Student engagement Cam, Dave & Claire

Learning focus & Lens LEARNING FOCUS: ENGAGEMENT of all abilities, genders and ages in the classroom environment LENS: Ensuring consistent and full engagement by all students throughout the whole lesson irrespective of activity and subject

Why student engagement?? Cam felt that his teaching practice can be a little content heavy and was concerned about the level of enjoyment during these classes. Claire also agreed as year 11 Psychology can be very fast paced often just scratching the surface of some topics which can sometimes lead to disengagement. Dave felt dominant forces within a primary class can almost intimidate quieter children and thus disengage some.

What is engagement? Engagement is not simply about good classroom behaviour and attendance, but a connection with learning This can mean engagement is hard to quantify and analysis will focus more on negative behaviours and learning outcomes. Fredrick's et al. (2004) proposed a framework for considering engagement that distinguishes between cognitive, behavioural and emotional engagement. COGNITIVE : a student's psychological investment in their own learning (concentrating, focussing on goals, flexible and can cope with failure) BEHAVIOURAL: a student’s participation in learning and classroom activities (involves participation, arriving on time and adhering to rules/expectations) EMOTIONAL: relationships between students and their teachers, classmates and school

How to improve engagement? Studies suggest that engagement can be improved by: Increasing flexible, invididualsed teaching in a supportive environment eg. project based learning Strong student-teacher relationships – create a classroom where students feel safe and engaged Monitoring students – to reengage students who are disengaged in the learning process Professional collaboration – learning groups (triad) Classroom observations – engaging teaching needs to be builds effective practice Feedback and appraisal

Observations… Tuesday 8th September – 11 Psychology - Claire Gardner Thursday 3rd September - 11 IB TOK – Cameron McKenzie Thursday 27th August - Year 6 Maths – David Jennings

What engagement looked like… 11 IB Theory of Knowledge (TOK) TOK classes are modelled around the areas of knowledge. The class observed involved two students presenting their findings on the human sciences, including psychology, economics, geography, etc. The presentation is a rehearsal for the TOK Oral, which will take place during term 1 2016. Students were required to critically appraise the presentation, focussing on the identification of a knowledge issue and then a discussion around knowledge claims. Dave & Claire: Most students in the group listened closely and were able to ask pertinent questions at the completion of the oral, including some positive feedback and suggested improvements. Interestingly, one student was inattentive, more concerned with writing in her diary and made no contribution at all.

What engagement looked like… 11 PSYCHOLOGY This session was focused on intelligence, specifically Gardner’s theory of intelligence. We discussed the idea that his theory identifies multiple intelligences and that all individuals have different levels of each. Students completed learning questions and then discussed ‘savant syndrome’. We then began watching RAIN MAN, linking Raymond’s mental illness to Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences. Students had to identify 3 examples that indicate he is a savant and analyse Raymond’s intelligence using Gardner’s multiple intelligence theory. Dave & Cam: All were students highly attentive, explicit instruction given were given, students quickly got started and no further clarification was needed. Very positive learning environment during discussion, all student contributions were highly valued. Students were very interested in the movie as many had not seen it before and having a structured learning activity kept them accountable.

What engagement looked like…. YEAR 6 MATHS Impressive use of teaching space in the classroom: Discussion about different types of angles in front of one whiteboard (follow up from previous session) with students on the floor. It was agreed that a straight line (horizontal/vertical) is equal to 1800. Students back at their desks with instruction to complete practical activity requiring them to draw a triangle and cut out the 3 angles. Then took their angles with them and sat on the floor in front of the smart board and what a video demonstration of lining the 3 angle up along a straight line – demonstrating that 3 angles = 1800. Claire & Cam: The engagement was highly visible, lots of student energy, many student questions clarifying concepts. There was great satisfaction among the students when they were able to fit the 3 angles along a straight line!

What did we learn? Looking at the environment in which our colleagues ply their trade is highly informative and a valuable exercise in itself. The use of alternative teaching space in the grade 6 classroom was brilliant. Unfortunately, physical constraints in senior classrooms do not always allow for this creativity. This was/is a great opportunity to reflect on one’s own practice and not simply assume that students are engaged. This process also provided affirmation that many of our strategies in use are effective across different year levels and disciplines.