Student Engagement: How do we get students to WANT to participate?
Student Engagement: How do we get students to WANT to participate?
At the beginning of every new year, countless teachers spend time getting their classroom libraries organized just right, putting up new bulletin board paper, and gathering supplies that the students will need. While all of those things are important pieces to establishing an effective classroom, equally as important is spending time planning for how you will create a sense of community and therefore bolster student engagement and help students to want to participate.
Creating a Classroom Community
Creating a culture of community begins with establishing trust and providing children with opportunities to build relationships by discovering common interests. At the beginning of the year, I like to use a fishbowl technique. You seat the students in two circles, an inside circle and an outside circle where the inside circle is sitting facing a partner in the outside circle. Then pose a question for the students to talk about. The outside circle then shifts over one spot so the students get a new partner for the following question. Keep rotating for each question, allowing students to begin to learn more about their classmates. It is important to set up routines in which each child has the opportunity to share their individual experiences and also understand that they are an integral part of the whole. Students need opportunities to collaborate, discuss, and problem-solve in order to feel empowered to tackle challenges. It is during these moments that students develop their own voice.
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| Fishbowl Cooperative Learning Strategy Image from: www.gottotach.com |
One way that I have worked to build a sense of community during this time of distance learning is by have google meets with my different classes. Sometimes the meets are a large group of 15- 20 students. During those times, I try to organize ways that I can get involvement from everyone, but still have it controlled enough that each student gets a chance to talk and share. For example, one lesson I was teaching about whether an animal in a particular scenario was using a physical feature or behavior. I had the students make a 2-sided picture that they could hold up their guess. Then I would call on a few students at a time to share their idea. This helps to keep everyone actively involved while also allowing opportunities to share out thoughts.
Get to Know Your Students' Interests
In order to continue building trust and relationships with my students, it is important for me to learn what they are interested in or passionate about. Knowing about their personal interests helps me plan to be able to engage them in literacy that will captivate them. This may look different at different ages, but one way that I like to start out my language arts class is by conducting a reading inventory. A reading inventory especially in lower elementary classrooms, can be done orally or using pictures, or in upper elementary or middle school classes, can be completed mostly in writing.
What I try to avoid is posing questions in a way that students are just going to tell me what they think I want to hear.
Donna Santman, author of the book, Shades Of Meaning suggests the following types of questions:
- When you hear it's time for reading, what do you think?
- Do you read outside of school? Explain why.
- Do you have any negative experiences with reading? Tell me about them.
- If you could request anything to be part of the classroom library, what would it be?
- This year some of the topics we will learn about include characters, nonfiction, fantasy, historical fiction, and poetry. Which of those interest you? Do you dread any of them? Why?
Sample Reading Inventories
One strategy that I have recently incorporated in my google classroom to allow students to voice their own individual ideas is by using flipgrid. The students have a prompt each day such as share a real or stuffed animal or tell about your favorite book and why you think others should read it. This platform allows the students to express their individual ideas and also stay connected with their classmates by hearing and "liking" the different video clips. The feedback that I have received from students and parents alike has been rave reviews!
Student Choice
One part of my teacher mindset that has evolved over the term of my teaching career is the importance and value of choice. Years ago when I was a student, and then again when I stepped into my own classroom, teachers taught from a manual that was followed pretty closely. All the students were on the same page and reading the same stories. I have since strayed away from following one particular curriculum, rather planning my teaching taking into consideration the standards and also the needs of the students in my classroom. This allows the flexibility to incorporate experiences where students are empowered to make a choice about what they are interested in becoming more knowledgeable about.
In the book, Teaching Reading in Small Groups: Differentiated Instruction for Building Strategic, Independent Readers by Jennifer Seravalo, the author suggests using a "Sign-up Seminar to energize readers. Calling it a seminar makes it feel collegiate and special.
Seravalo explains that sometimes she will have different topics posted, which are areas that she noticed during minilessons that the students needed more support with (see figure 1). The key is that each student is able to make the choice of which area they feel like they need more support with. Because a student chooses to be a part of the group, they take more ownership of their learning and will work harder toward their goal" (Serravallo 2010)
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| Figure 1: Teaching Reading In Small Groups: J. Seravalo |
How to Help Students Stay Focused and Refocus
Now that you've gotten the students feeling confident and engaged in reading and participating in the classroom, it is important to teach students how to be self- aware and monitor their own learning. Here are a few strategies to teach students to help foster independence when reading or working on a task.
- Place a bookmark or a sticky note a few pages ahead in your book. Concentrate on getting to that goal. When you get there, stop and take a break, saying something silently. Perhaps retell what you just read or say a reaction about what you just read (Beers 1996)
- Place sticky notes every few pages in your book. When you read to the note, stop and jot a thought you had or a big event that happened that you want to remember. Each time you read, put the stick notes farther and farther apart.
- When you catch your mind wandering, stop. Skim in your book to find the last place that you remember reading. Back up a few more pages and then reread.
