How am I facilitating student Engagement with learning through relevant, personalized, authentic, challenging and self-directed learning presently? To what degree do I see myself as capable of fully Engaging learners for deep learning and growth in their own ability to direct and regulate their own learning?
I try to allow a good amount of choice in my classroom to facilitate student engagement. Students are so much more willing to take on a task when it is something of their own choosing. This certainly isn’t the case in every classroom situation but I try to do it as often as possible. I like to think I am capable of engaging most learners, but fully engaging can be challenging at times. Believe it or not, it’s not easy to please 21 kids all at the same time. Helping students identify things they do well boosts their confidence for items that don’t come as easily. I like to get students engaged in helping and supporting others around our classroom.
What’s difficult for me when it comes to this aspect of A.G.A.P.E.?
When it comes to engagement, I sometimes find it difficult to find the time to plan the most engaging and meaningful activities everyday. It is exhausting to be running at 110% all the time. Then it seems like when we have a bit more low-key lesson that kids lose interest quickly. Sometimes (okay, a lot of the time) it feels like I am putting on a show and my audience might revolt if they aren’t wowed. I have gotten better at being okay with days like this and being honest with my students that we can’t always have “really fun” days. Sometimes we just need to get down to business.
What’s easy for me when it comes to this aspect of A.G.A.P.E.?
When it comes to engagement, I generally find it easy to get my kids excited. My personality resonates well with elementary aged kids. I can definitely see that when I am excited about something, they mirror that reaction and get excited as well. I am conscious of being a good model of being interested in other when they are talking, making eye contact, and focusing on the tasks presented. I hope that my students also take note of that (I think they do…) and, in turn, want to show me they can act that way as well.
How would I like to grow when it comes to engagement this semester?
I would like to grow in the area of more choice when it comes to engagement. I am pretty good about offering choice on bigger things (guided reading, guided math, projects, etc.) but could certainly improve on more of the day-to-day things. I get stuck in a rut of grammar worksheets because they are a quick way to assess a skill. I could get better at finding different ways for my students to show their understanding of a concept in different way. *The question of "What do I put in the grade book? just popped into my head. I'll have to do some more thinking about that. I won't get started on the "grading" controversy here! hahaha*
Engagement is such an important piece of teaching but it can also be very challenging. I agree that offering choice usually offers more engagement for the student. For my final AR I am researching gamification and engagement. Have you gamified any of your lessons to increase engagement?
ReplyDeleteYes, I can completely understand how challenging it is to engage 21 individuals at the same time:) Heck, I can't even engage my 3 children living in my house and I know them inside and out:) I think it is great that you have tried to help the students see that not everyday needs to be fun and entertaining--because that is real life! Working through the hards things is a true life lesson. And I think you touched on something else that is really important, letting the students be involved with one another during process. Sometimes that is all it take for them to be engaged...to have a break from direct instruction. Work sheets might be more engaging by simply allowing students to work on them together or allowing them to self and/or peer asses the works sheets. Hand out stickers or red pens, whatever it is you use to assess worksheets. Put those tools in their hands and help them feel like the teacher for a little bit. This kind of role play could make "boring" worksheet review quite exciting. And will cut back on your grading:)
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