Student Engagement Essay

I started my education in Erie, Pennslyviana.I attend McDowell High. I would say that we were one of the richer schools were I live. I am going to talk about my first assignment Brainology. I thought it was very interesting and it thought me a lot about how some people have different mindsets.

Before my child study, I had a feeling that advanced students were not being adequately challenged at my school; however, I completely underestimated the degree of boredom these students experience. It was very eye-opening to observe how quickly Kayson completed his classwork and then the amount of time he spent engaged in non-academic activities. Kayson often spent as much of 20 minutes engaged in non-academic conversations and “free drawing” because he completed his work so much quicker than the other students in the classroom. Any behavioral issues that Kayson had were attributed to his lack of boredom in the classroom. When he was scolded for talking with other students during work time, it was usually due to the fact that he finished early and did not have anything else to do.

Every teacher encounters the challenge of getting students engaged in work in the classroom. While some students enthusiastically walk into a classroom each day, others need motivation and inspiration to focus in school. This issue is significant for school leaders because the role of the school is to provide a place for students to engage and interact with knowledge. If students are not

Our education system today is in a state of flagrant disrepair. Educators rely on outdated modes of instruction to teach children. Instead of examining these methods administrators spend time and effort developing more intensive assessments in hopes of fueling more intense learning. In order to successfully impact learning teachers must begin teaching in ways that guarantee to impart new knowledge. Brain-based learning is a newer concept in education that addresses the specific needs of a learner’s brain in order to maximize learning. Brain-based learning as defined by author and educator Eric Jensen is “the engagement of strategies based on principles derived from an understanding of the brain,” (2010, p.4). Because educators do not

A lack of motivation and engagement are two of the main factors that impact many of today’s middle grades classrooms. With all of the technological advancements made in the past few decades, our societies teaching and learning styles have changed. This generation of students are oftentimes thought of as lazy, entitled, and needing immediate gratification. Perhaps they are rebelling against the traditional “skills and drills” of educational practices by refusing to complete assignments and disengaging in classroom activities.

In order to ensure students’ intellectual engagement, ensure that you use instructional time evenly throughout the lesson. Use the gradual release of responsibility model of instruction in a way that helps students understand and practice key skills needed to show proficiency of selected standards. Allocate the right amount of time for modeling, guided practice and independent work. You may choose to use of a timer to help you keep classroom instruction paced appropriately. Additionally, continue to present your content to students in a way that allows them to make connections. This will result in students being able to engage with the content on a deeper level. Use to following link to learn about effective use of gradual release of responsibility model by Dr. Douglas

In the beginning of the semester, I had little knowledge on how to engage students in a lesson. I have learned that there are numerous methods to improve student engagement, but these methods vary with different classes. In the first lesson, I found that the students were “extremely distracted and inattentive” at various points in the lesson. In order to encourage student engagement in this specific class, I found that hands on activities were effective. The students had a short attention span and I found that spending less time on each part of the lesson also improved the students attention and engagement. Keeping students engaged in a lesson is a skill that will improve with experience. I included the image of the raised hands to symbolize how I have developed this skill throughout the

The overreaching goal of engagement during the instructional process is to achieve learning (J.J Keller & Associates, n.d.). Learning is the process by which a new skillset or information is acquired through review, practical exercise, and experience to name a few producing understanding or skillfulness (Merriam-Webster, n.d.). In an effort to facilitate learning during engagement of the adult learner, considerations should be applied and adjusted if needed to the presentation of the material which contributes to optimal learning. Optimal learning for the adult provides for engagement and allows retention of knowledge to transpire which is impacted by the training approach of the instructor (Kelly, 2006). The instructor’s teaching

The percentages of on-task behavior were averaged out in order to produce a correlation between teacher rates of BSP and the student engagement, and the majority of the findings produced a strong positive increase in on-task behaviors as BSP was increased. Teachers were asked, following the study, if the training they received was useful. Teachers reported that the likelihood of continuing to utilize the BSP strategy was high, and that they would be reporting the positive results in their classrooms to their colleagues as well. A more interesting response from teachers was that, despite the effectiveness of BSP, they found it difficult to execute the

Engagement within the classroom is vital because it is directly associated with reading achievement (Ivey & Johnston, 2013). Engagement within the classroom proves to be most effective when it emphasizes interest, enjoyment, and enthusiasm (Parsons et al, 2014). As stated by Skinner and Pitzer (2012), “engagement is a robust predictor of students’ learning, grades, achievement test scores, retention, and graduation” (p.21). Engagement is the only way for students to be academically successful, and learn continuously (2012).

Engagement – the fact of being involved with something – (Cambridge dictionary online) is a vague term; it is poorly defined and it is difficult to measure. Student engagement is more than not skipping class, or to pay attention to a lesson; it requires dedication, and feeling of sense. Acting without feeling engaged is just involvement, without being really committed. A student who is not participating but quiet may be as disengaged as the one who is talking or the student who didn’t attend a class (Trowley, 2010). An engaged student is the one who is curious, intrigued, and constantly seems thrilled by a new challenge. Researchers categorized the different types of engagement into three categories that will be explained in the next few points

The film The World in Claire’s Classroom, 2000, shows us an alternative first and second grade classroom dynamic that Claire helps facilitate by her teaching style and beliefs.While certain parts of the film are socially problematic, in regards to some methods when learning about other cultures, Claire practices very progressive teaching methods and concepts that our class has covered. Because of using these varied teaching methods, Claire is also creating a more indepth and engaged learning environment that appears to have a positive impact on her students. Two concepts that I will be introducing and comparing to Claire’s classroom are Self-directed Learning and The Four Aspects of Engagement. Both of these concepts connect to multiple

Active engagement occurs in the classroom when a teacher makes the connection between teaching and learning through pedagogy. The choice of pedagogy must see fit with the content of the lesson which in return will assist the teacher in constructing a more meaningful and supportive learning environment where students’ are more willing to participate and be actively engaged. The most important skill in pedagogies is relating the learning experience to real world situations in which students’ can relate too (Churchill et al., 2011).

From the observation record, children’s engagement in the classrooms were taken based on the number of children that raised their hands and voluntary contributed. 6 out of 16 participants (37.5%) were engaged using current approaches, as seen in Fig. 9. 10 out

Keeping students engaged and on task can be, at times, the most difficult part of being a teacher. You have to come up with new ways to engage them and keep them focused on learning, especially at the end of the day when all they can think about is going home.