Use the link below to purchase a copy of the book referenced in the blog:
Teaching Reading in Small Groups: Jennifer Serravallo
Relevant Articles:
https://www.edutopia.org/blog/engage-with-7x-the-effect-todd-finley
http://neatoday.org/2019/02/05/effective-engagement-focuses-on-getting-students-to-care/
Hey Sharlene! I really enjoyed your blog and was intrigued right away from your title as I find that it is sometimes hard to motivate students to want to read. Something that stood out to me right off the bat was your point about the importance of creating a strong classroom community where students are able to form relationships and see common interests among their peers. I think that the idea of using a fishbowl is a nice activity that enables the students to get to know their classmates better in a more intimate way than in a large group setting. I have participated in fishbowls in some of my classes growing up but have never used it in the way that you described and can see myself using this with my students one day! It is so important to create a classroom environment where everyone feels confident and comfortable to share their thoughts. Overall, really great post!
ReplyDeleteHi Sharlene, great job on your blog! I love how you organized your information and included many useful strategies that can help teachers to increase student engagement. Creating a classroom community is the foundation that all teacher's need to effectively teach. Without this strong base, students will not be able to share their stories and open themselves up to the class. I love your fishbowl technique and think that is a great method to use daily with students. It get kids up on their feet, moving around and communicating with peers. In high school, my English teacher liked to host fishbowl discussions where we would sit in a circle and discuss text. We were required to speak twice during the conversation. I remember not feeling comfortable during these discussions, having to cut other people off just so I can get my two points in. It didn't help me at all in learning, but was rather a stressful experience. Your fishbowl helps students to focus on a singular question and get the chance to talk to multiple classmates. Overall, I enjoyed reading your post and I thank you for sharing these resources!
ReplyDeleteHey Sharlene! I loved your blog. I agree, getting your room ready for new students is exciting but having that classroom community is so special and rewarding. You had so many great points. Two that stuck out were the Fish Bowl Activity and the Reading Survey. The Fish Bowl activity is such a great way to build relationships and classroom community. I also think it gives the shy confidence to share during this activity because they don't feel as nervous to share with one student at a time. I like how you can use this activity to build a classroom community but you can also use it for academics. I love the reading interest survey. It is such a great way to understand your student's interests and helpful to incorporate these interests in the classroom community. I like how they are differentiated for the upper and lower grades!
ReplyDeleteHi Sharlene! I really enjoyed reading your post! I found myself excited to read it right away from the title. This is because I know many students do not have a love for reading and we as teachers want to help them develop one. I know for myself when I was a child I did not like to read at all and fought my teachers and other adults on it in my life often. I now as an adult love to read but I am not sure when this change occurred. I would love to learn how to get students to want to read! I love how you stated “It is important for me to learn what they are interested in or passionate about.” It is so true that learning what your students care about is the best way to get them engaged in their learning or in this case, in their reading. I also love the Fish Bowl activity that you included. This is a fantastic way to encourage classroom community. Providing students with a classroom where they feel comfortable and they can thrive is a fantastic groundwork for them and is so important.
ReplyDeleteHi Sharlene! This is such an awesome post! I really liked the section where you discussed creating a classroom community. It is so important to make sure that as teachers we create an environment around our learning students an extremely positive and comfortable one. This should be a place where student development can take them as far as they want and not be afraid to make mistakes and learn from them. I think that is a great transition into the next part where you talk about getting to know our students. I feel these elements in the classroom are some of the most important and can change a student's life so positively. Great post!
ReplyDeleteHi Sharlene! I really enjoyed reading your blog, it was laid out so clearly and really explained some great ideas that I would love to use some day. As an aspiring teacher, engaging students is definitely a challenging task, but it will come with time. Something that stood out to me in your blog when you were describing the fishbowl example and said, "Students need opportunities to collaborate, discuss, and problem-solve in order to feel empowered to tackle challenges. It is during these moments that students develop their own voice." I definitely agree with that because it is critical for students to develop those skills. Your example of the fishbowl was a great idea! I believe that is a wonderful way to get students engaged with themselves and their peers. I remember doing this activity as a college student, I never thought of doing it with younger students. Overall, your blog really explained how to conduct student engagement in the classroom and I will definitely use your ideas in the future. Great job!
ReplyDeleteHi Sharlene, your blog post is extremely insightful! This is something I have struggled with because the reading gets more intense in third grade; meaning we expect them to read higher levels and comprehend them. I love the idea of starting with a Fish Bowl activity. I never thought of doing that before - not only does it build community but it helps the teacher to listen in to the conversations and take notes on student answers. Once community is built, it is important to work with the students interests. We as adults are more apt to read something we are interested in or a topic we feel passionate about rather than something else. Children are the same! Their motivation and participation will increase when they can connect with the work. Just look at the video, the students were given a choice on which revolution to work with and they chose the one that they connected with the most or felt the most passionate about. Choice also gives them the independence and responsibility to be successful. That's the way to get them to WANT to read and work!
