Reflecting on Current Beliefs and Practices. Reflecting on Current Beliefs and Practices. Please answer the following questions from page 158 on your

Design Question 5

What Will I Do to Engage Students?

(p. 155 to 196)

Module 13 (p. 157)

Using Games and Inconsequential

Competition to Promote Student Engagement

Reflecting on Current Beliefs and Practices.

Please answer the following questions from page 158 on your index card.

1. To what extent does your unit and lesson planning incorporate strategies designed to promote and enhance student engagement?

2. How do you use games to reinforce student retention of key information and skills?

3. How do you use various types of inconsequential competition to help students extend and refine their learning?

4. How do you try to engage in “flow” activities – challenging activities that are compelling but not threatening to learners?

Today’s scale

4= I understand and already fully implement this strategy in my classroom.

3=I understand this strategy, but I need to practice using it in my classroom.

2=I can explain this strategy, but I am no fully confident that I can use it.

1=I do not understand this strategy, and I do not currently use it in my classroom.

Recommendations for classroom practice

Using games that focus on academic content

Using inconsequential competition

Using Games and Competition

In order to ensure student engagement during an activity or lesson, there need to be 5 factors: High Energy – communicate enthusiasm and

intensity when working with students Missing Information – asking students to supply and

discover missing information The Self-System – incorporate topics that are

interesting to the students. Mild Pressure – use of questioning, games and

competition. Mild Controversy and Competition – nonthreatening

through debates & tournaments

Using Games – Example 1

Game Based Learning tasks can help students deepen their

understanding

What is the Question?

This is a Jeopardy style game where students have to phrase their answer in the form of a question.

PowerPoint versions are available online, or through colleagues.



understanding

Name That Category

Modeled after $1,000,000 Pyramid

Students are given a list of terms and try to identify the common thread.



understanding

Talk a mile a Minute

Students are given a list of related terms.

Each team designates someone as the “talker”.

Talker tries to get teammates to say the words without reading off of the list.

This is a verbal form of Pictionary or charades.



understanding

Classroom Feud

Similar to Family Feud

Students are given a question and work together with their “family” group to come up with the answer in 15 seconds.

Inconsequential Competition

Increases Engagement

A combination of mild pressure, high energy and activation of the self-system.

Students work in cooperative groups.

Tangible prizes for the winners increase the desire to participate.

Useful Reviewing Tool

Students have more fun reviewing when using games such as the 4 previous examples due to the high energy and fun nature.

Greatly enhances students’ understanding of what information is worth retaining.

Time to write!

On your index card, describe one possible positive consequence of inconsequential competition in your classroom.

Let’s evaluate. Here’s a handout!





Checking for Understanding

1. Using games that focus on academic content

2. Using inconsequential competition

Module 14 (p. 167)

Rules of Engagement: Questioning, Physical Movement, and Pacing

Reflecting on current beliefs and practices

1. How does your approach to questioning students and engaging in follow-up probes influence your students’ achievement? To what extent do you help students respond to various types of questions with appropriate evidence and supporting details?

2. How do you make certain that all your students are participating and engaged when responding to higher-order questions?

3. To what extent do you incorporate opportunities for physical movement into your lesson? How does this enhance student learning, motivation and engagement?

4. How do you pace your lessons and units? To what extent does your pacing support or work against student learning?


Using a variety of question structures

Using wait-time strategies

Using follow-up questioning and respond strategies

Using physical movement

Promoting engagement through pacing

Using a Variety of Questioning Structures

Questions can activate student engagement through two pathways: Encouraging the

learner to investigate missing information

Providing mild pressure for the learner.

Question structures teachers can use include: Retrieval Analytical Predicative Interpretive Evaluative

Retrieval Questions

1. These types of questions ask students to recognize, recall, and execute knowledge that was directly taught.

2. While some consider these to be “low order” they have an important place in the teaching-learning process, as they help students acquire and integrate new knowledge.

