# data[].attributes.body
Student engagement has different meanings to all involved in education, but it can be explained using the common themes of interest, participation, curiosity, positivity, and readiness.

In the context of this research, engagement will be referred to in this way, but should be thought of through the idea of students fully immersing themselves in their social studies learning.

# data[].attributes.body
In many classrooms that do not focus on language arts or math, it can be difficult for teachers to keep students engaged. Student engagement in social studies classes can be especially challenging to maintain for a variety of reasons, some of which include a lack of interest from students in the subject, students not finding the topics being discussed relatable enough, and students finding the work related to the subject to be too stressful.

This issue seen in social studies classrooms demands a solution.

# data[].attributes.headline
"Student engagement is the Mega Millions of education: When you hear about it, it seems so easy to win—and then you read about the odds" (Abla, 2019).

# data[].attributes.subject
"Student engagement is the Mega Millions of education: When you hear about it, it seems so easy to win—and then you read about the odds" (Abla, 2019).

# data[].attributes.body
Social studies learning plays an important role in helping students to develop transferable skills, to make sense of the world around them, and to build an understanding of and respect for the different cultures and groups of people all over the globe.

Without learning the content and skills related to social studies and history, students will have difficulty in making well-informed decisions as they grow older and will struggle with becoming active participants in society locally and globally.

Students need to be engaged in their social studies learning to reap these benefits, but if low student engagement in social studies is a common challenge for classrooms to overcome, then how can engagement be boosted in these classes? In order to discover solutions, when students are most engaged during social studies class must be investigated.

# data[].attributes.headline
The Question: When are students most engaged during social studies class?

# data[].attributes.subject
The Question: When are students most engaged during social studies class?

# data[].attributes.body
In support of this main research question, the following sub-questions were asked:

1. What social studies topics are most interesting for students?

2. Who is being represented  by class content and who is being excluded?

3. Are there certain types of students who seem to be more engaged than others?

4. What type of social studies content is being taught?

5. What teaching methods are being used?

6. What is the range of academic ability that is present in the classroom?

7. Who is being challenged by class content and who is not being challenged?

8. What grade-levels are the learning materials set at?

# data[].attributes.body
Discovering when students are most engaged in social studies class is important because it can help determine the strategies and pedagogical approaches needed to best help students learn the class content and material.

# data[].attributes.body
We will consider the following when measuring engagement:

Interest in social studies topics

Active participation in discussions and learning activities

Feeling like the information learned in class is valuable

Feeling that the content in class is relatable

Decreased numbers of missing/late/incomplete assignments

# data[].attributes.headline
A Search for Engagement in Stratford, CT

# data[].attributes.subject
A Search for Engagement in Stratford, CT

# data[].attributes.body
This data collection for this research took place in the Spring 2022 semester during my student teaching experience.

For my student teaching placement, I taught five 7th grade World Geography classes at Flood Middle School in Stratford, CT.

Here are a few key details about the classes I taught in:

High levels of racial, ethnic, linguistic, and socioeconomic diversity

Spanish-speaking English Language Learners

Hispanic, Black, Asian, Pacific Islander, White, and Multiracial student body

Unleveled class structure (16-26 students per class)

Wide opportunity gaps/Wide gaps in academic ability

# data[].attributes.body
The school is working toward SEL goals and bringing students back to grade level performance in many areas after experiencing setbacks throughout the pandemic.

# data[].attributes.body
Data was collected over approximately 13 weeks using the following methods:

Observations

Notetaking while observing students as they are doing different types of learning activities. I paid special attention to enthusiasm, active participation, and readiness.

Surveys

Students were given time in class to fill out an optional online survey to identify common links between identity and engagement.

Responses were not anonymous for the purpose of being able to ask students follow-up questions about potential responses.

Questions in the survey related to topic and/or activity favorability, level of difficulty, ease of learning, classroom social climate, etc.

Review of Student Scores/Grades

Academic performance was recorded and reviewed for a variety of learning activities, assignments, and assessments.

All notes taken during my observations, survey responses, and grades were organized by student and class in order to identify patterns across the various student backgrounds/demographics.

Collected data was compared between students to highlight where differences and similarities were found, and what those students have in common identity-wise.

# data[].attributes.headline
What students like about World Geography

# data[].attributes.subject
What students like about World Geography

# data[].attributes.body
When asked in a survey, 58% of 74 students reported that they like World Geography as a subject.

All students who responded were asked about something they like about World Geography (even if they reported that they dislike the subject); responses are seen in this chart.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
What do students like about World Geography_

# data[].attributes.headline
What students dislike about World Geography

# data[].attributes.subject
What students dislike about World Geography

# data[].attributes.body
When asked in a survey, 42% of 74 students reported that they dislike World Geography as a subject.