ReplyDeleteHi Sharlene, this is a really helpful post! The strategies that you share along with resources are really excellent. I agree that student engagement is so important and I liked how you paired that with student choice. The examples that you provided with how you can give students choice while still directing them are very informative. I like how you included visuals with each example so we can see exactly how you would use the strategies. I really liked the idea of student seminar topics so they can sign up for areas where they feel they may need more support. This is really great for teachers to be able support students without restricting them. These strategies are all really important and I will keep them in mind as I head into my own classroom. Great job!
ReplyDeleteHi Sharlene, I really enjoyed your blog post! First off, the title is super captivating as all teachers would love to know the secrets into how to get their students to want to participate in the classroom. I love how all of the information is organized so it is easy to view as well as having pictures, a video, and samples of reading inventories! Something that stood out to me the most is the importance of creating a classroom community. I believe this is one of the most important things to have in your classroom. It is necessary to establish trust and provide numerous opportunities for students to build relationships with one another as well as with their teacher. I have never heard of the fishbowl technique you use. However, it is such a great idea! Students need to get to know one another, and this is a fun activity to do so! I also liked how for distance learning, you meet with groups of students with your classes. This not only allows the students to stay connected and feel like a community, but also show that you as a teacher continue to care for them. You seem like a wonderful teacher! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteo Hi Sharlene – great blog post! Student engagement can be tough sometimes, so this is a great blog to compose. Creating a classroom community is an important idea to establish at the beginning of the year. I really like your example that you brought up at the beginning of each school year with the fishbowl technique. I have heard of this technique before, but I have never seen it get done in the classroom or the way it actually works. Do you find this technique effective and do the students like it? Google Meets is a really good way to bring the classroom community to the students during distance learning – I am in a Google Classroom at my internship and the teacher holds her meets once a week also and she tells me the students love it because they get to see their classmates and teacher! I love how you also brought up how important it is to know your students interests. When you know the things students like, you can try to bring them into your lessons so the students will want to do the assignments. I really like how you included those worksheets – I will definitely save them onto my computer for a future reference! Student choice is also a really important aspect that we need to keep in our minds for our classroom. I feel like that kind of goes hand-in-hand with knowing students interests. It would be nice for the students if we could give them a few assignments where they have a choice in what they do, and it might be chosen based on their interests! Thanks for the really informative blog post on student engagement!
ReplyDeleteHi Sharlene, I enjoyed you post! You had my attention right away. As teachers the classroom community is high on the priority list but the outcome does not always match the intention. I really liked reading how you would introduce classmates to each other with your fishbowl premise when in the actual class. I was very intrigued by how you have set up your online classroom. Being on screens it might be hard with students talking over each other or not seeing a hand raised, your idea of the two sided picture to show their answers is simple but involves the entire class in an organized way. It gives them a sense of feeling like a class even though they are all learning from their homes. I also really appreciated your take on getting to know your students. Having that understanding and trust with a class can always improve learning for students and teaching for the teacher.
ReplyDeleteHi Sharlene! I enjoyed reading through your blog post. Something I have always struggled with as both a student and a teacher is the distraction problem. I find it hard to get students engaged and keep them like that through the entirety of the lesson. As a learner myself, it's a challenge for me to stay focused especially if I'm studying a topic I'm not particularly interested in. I like the strategies you talked about throughout your post. The one that really caught my attention was the idea of giving your students a reading inventory. During my student teaching, I worked with a small group of struggling first grade readers. I had no idea what a reading inventory was but looking back I had asked them many of the questions the typical reading inventory features. After collecting their answers it was much easier for me to pick out books I knew they would be interested in and thankfully the stories and lessons planned around them kept them engaged. I think that as teachers it is absolutely essential to keep in mind that our students come to us with a vast background of interests and hobbies and that by incorporating these things into our teaching we can keep them more interested in the learning.
ReplyDeleteHI Shar, I really enjoyed reading this bog. I think it is always a constant challenge to keep students engaged. I agree with you that before we can even begin to reach our students , we have to build a strong relationship based on trust. I read a quote once that always stuck with me, "Kids do not care how much you know, until they know how much you care."I think this relates to your opening paragraph and how important a class community and a student teacher relationship is , if we want to keep them engaged.I really liked the fishbowl activity and it seems that can be used in many different learning situations. I do like it for the beginning of the year in order to start developing that classroom community. The surveys were also helpful and so important to get to know each and every student to best help them throughout the year. I like how you gave several different samples of these surveys. The post it note activity seems very helpful especially for students who can easily get distracted or lose focus. Thanks for all the great ideas.
ReplyDeleteHi Sharlene! Great post, I really enjoyed reading it. I agree that classroom community is KEY. I love all the ideas you suggested to help build that. I agree that student choice is so so important! I love the idea of a reading inventory, I actually did that with my students at the beginning of the year too and it was really useful information. I love the idea of Sign Up Seminars. I love that students choose what they want to work on or how they want to be engaged in their reading for the day. So important. Thank you for sharing!
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