3. These types of questions can help students:A. Construct meaning about new knowledge

B. Revisit and store that knowledge

C. Discover connections and patterns relating new knowledge to previous content.

Analytical Questions

1. Require students to take apart information and determine how parts relate to the whole.

2. These are most effective when students are asked about complex content they have just learned.

Predictive Questions

1. Ask students to form conjectures and hypotheses about what will happen next in a series.

2. Most effective when students are required to explain and defend their predictions.

Interpretive Questions

1. Require students to make and defend inferences

2. These can often elicit a range of viable responses, and because of this students need to present textual support and related evidence to confirm their conclusions.

Evaluative Questions

1. As students to use identified criteria to make judgments and assessments of something.

2. Effective responses to evaluative questions require students to provide evidence to justify their conclusions based upon clearly articulated evaluation standards.

Activity Box

Which of the types of questions described in this section do you use or might you use? What are some specific examples?

Using Wait-Time Strategies

Well documented strategy that works as a catalyst for student engagement.

Allow at least 3 seconds for students to respond to a question.

Using Wait-Time Strategies

This gives time to:1. Greatly expand the number of

students who both hear the question and who cognitively process it.

2. Gives students time to pause and reflect on what they have said in response to a question.

3. Encourages learners to process ideas and formulate follow up questions.

5 Types of Wait-Time Strategies

Post-Teacher-Question Wait Time

Within-Student Pause Time Post-Student-Response Wait

Time Teacher Pause Time Impact Pause Time

Post-Teacher-Question Wait Time

After asking a question, the teacher waits at least 3 seconds before calling on someone to answer.

Within-Student Pause Time

Allow students time to think during pauses while they are answering or asking a question.

Again, 3 seconds is ideal.

This also gives students time to formulate self-initiated questions.

Post-Student-Response Wait Time

Pause a few seconds after the first student has responded to the question before calling on other students.

This helps students to process what was said, to focus their attention, and to sharpen their thinking processes.

Teacher Pause Time

When presenting content, the teacher should pause to allow students to process and formulate thoughts and questions regarding new information.

Especially useful when students are studying difficult or complex information for the first time.

Impact Pause Time

Having uninterrupted silence during a lesson to create a sense of anticipation about what will occur next.

This anticipation contributes to students’ interest in the material and augments their engagement in the learning process.

Formal techniques for CIE

Reciprocal teaching-small groups of students are responsible for discussing and analyzing key sections of text. Then they take turns as the discussion leader who guides the conversation.

Jigsaw Cooperative Learning Tasks- four-person group wherein each person becomes an expert on their assigned topic. They return to their group and teach their fellow group members.

Concept Attainment-students respond to examples and non-examples of a concept.

Activity Box

Which of the wait-time strategies described in this section has the greatest potential to enhance student engagement in your classroom? Explain why.

Using Follow-Up Questioning and Response Strategies

Teachers can enhance student engagement by using a variety of follow-up questioning and student-response strategies.

Follow-up probes require students to justify or defend their responses with evidence.

Question-based response strategies that promote engagement include: Response cards Choral responses Response chaining Hand signals

Response Cards

Students are given something to write on, like a 12”X12” piece of whiteboard.

When asked a question, students record their answers on individual response cards.

Questions that can be answered with multiple choice, true/false, one word answers or short phrases are ideal for response cards.

When the teacher signals, all students hold up their cards for the teacher to see.

The teacher can then provide feedback based on the responses.

Choral Responses

Engage students in reviewing and repeating key information, especially content that they are finding difficult.

The teacher provides students with the target information and asks students to repeat the information as a group multiple times.

The intent is to provide an “imprint” of important information that all students are finding difficult.

Response Chaining

Involves linking or chaining student responses.

Begins with asking a question to which a specific student responds.

The class then votes on the accuracy of that response by voting the answer as “correct”, “partially correct”, or “incorrect”.