All students who responded were asked about something they dislike about World Geography (even if they reported that they like the subject); responses are seen in this chart.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
What do students dislike about World Geography_

# data[].attributes.headline
More student feedback about World Geography as a subject...

# data[].attributes.subject
More student feedback about World Geography as a subject...

# data[].attributes.body
About 83% of students reported that they prefer shorter assignments that involve deep thinking/debate more than longer research-based assignments.

55% of students feel that topics discussed in class are relatable

When asked how they felt about the level of relatability in World Geography, about 92% of students expressed that they like how they get to learn about people with completely different experiences from them because it is new and more interesting to them.

89% of students feel that they learned valuable information through the lessons during this research period.

# data[].attributes.headline
91% of students feel like their voice and their ideas matter in World Geography class.

# data[].attributes.subject
91% of students feel like their voice and their ideas matter in World Geography class.

# data[].attributes.headline
What makes it easier for students to learn

# data[].attributes.subject
What makes it easier for students to learn

# data[].attributes.body
When asked what I did while teaching that made it easier for students to learn, students wrote in responses that could be categorized into four groups:

1. Helping students 1-on-1 and leading whole-group discussions

2. Types of learning activities given were interactive/fun

3. Flexibility/Allowed for extra time on assignments and gave students choices on how to present their knowledge (multiple means of expression)

4. Structured classes with established routines

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
What did Ms. Howard do that made it easier for students to learn_ (1)

# data[].attributes.headline
70% of students feel that I had higher expectations for them than other teachers they've been in classes with.

# data[].attributes.subject
70% of students feel that I had higher expectations for them than other teachers they've been in classes with.

# data[].attributes.body
The number of missing assignments decreased by 11%

The number of late assignments decreased by 79%

The number of incomplete assignments decreased by 94%

The average class grades decreased by just 3.66%, thus keeping the average grade for all classes in the B range.

# data[].attributes.body
Overall, students felt that I taught a more challenging class than what they were experiencing before.

Though this caused students to become more observably stressed, they managed it well and were showing more signs of focus in their learning. This is supported by Barkley within "Instructional Strategies Motivate and Engage Students in Deeper Learning" in that he describes a Sweet Spot found between fear and attention where student learning and student engagement is maximized (SREB, 2013, p. 2-3).

# data[].attributes.body
Going into this research, I had overheard many teacher conversations in the school building about how low student engagement was. Coming out of the pandemic only made matters worse, as it requires adaptability and adjusting on everyone's part. Part of the reason why some teachers believed that engagement was low was because the students were not used to academic expectations after the pandemic and because many students were not receiving an education that was of an appropriate level of difficulty for them due to the wide ranges of academic ability in unleveled classes.

By implementing the previously identified teaching strategies  into my instruction, I found that students will rise to meet high expectations. This was indicated by the following observations:

The vast majority of students reported that their learning was valuable over these 13 weeks.

The occurrences of late, missing, and incomplete assignments significantly decreased, even though students reported that the class became more challenging during the 13 weeks of my student teaching.

In other words, participation in learning activities significantly increased; this is an excellent indicator for student engagement in this study.

# data[].attributes.headline
But, what about the importance of having a representative/relatable curriculum?

# data[].attributes.subject
But, what about the importance of having a representative/relatable curriculum?

# data[].attributes.body
It was found that there was an almost even split on students feeling that what they were learning was something that they could relate to. Having a representative curriculum has shown to dramatically affect student engagement for the better. This is supported by the article "Engaging Students Using Local History and Perspectives" by Cameron and Habkirk, however to have a truly representative curriculum that uses local history, a certain degree of teacher autonomy with curricular design is required. So, although I was not able to do this, I was able to help students see similarities between their lives and the lives of those we studied in class by choosing materials that dealt with issues facing people their own age. Cameron and Habkirk do go into explaining the importance of teaching ugly histories to boost engagement in this article, which I was able to do throughout these 13 weeks.

# data[].attributes.headline
Student Participation as a Sign of Engagement

# data[].attributes.subject
Student Participation as a Sign of Engagement

# data[].attributes.body
It can be determined that, despite the class becoming more difficult, student participation increasing shows an increase in student engagement.

This is additionally supported by the fact that, even though the work became more vigorous, class grades remained consistent with the grades earned in Quarters 1 and 2.

# data[].attributes.headline
So, what was done to achieve these results?

# data[].attributes.subject
So, what was done to achieve these results?

# data[].attributes.body
There were 2 main concepts that I focused on during my 13 week research:

Teaching methods for engagement

EDJI for engagement

# data[].attributes.body
Driven by existing scholarship, here are a few ideas that inspired my instructional methods:

•Create opportunities for critical thinking (Abla, 2019).
•Involve opportunities for social learning (Gehlbach, 2011).
•Interactive and student-centered (NSSSA, 2012).
•Active and passive teaching (Scott et al., 2014).

