Student Engagement

As discussed in the article How to Keep Kids Engaged in Class by Tristan de Frondeville, student engagement is such an important role of our professional careers. If the students aren't engaged, they're not learning. If they're not learning, we're not doing our jobs. Though some students can suffice on learning through linguistics (reading, writing, lectures)...many struggle in this atmosphere and are bursting at the seams for something that their minds can grasp and hold tight to. I have chosen to focus on student engagement (rather than questioning) due to the fact that questioning can be a form of student engagement, but is not all inclusive as such. Student engagement is more of an umbrella to the many ways that we can keep our students focused and on task in pursuit of becoming a life long learner. I have also chosen student engagement due to the fact that I know that I need more work in this area. I see the benefits of it and want to make it a priority in my classroom.

Student engagement relates (or lack there of) to my work in the form of our school's curriculum. I struggle to engage my students in the scripted programs that I am forced to teach. We use a scripted program called Direct Instruction for our reading development which is taught in kindergarten for 70 minutes and first and second grade for 100 minutes a day. While it has been deemed successful at the lower level grades, it seems to produce a generation of students who HATE reading. The reason behind this is clear: the students sit in rows and repeat what I say to them. They all answer simultaneously on cue. They read out loud together. When one misreads a word, they simultaneously correct it. It's almost scary how in sync every student is. However, I can teach it in my sleep, and they can do it in their sleep. They might be reading at the end of the year, but they don't enjoy reading at the end of the year. I have tried to spice up reading in other avenues of academics, and they love that but they do not associate it with D.I. and then struggle to transfer D.I. knowledge into other areas to aide them in reading. My students find D.I. to be boring (as do I) and thus there is 70 minutes of teaching time that I have lost. As mentioned in the blog Teaching- Keeping the Classroom Exciting, I want my students to be excited about reading. By being able to use student engagement, my students could not only be reading and comprehending...but more importantly, they could fall in love with reading and all that it has to offer.

The video that I viewed pertaining to student engagement was called Five Year Old's Pilot Their Own Project Learning on edutopia.org. A main point that was brought up in the video is how important authentic purposes are to students. With authentic purposes, students are able to apply their learning to everyday situations or areas that interest them. I have always felt that the best way to learn is when you don't realize you're learning at all. When you are so completely absorbed in the product or end result, that you don't realize all of the knowledge that your brain is soaking up. Authentic purposes provide this for students of every type of background. This is one avenue that I would like to further navigate in my classroom. Sometimes I get so caught up in the curriculum, that I don't stop to think about how I can authenticate it for my students. By creating authentic purposes, not only am I taking my students interests seriously and pertaining it to the material, but I am opening up a way for my students to grasp the curriculum on their own terms.

In order to fit student engagement and authentic purposes into my inquiry plan, I need to do more research. I also need to take what I have learned through this module and begin utilizing it in my classroom immediately. By experimenting in this area I will have a better understanding of what my strengths and weaknesses truly are.

Domain Three

The focus of Domain Three is Instruction. I chose to focus on this Domain as I feel it is the most important aspect of education, and by effectively implementing it into my classroom, I will be benefiting my students most.

The component of Domain Three that I am most comfortable with is 3a, Communicating with Students. I have made it a focus in my class for my kindergartners to be able to communicate with each other and others the clear learning goals and expectations of each content area. My clear learning goals are not only posted, but discussed and revisited throughout a lesson. Behavior expectations are noted prior to each activity and procedures are clearly posted, discussed and reviewed. My students are not only able to tell a visitor what the objective is for a lesson, but also why that objective is important. Delving further into communication, I have the unique experience of working in an inner-city school where the English language is used in multiple different facets. Many of my students have a different version of the English language that they use at home then they are taught to use at school. And trust me...it is taught. At our school, we call it a "code switch" where students have to switch from what is appropriate at home, to what is appropriate at school. This goes beyond language and into behavior, procedures and expectations, but it is most noticeable in language.

I think the component that most strongly ties with instruction is 3d, Assessment. Assessment is a driving force in academics as it helps me determine if I was successful in my teaching and if my students are prepared to move on, or if I need to task analyze at a more defined level. Daily assessments are key in the form of exit slips, the output in a content notebook, observation, discussion, and flash backs. With the effective use of daily assessments, unit or theme assessment results should be at a higher level, or at least unsurprising.

The component that I struggle the most with and would like to focus on is 3b, Questioning and Discussion. I tend to struggle with this component greatly in my classroom. When using questioning with kindergartners, I have found it hard to dig deep into content that is typically knowledge based. Some students are able to give further explanation or discussion of things, but the majority seem to only answer with the knowledge based-content. As for discussion led by questions of the students...whoa! I spend most of the year getting my five year olds to recognize that a question is not a statement. It's always that moment of panic when a guest speaker says the dreaded "Does anyone have any questions?", because every kindergarten hand in the room will pop up, but all will be statements and if there is a question it is typically "Can I go to the bathroom?".

So the question that I pose to anyone reading: is there any advice as to provide lessons that are question and discussion based, that is not only appropriate for five year olds, but also the most effective form of instruction? I would really appreciate any responses!