Students who vote “correct” are asked to explain why and to add to the previous students’ answer.

Students who vote “partially correct” they have to explain what part was wrong and why.

Students who vote “incorrect” are asked to explain what was wrong and to provide the correct answer.

Hand Signals

Students hold up hand signals to indicate how well they understand key content.

Common hand signals include: Thumbs-up: I understand the content Palm flat: I understand some, but am confused about some

of the content Thumbs-down: I don’t understand any of the content.

Activity Box

Describe a specific situation for which you could use one of the strategies described in this section.

Using Physical Movement

Research on brain-based teaching and learning highlights the importance of incorporating physical activity and movement in the classroom.

Physical movement increases students’ energy and ability to concentrate.

Productive physical movement in the classroom can take a variety of forms.

Examples of Physical Movement

Stand Up and Stretch - giving students a short break Body Representations – allow students to use motion to

demonstrate a concept (e.g. – having students move around the class to model motion of the planets)

Give One, Get One – students move around the room forming pairs which share new content information with each other before moving on to new pairs.

Vote With Your Feet – having students move to a designated corner to vote for a particular answer. (e.g. – everyone who says “yes” move to the front, and if you think “no” move to the back)

Corner Activities – students gather in different sections of the classroom to discuss a relevant question to key content. Each corner or section has a different question to consider.

Stand and Be Counted – Having students stand to give their answer. (e.g. – stand up if you are a level 3 on the learning goal.)

Activity Box

How have you used physical movement to enhance student engagement in your class? What are some new ideas you have about the use of physical movement?

Promoting Engagement Through Pacing

Pacing and flow are essential ingredients in promoting high levels of student engagement.

Effective pacing requires effective classroom management as well as having a procedure for transitioning from one activity to another.

Procedures for Administrative Tasks

Teachers should develop and clearly communicate well-established procedures for common administrative tasks like sharpening pencils, distributing materials and handing in assignments.

When participating in a new activity, take time to remind students about the procedures in place for these administrative tasks to help eliminate unwanted distractions.

Transitions

Effective transitions between activities involves at least 3 components:1. Signaling the end of the previous activity.

2. Announcing the next activity.

3. Moving quickly to the next activity.

Understanding the purpose of Lesson

Segments One way to enhance effective pacing is to make

sure students understand which of the following types of lesson segments are occurring at any point in time:1. Administrative segments

2. Segments that introduce students to new knowledge via critical-input experiences

3. Segments that help students practice and deepen their understanding of key knowledge and skills.

4. Segments designed to help students deepen their understanding via complex reasoning processes like problem solving or decision making.

Activity Box

How well do you think you use effective pacing strategies as described in this section? What are your strength? What are your weaknesses?

Checking for Understanding Using Physical Movement

Scale4= I understand and already fully

implement this strategy in my classroom. (Walk to the left-side of the room)

3=I understand this strategy, but I need to practice using it in my classroom. (Walk to the right side of the room)

2=I can explain this strategy, but I am no fully confident that I can use it. (Walk to the front of the room)

1=I do not understand this strategy, and I do not currently use it in my classroom. (Walk to the back of the room)

Concept1. Use a variety of question

structures

2. Use wait-time structures

3. Using follow-up questions and respond strategies

4. Using physical movement

5. Using appropriate pacing

Module 15 (p. 187)

Additional Cognitive, Affective, and Social Interaction Strategies for Promoting

Student Engagement

Reflecting on your current beliefs and practices

1. How do you demonstrate enthusiasm for the content you are teaching? To what extent do all your students pick up on and internalize that enthusiasm?

2. To what extent do you build a sense of academic trust with your students, ensuring that all learners see the value and authentic purpose of learning what you are teaching them?

3. When appropriate, how do you engage students in activities emphasizing friendly controversy?

4. Do you provide opportunities for students to talk about themselves? If so, how do you align academic content with student interests?

