorama) – very classic approach. Surprisingly, my mother received several
phone calls from the second teacher and none from the first and I lost several
lunches for “too much chatter.” My point
for this story is that if teachers work to create an environment that is
engaging and recognize the unique qualities and challenges of his or her students,
then positive behavior is a natural consequence. Voke (2002) found in the research that
“engaged students experience greater satisfaction with school experiences,
which may in turn, lead to greater school completion and student attendance
rates, as well as lower incidents of acting-out behaviors”
(Voke, 2002, pg 2).
Another aspect that we need to consider is who are our
students. The students today are
different from the students of the past.
“The desire to multitask and be
constantly connected to the net and to friends as well as the hunger for
immediate results influence how young people today interact with the world –
whether in school or at home or while traveling – and must be taken into
account by both educators and employers” (Wagner, 2008, pg. 158)
Considering the two concepts of engagement and understanding
the student of the 21st century, how can you implement 21st
century skills through gradual release and productive group work in order to
increase engagement and reduce disciplinary incidents?
I smiled as I read about your experiences in middle school, because I'm pretty sure mine were similar! In finishing work quickly, I had to find ways to keep me from getting in trouble for talking. I'm sure I would have benefited greatly from challenging extensions of the work. I think today, this same concept works exactly the same, we just need to find activities that lend to our students of the 21st century. Perhaps the project can include use of computers, cell phones, etc, or in my room, perhaps even ipods and mp3 players. I think the more we can connect their learning to real life, the more engaged students are in their learning.
ReplyDeleteI agree, if we utilize more technology in the classroom students will be more engaged in their learning. If students already know how to use cell phones, ipods, and computers, why not use those things as an instructional tools.
ReplyDeleteThe use of technology is fantastic I agree. However students need to be taught how to properly use technology in a proper manner and the use of technology works great when teachers have computers in their rooms everyday.
DeleteI agree Mandy. Although technology is an advantage and a privilege in the classroom, the main problem I've run into is students not knowing how to properly use it...I mean, I expect them to know how to turn on a computer and navigate to a website, but how do we instill the importance of focusing on the task at hand, rather than 'multitasking' on chat, YouTube, Gmail, etc.?
DeleteThanks for your words Alison. The tie between engagement and classroom discipline is a lense to consider. In fact, when trying to "adjust" we often go right to classroom management "strategies" (i.e, proximity, praise, consequences, etc.)---which of course are also critical... but the root of a classroom management problem can often be low levels of engagement.
ReplyDeleteI agree with having a variety of activities and student engagement. Still whether using computers, group investigations,etc; classroom management plays a big role. The problem I see is that students sometimes see this as free time instead doing the task assigned.
ReplyDeleteWe are experimenting with using Google Documents/Drive in Design and Modeling and Automation and Robotics in order to complete tasks that traditionally we would have used pencil and paper. Sharing, copying, and renaming documents has and continues to be an interesting process.
ReplyDeleteI have witnessed the truth of what you say in my classroom. When my students are engaged and interested in the content of the lesson and the way it is presented they display significantly less
ReplyDeletedisruptive behaviors.
I noticed Andrew's comment about sharing, copying, and renaming documents being an interesting process. Our team has talked about the need to have a common formula for naming documents so that it would be come automatic for students. Seeing this, I wonder if it would make more sense to have a common school-wide formula. Anything that can help create a routine and get into the actual learning of a lesson would help.
ReplyDeleteI also noticed Andrew's comment and agree with some similar dilemmas... It has been great for students to be able to use our hands-on technology resources, but a school wide formula would make the process so much easier and worry-free! With similar expectations, all students would know how to create/label their collections, share documents, and name each classroom activity!
DeleteI agree that the more students are engaged the less disruptive behaviors a teacher will have. I feel we all hopefully are trying to meet the needs of all learners by challenging those that need challenged and helping those that need that extra help. Having enrichment activities ready to go is part of prepping for your classroom.
ReplyDeleteThis is where I know my current instruction is lacking, but I am actively trying to plan and prepare for this. As a first year teacher, I am just trying to figure out the core instruction, let alone the Tier 1 instruction, and the enrichment activities.
DeleteI am hopeful that the chromebooks will help to provide meaningful enrichment activities that the students can monitor themselves to further their understanding and keep them engaged in their learning.
In Spanish, on the Chromebooks, students always have access to Classzone.com and links to Spanish games from my website that they are able to go on when they are finished with their in class assignments. It serves as motivation to get to use the technology and compete against their classmates in Spanish games, all while utilizing the language. It's definitely been a motivator in my classroom!
