What will I Do to Engage

Students?Suzanne Whisler

ESU 4August 6, 2012

Are Our Students Engaged?

What will I do to engage students?

"Education is not filling a bucket but lighting a fire.”

William Butler Yeats

Session Outcome

OUtilize a variety of strategies that enhance learning and engage students.

OPhysical MovementOWritten ResponsesODiscussion GroupsOAcademic Games

The following emotions are associated with engagement….

OEnthusiasmO InterestOEnjoymentOSatisfactionOPrideOVitalityOCan You Think of Others?

The following emotions are associated with a lack of engagement….

OBoredomODisinterestOFrustrationOAngerOSadness

OWorryOAnxietyOShameOSelf-blameOCan you think of

others?

Lecture

Reading

Audio-visual

Demonstration

Discussion Groups

Practice by doing

Teach others/immediate use of learning

Average Retention Rate after 24 hours

5%

10%

20%

30%

50%

75%

90%

Adapted from David Sousa’s figure 3.8in his text, How the Brain Learns

Boosting Retention

Student Engagement: How do we increase it?

From

This… To This…

Who Moves the Least Here??

Why

This is

why

and thisis why

the

brain

lovesthe

brain

lovesthe

brain

Movement equals more oxygen.

Change-Up Instruction Every

Ten Minutes

Use the 10-2 rule

Chunking

•The brain needs time to create connections and pathways to move learning into long term memory.•The hippocampus can only hold so much •Too much, too fast, it won’t last.

Simple!

sitting

standing

from

to

change

watching

talking

from

to

chang

e

reading

writing

from

to

change

learners can:

With oxygen nowmoving to the

brain,

learn betterand

remembermore

and that is a very

good thing.

sitting

standing

from

to

change

Share One; Get OneOGive the students a note card or

sticky note. OAsk the students to record 1 to 3

different concepts, facts, or skills they learned from a lesson.

OAsk students to walk around the room, share their card with another student, and then trade cards with that student.

OContinue the process.OShare out as a whole class or in small

groups.

Take Off…Touch Down

OStudents should move more than the teacher.

OThe brain needs oxygen for optimal learning.

OFor most students, provide 20 minutes of instruction and 5 minutes of processing.

OChunking instruction allows time for students to process information.

Have a Standing Meeting

OWhat have you heard so far that makes sense?

OWhat changes will you make in your teaching because of this?

OFind a group of 3-ish to have your conversation.

watching

talking

from

to

chang

e

Say Something

OForm pairs of studentsOAsk students to read silently to a

designated stopping point. OWhen each partner is ready, stop

and “say something”.OContinue this process until the

selection is read.

Summary BallOBegin the activity by tossing a ball to

any student.OThe student who catches the ball has

3 seconds to state any fact, concept or skill learned from the lesson.

OThe student then tosses the ball to another student in the room who has not spoken.

OThe second student states a fact, concept, or skill that hasn’t been mentioned, then tosses the ball.

Whip AroundWhat have you learned about

engaging students?O Start with one person sharing an idea.O Go around the room with each person

giving a new idea.O If the person’s idea has already been

given he/she can say pass. O Keep going around the room until all

ideas are presented.

Teach Back: Ten to Two

OWork in pairsOOne person is teacher, one is

studentOTeacher: Explain the Ten to Two

philosophy. Use the words “chunk” and “process” in your explanation.

OStudent: Listen to the teacher. Ask questions for clarification.

OSwitch roles.

reading

writing

from

to

change

One Word Summaries

OAsk students to write one word that summarizes the lesson’s topic.

OAsk them to explain why they chose that word.

ABCYa http://bit.ly/w2XqdQWordle http://www.wordle.net/Tagxedo http://www.tagxedo.com/

Sum It Up

One Sentence Paraphrase

ORequires students to synthesize information

OPuts focus on bigger picture learning rather than specific details

OSteps in the processOModel the processOAfter reading, put away or hide

passageOStudents write one sentence that

reflects their understandingOShare sentences, looking for

similarities & differences

Final CountdownOAsk students to reflect on what they

have learned about the topic.OUse the Final Countdown strategy.O First Tier - Write the three most

important facts that the student learned.O Second Tier - Write two questions that

the student still has about the topic.O Top Tier - Write one way in which the

student can connect the topic to material previously learned.

from Instructional Strategies for Engaging LearnersGuilford County Schools TF, 2002

Using Games

OGames stimulate attention because they involve missing information

OGames should focus on academic content so that they represent a form of review Let’s play!

Talk a Mile a MinuteO Students are given a list of terms that have been

organized into categories. O Each team designates a talker.O The talker tries to get the team to say each of

the words by quickly describing them.O The talker is allowed to say anything about the

terms while talking but may not use any words in the category title or any rhyming words.

O The talker keeps talking until the team members identify all terms in the category.

O If members of the team are having difficulty with a particular term, the talker skips it and comes back to it later.

Things associated with weatherTornadoHurricaneCold front

Cumulus cloudsSleet

BarometerEl Nino

Play CharadesOEach team designates an actorOThe actor tries to get the team to say

each of the words by acting them out.

OThe actor keeps acting until the team members identify all terms in the category.

O If members of the team are having difficulty with a particular term, the actor skips it and comes back to it later.

Charades- Science

Oxygen

Carbon Monoxide

Helium

Neon

Rotate

Revolve

Atom

$100,000 Pyramid

O One player on each team, the clue giver, is able to see the game board.

O Other students, the guessers, cannot see the game board.

O As the teacher reveals the first category, clue givers begin to list terms that pertain to that category until the guessers name the category.

O The teacher reveals the next category as soon as she sees that a team has correctly identified the first category and is ready to move to the next.

100 POINTS 100 POINTS

Things that are living

Liquids

Prime numbers

Parts of the digestive system

Things that

conduct heat

50 POINTS 50 POINTS 50 POINTS

200 POINTS

Vocabulary Terms & Phrases

Adverbs

100 POINTS 100 POINTS

Socrative

OPlease complete the Socrative Exit Slip.Om.socrative.comORoom Number 88339

“A good teacher is like a candle - it consumes itself to light the way for others.” 

~Author Unknown