ACE Mini PD: Engagement
Techniques for Engagement in The Classroom: October 2017
Why is Classroom Engagement Important?
Levels of engagement in the classroom can vary from student to student and from one class period to the next. Phillip Schlechty has done research discussing the five levels of engagement: authentic, ritual, passive, retreatism and rebellion. Our goal at all ACE schools is to always strive and create an environment that fosters authentic engagement.
In this edition of the Mini PD Newsletter our focus will be on simple tools and techniques that can assist you with creating an instructional environment that fosters willing and participatory students that are actively and authentically engaged instruction.
TECHNIQUE SPOTLIGHT I: CALL AND RESPONSE
CALL AND RESPONSE:
With Call and Response you ask your class to answer questions in unison.
When this technique is used appropriately it can help to engage your students and make your lessons energetic.
Call and Response can accomplish the following:
- Academic review and reinforcement
- High-energy fun
- Behavioral reinforcement
5 Types of Call and Response:
- Repeat: Students repeat what their teacher has said or complete a familiar phrase
- Report: Students who complete problems or answers questions on their own are asked to report back
- Reinforce: Students repeat a key term
- Review: Students answer multiple questions that pertain to a body of previously learned and mastered information
- Solve: Teacher asks students to solve a problem and call out the answer in unison
In-Cues
Call and Response should be universal, which means that all students should respond. In order to make this happen there should be a specific signal, verbal or nonverbal cue.
More information on Call and Response can be found in the TLAC book, page 262.
Things to take away from the video:
2. What are some risks to Call and Response? How do you manage these risks as the teacher?
TECHNIQUE SPOTLIGHT II: PEPPER
Pepper is great for:
- A warm up activity
3 Variations of Pepper include:
- Pick Sticks: popsicle sticks labeled with students’ names and selected at random
- Head-to-Head: two students called on to stand up to answer; the first to answer correctly remains standing to compete against new challenger
- Sit Down: all students stand, and they earn their seats by answering correctly or vice versa
More information on Pepper can be found in the TLAC book, page 274.
Video I: PEPPER
A few things to listen for while watching this quick video:
2. How is Pepper different from the Cold Call technique?
Video II: PEPPER in action!
Additional Technique: Make it a Competition
Questions to ponder:
1. Why is it significant that students compete for no prize?
2. How could competition eliminate classroom management issues?
3. How could this tool be utilized to encourage participation during instruction?
DIG DEEP!
1. If you are struggling with the incorporation of engagement techniques in your classroom reach out to your content-area coach or one of our ACE Academic Facilitators and ask for a demonstration.
2. Make certain that you have your own TEACH LIKE A CHAMPION 2.0 book to refer to for ideas and information on best practices.