ReplyDeleteI think that the idea of linking games, that tie into your curriculum, through your website is great! Students obviously know the expectations in order to do these types of extension activities and can work on them without disrupting their peers. Although I really like the Chrome Books, there are definitely some "teachable" moments with use. An example would be, it is not appropriate to chat with friends when you should be typing a District Assessment. Loving the technology, but disliking the additional behavior modifications that need to be enforced. As with everything else, I'm sure this will also get better with time.
DeleteI agree with all of these comments about the benefits of being engaging, relevant and using technology. Technology and science are so easily paired and I would love to use as much technology as possible in my classroom. However, my personal concern is that I share a cart with two other teachers and I have different classes A days and B days. I wonder how often each class will have access to computers. If my 5A class is only seeing computers 6 times in my classroom, is it worth it to take 4 of those times to teach computer expectations and procedures?
ReplyDeleteThis makes me think about how important planning for differentiation is. All students need to be reaching for the learning objective, but to keep them engaged and involved takes times. I found out the hard way of knowing what students may need more "advanced" learning. I had a student off task during orienteering. (so off task he received a lunch detention) After some plan B time with the student, I found out, he already knew how to use the compass and was bored. So now, instead of that student being bored, he is a student instructor-helping his classmates master the tasks. He now is an on task learner, and gaining leadership skills in the process.
ReplyDeletewow... great conversation, Team... I appreciate what I am seeing and hearing. Maybe, we can revisit as our teams meet this week? Maybe after our tech PD tomorrow?
ReplyDeleteWhat does it truly mean to be engaged? This is a question that I keep asking myself. Often times I resort back to time on task, but does this really mean that students are engaged? When using technology I always think that you have to remember that it is about the content and not about the mechanics of the technology. I use technology when it enhances the communication, collaboration, creation and evaluation by my students.
ReplyDeleteWhat surprises me is that your mother received a phone call about collaboration (social networking), and perhaps not so much about the content being learned from the curriculum. Learning styles need to be recognized and considered when planning, which will ensure that all students will be engaged during the instructional time and beyond.
ReplyDeleteI had teachers that could influene my motivation as a student. I think that certain strategies do work to increase time spent on task. If I have options avaiable for the students, especially on the computer they seem more eager to meet the expectations asked of them.
ReplyDeleteWhen thinking about who our students are, their lives revolve around technology. Phones and Ipods are basically an extension to their bodies! I find that the times I allow students to listen to their Ipods, or music on their phones during work time, they are often more focused on the task they are given, and less distracting to others. As teachers, we often "battle" to keep these devices out of our classrooms, when they can actually be a benefit when they are used appropriately.
ReplyDeleteAllison, you make me think of my 7th grade language arts teacher who use to sing and dance as she taught onomatopoeia. I will never forget her or the experience I had in her classroom.
ReplyDeleteI, too, agree that technology is attractive and relevant for kids. Seeing it used to enhance learning and engage students is amazing. We will forever have new gadgets to use. I keep reminding myself of a few things, though. Learning is social and if we take that away, students don't get to learn from other perspectives or share their thinking and rationale with others. I am constantly challenged to think of ways to integrate technology or other tools that enhance instruction and balance that with meaningful social interaction. We as teachers, along with other professionals, will continue to use technology, but will always seek to build understanding and shared meaning through interaction with other professionals. So we have to constantly think about how to guide students to do the same in a meaningful way. Our passion for what we do can be contagious not only for adults around us, but for kids as well. Marzano has a book called, The Highly Engaged Classroom, in which he talks about creating friendly conflict along with other things to consider to keep engagement high. He even includes self-evaluation tools so we can see if what we think we're doing is actually what we're doing. Check it out!
I agree with you Wendy. I, too, see the importance of learning through social interaction. I can think of numerous times when my understanding has been clarified or enhanced through interaction with fellow teachers. I see this same need in my students and if I make a point to model what meaningful social interaction about texts looks like/sounds like and set that as the expectation, students will follow. Perhaps Blogging about their thinking (like we are doing now!) can help enrich or extend their learning. I will continually be looking for ways to incorporate technology that increases engagement in my classroom.
DeleteThis has reminded me to make sure my lessons have a quality of FUN. I truly believe that with fun and excitement comes engagement. Of course, what is fun for some may not be for others. But all it takes is for one or two to start having fun and most generally the others will follow.
ReplyDelete