5. In what areas of your curriculum might you include unusual information to spark students’ curiosity and interest?


Demonstrating intensity and enthusiasm for content

Engaging students in friendly controversy

Providing opportunities for students to talk about themselves

Presenting unusual information

Demonstrating Intensity and Enthusiasm for Content

In addition to the words being spoken, everything about the teacher’s tone and manner should communicate to students that the content is important and that they should give it their full attention.

Explain to the students why the are expected to learn the content, while also making connections to the students’ personal interests and the world outside the classroom.

Using verbal and nonverbal representations, including gestures, vocal inflection, eye contact and pacing.

Using a variety of nonlinguistic representations, including visual organizers, pictographs and flow charts.

Making direct statements about the importance of the content.

Describing personal anecdotes about the content.

Activity Box

How well do you think you show enthusiasm in the classroom? What are your strengths? How might you use some of the strategies presented in this section?

Engaging Students in Friendly Controversy

The more students debate and challenge one another over content studied, the more active and engaged they become in the learning process.

Strategies include:1. Debating

2. O-P-V

3. Seminars

4. Varying perspectives

5. Expert opinions

Debating

Teach students the basics of formal debate, including supporting evidence and assuming the affirmative or negative position.

Periodically ask students to assume a particular point of view, present evidence to support it, and discuss how their opinions have changed as they listen to the other students’ perspectives.

O-P-V

Students are asked to defend the “Opposite Point of View” from the one they agree with or support.

This strategy helps students work on the skills of providing supporting evidence to back up their claims.

Seminars

Have students explore a text, video or other resource that expresses opinionated perspectives on a key issue related to the curriculum.

Students pose questions about the resource, and write down areas where they agree or disagree with what was presented.

Varying Perspectives

Students are assigned the role of a stake holder in a discussion so that they can debate multiple sides of an issue.

For example, if debating the placement of a new wildlife preserve, some students could take the side of representing the local government, some could represent the people who live in the town, some could represent the small business owners who depend on tourism to the town for income, and some could represent the federal government employees regulating the process.

Expert Opinions

Have students research the opinions of experts who hold contrasting perspectives about a particular issue or topic.

You can do this activity as a jigsaw, where small groups research different experts, and then have a whole class discussion on the main topic to discuss all the information that was found.

Activity Box

Why do you think friendly controversy has the effect of enhancing engagement? How have you used it in the past? What are some new ideas you have?

Providing Opportunities for Students to Talk About Themselves

When students are encouraged to see themselves in the content, they experience a greater level of ownership for their learning.

Everyone is given regular opportunities to share personal experiences, insights and points of view related to the content.

Interest Surveys – as students to identify what they would like to know or explore about a topic

Student Learning Profiles – asking students to identify ways in which they learn best

Making Connections – give students an opportunity to share their observations and insight about key content

Activity Box

Other than the ways described in this section, what other situations can you think of for providing students with opportunities to talk about themselves?

Presenting Unusual Information

To engage student interest and imagination, teachers can periodically interject unusual or “out of the mainstream” information related to the content.

1. WebQuests: students are tasked with finding obscure but interesting facts about the content, and are given 1 minute to share the most unusual (but factual) information discovered.

2. “Ripley’s Believe It Or Not”: have students compile a database of unusual or little-known information about the content being studied.

3. History Files: Have students research how people through history perceived, often incorrectly, the content being studied.

4. Guest Speakers and “First Hand” Consultants: Invite individuals, when possible, to the class to share first hand experiences with the students.

Activity Box

What are some ways you might use the strategies described in this section?

Checking for understanding

SCALE





CONCEPT

1. Demonstrating intensity and enthusiasm for content

2. Engaging students in friendly controversy

3. Providing opportunities for students to talk about themselves

4. Providing useful information

Documents

Reflecting on Current Beliefs and Practices. Reflecting on Current Beliefs and Practices. Please answer the following questions from page 158 on your