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RSD

Student Engagement and Ownership

January 6, 2021

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Engagement and Disengagement

What it might have looked like before…	What it might look like now…

Engagement and Ownership isn’t a new challenge. What did we do previously to increase and measure it?

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Goals for today:

Provide strategies for increasing student engagement.
Share 3 tactics for engagement.
Plan to commit to trying one thing before the end of the year.

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Timestamps

Use the timestamps below to skip to the portions of the video that are most relevant to you! (They are also in the description section of the video)

Starting strong: Check-ins [0:00-3:53]
Strategy 1: Class Discussions [3:53-8:52]
Strategy 2: Goal Setting [8:53-11:32]
Strategy 3: Brain Breaks + Energizers [11:33-14:59]]
Closing + Reflection [15:00-15:18]

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OPENING | Let’s Check-In!

ONE

TWO

THREE

FOUR

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Make Space for Contribution: Check In/Out

Updates on check in:

The Anti-Check in
Screen on, or screen off if…
Using current events to drive the way you engage. Where are you right now, in your head, heart or hand?
Consider not screen-sharing during the session
Consider having people write their check in to process and take a tech-break

The goal of the check in is to get everyone present and engaged in the meeting and get a pulse check for how people are feeling.

RESOURCES TO CHECK OUT:

Video Check-in

12 things equity- focused teachers say to students

Kicking in the Wall book prompt

Check-In generator

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Energy check: Which Will Smith are you today?

ONE	TWO	THREE

Put your response in the chat box

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Want to make your own??

Directions:

Go to giphy.com
Choose a subject

Could be person or animal

Find a range of emotions
Add pictures into table
Share with your team or class!

Student Ownership Extension: have students create a bank of check ins!

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Energy check template: Which _______ are you today?

ONE	TWO	THREE

Put your response in the chat box

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Strategy #1: Class Discussions + Interactions

Purpose

Primary medium through which students are exposed to and demonstrate academic discourse
Opportunity to develop valuable interpersonal communications skills
Opens students up to perspectives of their classmates and gives them the opportunity to voice their own opinions in a large group setting

What it Supports

Social Awareness
Relationship Skills
Responsible Decision Making

To enhance student interest and motivation, consider ways for students to take ownership over how the discussion will be conducted and what role(s) they will play

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Quick Tips for Virtual Class Discussions

Maintain a Lively Pace

Keep things moving along to minimize downtime
If sessions are recorded for asynchronous learning, ensure students are able to pause/slow down

Visualize the Content

Maximize use of images, charts, graphs and minimize text
Make sure images are clear and supported by alt text or descriptors for accessibility

Incorporate Frequent Student Responses

Depending on your platform, use features like raised hands and polling
Utilize complementary platforms (Poll Anywhere, Slido, Mentimeter)

Use Small Group Breakout Rooms

Empower students to take small group leadership roles in breakout rooms

Maintain Shorter Classes

Consider breaking up instruction into smaller chunks vs. extended periods of teacher talk
If longer class periods are required, take frequent brain breaks

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Switch Up Discussion Formats

Fish Bowl

Conver-Stations

Snowball Discussion

IN-PERSON

VIRTUAL

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Fishbowl: Opportunity for a specified group of students to take the lead during a conversation and have other students provide an analysis of how the conversation went, follow threads, and provide suggestions. Students are assigned roles ahead of time.Opportunity for language development supports for students by allowing them to observe a conversation before they are comfortable engaging themselves. Teacher role: observer of the observers and participants; ask probing questions

Conver-Stations: Same (or mixed, teacher can differentiate) group of students move through series of discussion prompts based on what station they are at. Students may also assume differentiated roles depending on the type of conversation. Opportunity for language development supports for students by grouping them together or mixed between groups depending on the intended objective. Teacher role: hover between stations or stick to one if there is targeted support needed

Snowball: Pair and share conversations “snowball” into large group conversations. Allows students who might be more comfortable with 1-1 conversations to feel supported up through a larger group discussion. No specific student roles. Opportunity for development supports for students with intentional partnerships during the first round of conversations. Teacher role: Float between discussion groups or follow a student/pair through the process if additional support is needed

*Also consider how co-teaching can be utilized in these models

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Let’s Watch an Example

As you watch the video, consider:

What strategies did the teacher use that were most effective?
How did the teacher check for understanding throughout?
How might the teacher shift his practice to heighten student engagement through discussion?

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Let’s Watch an Example

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Let’s Reflect

What strategies did the teacher use that were most effective?
How did the teacher check for understanding throughout?
How might the teacher shift his practice to heighten student engagement?

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Strategy #2: Goal Setting

What it Supports

Sense of Purpose
Intrinsic Motivation
Collaboration

Purpose

Increasing personal relevance and helping students understand “why this matters” is more important than ever. Leveraging curiosity will help students make connections to personal interests and what they are learning in class.
Goal-setting increases a sense of purpose and provides opportunities for short-term + long-term success that will contribute to excitement and intrinsic motivation

To enhance student interest and motivation, consider ways for students to take ownership over the goal-setting conversation and make goals reflective of their interests

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Where we’ve seen it in action - Classroom Examples

Digging Deeper:

Celebrating Student Success in Online Learning

Goal-Setting

Sample Protocol & Prompts

What is something that brought you energy today?

