The Highly Engaged Classroom

1. Joy MacKenzie Principal of Hershey Primary Renee Owens Middle School Teacher The Highly Engaged Classroom Induction Session

2. Bell ringer:What is engagement? • Please take a few minutes and write down some descriptors of what it “looks like” and “sounds like” when students are engaged in your classroom. • We will compare this definition with one you will describe at the end of this session

3. Essential Questions: • What can I do to get students’ attention? • What can I do to keep students engaged? • What will work for me? What will I take back to my classroom to implement?

4. Introductions • Questions on the move • Activity • Find out more about the group • Debrief • How/Why is this engaging? Materials for today’s class: https://will2will.wikispaces.com/Professional+Development

5. Working Definition of Engagement • Attention: • How do I feel? (affective side of learning) • Am I interested? (extent to which classroom activities intrigue students) Attention is a short-term phenomenon that ranges from a few seconds to a few minutes

6. Working Definition of Engagement • Engagement: • Is this important? (extent to which students perceive classroom goals as related to their personal goals) • Can I do this? (extent to which students have or cultivate a sense of self-efficacy) Engagement is a more long term phenomenon lasting beyond initial attention

7. A Bit of Research: • Students will fill their “working memory” with “permanent memory” if they are not engaged. Outside World Sensory Memory Working Memory Permanent Memory

8. Part One: How do I feel?

9. How do I Feel? Students will be more engaged in a lively, positive and accepting classroom • Effective Pacing • Transitions • Presentation of new content • Commitment and Community

10. Let’s look at the Teaching Rubric • The classroom environment • Creating an environment of respect and rapport • Establish a culture for learning • Managing classroom procedures • Managing student behavior • Communicating clearly and accurately • Engaging students in learning

11. Effective Pacing • Pacing too slow– energy drops; too fast and students can become confused • Need routines for • Handing in assignments • Distributing materials • Storing materials after activity • Getting organized into groups

12. Whip around/pass around • Choose one of the previous areas and tell us what that routine looks like in your room • Other ideas?

13. Student Grouping • Jigsaw “active participation strategies” • Be ready to share with the group

14. Transitions • Entering the classroom • Posting expectation • Write to a prompt • Check homework • Think-pair-share to a question

15. Transitions • What to do when I am through? • Helping other students • Work on more advanced content • Studying a topic of their own choice • Homework • Read

16. Transitions • Exiting classroom • Ticket out the door • Question for the next day • Reflection/Summary

17. Lino.it • Let’s try it

18. Presentation of New Content • Chunk and Chew • 3 minute pause • Knew and new • Ask a question (students of each other) • Incorporating Physical Movement • Inside/outside circle • Four Corners • Vote with your feet • Give one, Get one

19. Classroom Community • Student inventories • 3X5 cards • Name • Three words to describe me • Learning is fun when • I like classes that • Something that really challenges me is • Student/Teacher commitments

20. Reflection • What were strategies you already knew? • What is something new that you can use?

21. Part 2 Am I Interested?

22. Strategies to increase interest • Games • Interesting facts • White boards • Anticipation Guides • Surveys • Questioning to increase response rates

23. Let’s look at the teaching rubric • Establishing a culture of learning • Demonstrating knowledge of students • Selecting Instructional goals • Using questioning and discussion techniques • Engaging students in learning

24. Games • Questions and answers connect • Each student has a card with one question to ask and one answer that belongs to someone else’s question • Which one doesn’t belong? • 4 vocabulary or concepts/3 are related; one is not

25. Friendly controversyInteresting facts Interesting Information • Unusual information • The New York Times (www.nytimes.com) science, social studies and language arts • Federal Resources for Educational Excellence (http://free.ed.gov) science, social studies, language arts, math • The History Channel (www.history.com) “This day in history” • Trivia Library(ww.trivia-library.com) all content areas • Book: Napoleon’s Buttons: 17 molecules that changed history • Students can find unusual information/put on wiki site etc. • Personal stories to illustrate a point or concept • Don’t do trivia to do trivia– link to content • QR scavenger hunt • Movie clips, music etc.

26. Questioning to increase response rates • Answering a question occupies a student’s working memory • Call on students randomly • Paired responses • Wait time (varies) • Error correction • Simultaneous responses • All write, choral responses, signals, response cards, act-i-votes

27. Reflection on part two • How can these strategies increase student attention? • Which would be most useful at this time in your classroom?

28. Part 3 Is this important?

29. Is This Important? • Relating objective or essential question to real life or larger context (rationale) • Allow choice • Choice of task • Create a poster illustrating the main themes in “To Kill a Mockingbird” • Investigate the time period in which “to Kill a Mockingbird” takes place. Compare and Contrast that time period with current time.

30. Strive for higher level (HEAT FRAMEWORK) • Analyze • Argue Against • Compare/contrast • Criticize • Defend • Evaluate • Interview • Recommend

31. Is This Important? • Choice of reporting format • Written • Oral • Debate • Demonstration • Visual representation • Drama, Song, Rap

32. Reflection on Part 3 • How can you take one of your assignments and provide student choice? • Be ready to share with the group

33. Part 4 Can I do this?

34. Self-efficacy • Most important factor • Tracking progress • Effective Verbal Feedback • Look for opportunities to assess self-efficacy, and integrate the concept into your classroom

35. Respond to these 3 questions • Strongly Agree(1-2-3-4-5)Strongly Disagree • You have a certain amount of intelligence and there isn’t much you can do about it • Your intelligence is something about you that you can’t change very much • You can learn new things, but you can’t really can’t change your basic intelligence

36. Two Theories • Entity theory (fixed intelligence) • Incremental theory (growth in intelligence) • How can we make a shift?

37. Jigsaw article by Carol Dweck • Break into groups • Read a portion of the article • Write main points on a poster paper • Share • Choice of output (example: voice thread or google docs)

38. Self-theory survey • Designed by Carol Dweck (2000) • Ask three questions using a 5 point Leiter scale • Keep the conversation alive • How does your self theory affect you in school? • What are you doing to enhance your belief in the growth theory

39. Track Progress • Visual representation of progress • Graphs • Rubrics • Checklist • Goal setting • Specific written feedback

40. Providing feedback • Avoid fixed characteristics – “see how smart you are” (either you have it or you don’t) • Praise effort and quality of work– link two together • Specific feedback

41. Examples Successful student performance Unsuccessful student performance Point out aspects done well and done less well Asks about effort and preparation • Point out aspects of the task that were done well • Comment on obvious effort and preparation Learned helpless concept

42. Integrating Self-efficacy • Stories about the power of efficacy • Dare to Dream! 25 Extraordinary Lives (Humphrey, 2005) • Movie Clips: The Pursuit of Happyness; Babe • Quotes/discussion of quotes about efficacy • The man on top of the mountain did not fall there– Anonymous • Genius is 99% perspiration and 1% inspiration—Thomas A. Edison

43. Reflection • Think of a time when you contributed to a student’s self-efficacy or when you as a student had a teacher who did the same • Share this example with a partner

44. And in conclusion Growth theory working memory Questioning Movement Pacing Routines 3 minute Pause choice ENGAEMENT!!!!

45. What is your “take-away?” • 3 things to consider • 2 “must do’s” • 1 major “ah-ha”

46. Resources for presentation • The Highly Engaged Classroom. 2011. Marzano. Solution Tree Publishers • How to Teach so Students Remember. 2005. Sprenger. ASCD Publishers • Summarization in Any Subject. 2005. Wormeli. ASCD Publishers

47. Thanks for Coming