What would make this week feel like a success for you?

What do you need from your teachers and/or peers this week to feel successful?

Take one song to write a goal around creating more ‘energizing moments’ throughout your day.

Quick Tip: Encourage students to break down goals into small habits to build over time.

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Where we’ve seen it in action - Classroom Examples

WHY

Teachers want a tool that would help students reflect on SEL competencies, which is a school-wide initiative this school year.

WHAT

A Google Doc that includes a section to learn more about the student + an SEL self-evaluation based on school framework.

HOW

Shared through Google Classroom, students complete the self-evaluation every six weeks. Teachers use the information to conduct 1:1 goal setting meetings w/ students.

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Quick Tips for Goal Setting

Less is More, Simplicity is Key

A goal can be big or small, and can be tied to things readily available in students’ homes or close-by.
Don’t reinvent the wheel. Trivia, Jeopardy, or a simple sing-along gets students collaborating, listening, and engaging with each other.

Focus on Maslow Before Blooms

Knowing how students are feeling, what they are interested in, and what they need will help you plan the strategies and supports that matter most to them.
Having students set non-academic goals for a class period are great way to develop the skill, practice reflection, and experience early wins (e.g., I want to share at least 3 times during this class today).

Layer Strategies

Check-in and check-out questions pair nicely with team building and goal-setting activities
Leverage virtual discussions like restorative circle to foster safe spaces for students to share progress towards goals

Model

Share your goals and reflections with students and model talking about curiosity and failure.

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Putting it into Practice

Tomorrow	Next Month	Next Semester
Introduce a How Might We? question to provoke meaning and relevant connections to a concept or goal students are working towards. One example of a HMW question: How might we make sure everyone experiences joy during our time together today?	Use a restorative circle one day a week to reflect on how the week is going. One of our favorites: #FundayFriday where students circle up and share their progress towards a goal they are working on and what they’ve learned through the process that week.	Leverage Learner Profiles to learn more about the strengths, needs, and interests of individual students. Learner Profiles are also a great place for students to set goals and reflect on progress.

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In what ways are you currently strengthening connections and community in your school/classroom?

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Strategy #3: Brain Breaks + Energizers

Purpose

When we take a brain break, it gives us a chance to reset + refresh our thinking. This might help our teams + students discover a different solution to a challenge or new perspective to a concept
Regardless of the “classroom,” energizers help meet the need for physical movement and fun, which will support focus and engagement, especially when learning something complex and challenging.

What it Supports

Self-Care
Joy
Perspective

To enhance student interest and motivation, consider ways for students to lead an energizer or brain break. Also allow for input regarding what brain breaks work best.

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For students to learn at their highest potential, their brains need to send signals efficiently from the sensory receptors (what they hear, see, touch, read, imagine, and experience) to memory storage regions of the brain. The most detrimental disruptions to traffic along these information pathways are stress and overload. Brain breaks are planned learning activity shifts that mobilize different networks of the brain. These shifts allow those regions that are blocked by stress or high-intensity work to revitalize. Brain breaks, by switching activity to different brain networks, allow the resting pathways to restore their calm focus and foster optimal mood, attention, and memory.

Special Pops:

Multiple means of action expression engagement

Brain break - connected to multiple means of engagement, helping students make connections, options for self-regulation, developing coping skills/strategies/motivations

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BRAIN BREAK!

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Quick Celebrations

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Quick Tips for Virtual Brain Breaks + Energizers

Get creative — think about how to make your favorite in person energizers virtual!
Brain breaks do not require disruption in the flow of learning (a few deep breaths, quick stretch, etc.).
Think about how you can sprinkle in a small energizer in your lessons.
Consider access and accessibility when choosing your energizer + model vulnerability by going first.
Consider the amount of time you have and identify your intention for the activity:

Stir up the participants’ energy
Transition from one exercise to another
Set the tone for an upcoming topic in the agenda
Discover people’s personalities and cultures
Contribute to a more relaxed team culture
Engage a group in a fun and memorable experience
Explore new ways of interacting and collaborating
Overcome social isolation from colleagues
Make space for casual conversations

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Additional Ideas: Moment of Calm

Use a gif or other visual cue to guide students (or adult teams) in a quick breathing exercise!

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Putting it into Practice

Tomorrow	Next Month	Next Semester
Commit to trying one (or more) energizer mid-way through the lesson. An easy one to try out is a virtual fist bump, elbow bump, or head bump!	Implement an energizer or brain break in every lesson and share a survey with students at the end of the month to collect data on the impact these activities are having on the learning experience.	Build a class bank of energizers + brain break activities with students and begin to have them select the energizer that meets their needs when working independently or with a group.

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How are you using brain breaks and energizers already? What are you excited to try/learn more about?

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Add your reflections to our Jamboard!

Click here to get to our jamboard.

Add your name + anything you’ve already tried and what you’ve learned from it.

We will use this to collaborate and build on in our January 29th session!

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