# data[].attributes.headline
Equity, Diversity, Justice, and Inclusion (EDJI) for Engagement

# data[].attributes.subject
Equity, Diversity, Justice, and Inclusion (EDJI) for Engagement

# data[].attributes.body
Driven by existing scholarship, here are a few ideas that inspired my instructional methods specifically to create a class environment aligned with EDJI commitments:

•Make it personal (Abla, 2019).
•Acknowledge and eliminate bias from the teacher in lessons (Burnett et al., 2021).
•Make it representative; consider the needs and backgrounds of each student! (Korbey, 2018).

By following EDJI commitments, students who are often left behind and/or who are marginalized in the education system will be able to take hold of an opportunity to grow in their learning. In this, students of underrepresented minority groups or students with specific learning needs, an IEP, or 504 plan have had opportunities to express their understanding of content through a mode that they felt worked best for them. Materials used in the class had also been carefully selected in order to appease all students in the classroom, regardless of their literacy abilities. In selecting materials, I was diligent about selecting materials of varying media forms so that all students were able to learn through engaging with an eclectic collection of information.

Although classes were unleveled in this research, all students were able to perform competitively with each other due to the adherence to these commitments.

# data[].attributes.body
Student engagement is a well-studied and well-researched topic by teachers and educational professionals from all content areas. The articles and resources linked in this padlet explore what has been found in relation to student engagement and its connections to curriculum, teaching strategies, and equity.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Burnett, L., Brack, S.,  & Anderson, S. (2021, April 9). Teaching  About a Place? Stop and Think First! DecolonisingGeography. Retrieved  January 12, 2022.

# data[].attributes.headline
Teaching About a Place? Stop and Think First! - Decolonising Geography

# data[].attributes.subject
Teaching About a Place? Stop and Think First! - Decolonising Geography

# data[].attributes.body
The article “Teaching  About a Place? Stop and Think First!” offers a discussion about what a geography class should look like if it wants to remain culturally aware.  It also maintains that teachers must be thoughtful when crafting lessons that offer a perspective on a place different from one’s own; teachers  must consider student and instructor views of a place along with the  specific point of view that is supposed to be shared with students  (Burnett et al., 2021).

This is important to think about in the context of my research question because, in order to have an equity-focused  classroom, the bias of the instructor must be acknowledged and eliminated from the lesson. This would help students feel freer to construct their own unique points of view on topics. This was investigated by self-reflecting on my own biases and how they may have translated through the lesson, but it can also be investigated by asking the questions posed in the article when formulating a lesson. Reviewing this article pushed my lessons and my research into a more EDJI committed direction.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
It can be challenging to teach about any distant place that is likely to be beyond the experience of most children. There is a danger of over-generalising, of projecting stereotypes and out of date images or of over simplifying information.
Questions to consider before planning a unit

What are your views of this place?

As a teacher what view of a location are you trying to portray? Is it balanced?

Are you showing many different aspects of a location?

Think closely about vocabulary. As with all areas of the curriculum, children need to learn a new vocabulary to be able to deal competently with the many new ideas they will meet. There is also a danger that vocabulary and terminology is used without thought thereby reinforcing stereotypes.
For example, think about the use of terms such as 'them' and 'us'; 'black' and 'white'; or words such as 'native', 'slum' and poor.
Look for ways that life is similar as well as different. Avoid exoticising the imagery and use images of all aspects of everyday life. Show people in professional dress as opposed to only traditional dress.

When looking at daily life think about sustainability and impact on the globe. It is important to compare with life in the UK and make pupils think about how people live. Discuss this and think about who has the 'more sustainable life'.

Do you think that people have the same feelings about the place you are teaching about in different parts of the world?
What would someone from another place think about your place? How would you make sure your own location was portrayed to someone from another country? Pupils could bring in a photo of their own location or somewhere that is locally important to them and think of 3 words that sum up this place.
Apply that same approach to your planning of the non-UK location.

Where have you, as a teacher, gathered your information about this location? Is it a fair representation of what it is really like?

How has your understanding and view of this place been influenced by your own experiences of imagery and multimedia if you have not visited or as a tourist?
How could you contact people who live here to ensure it is accurate? Tourist boards can be helpful but show the side of the location they wish to portray. Choosing images
What images and multimedia have you gathered to show different aspects of this location? Where were these images sourced?

Remember that Google search engines are selective. Look at copyright free images on Pixbay or Pexels images, but remember there will still be bias

How will changing the selection of images show the pupils a different perspective of the location?

Could you select images showing one representation of a place (e.g. tourism images) and ask the children to think critically about the source and use their geographical knowledge to select different images based on their enquiries into place? (See activity about images and misconceptions below)

Do other people in the community use the locality differently? Are you choosing images that represent a range of ages, social class, gender, ethnicity, professional groups, service groups, care sector groups etc?
Pupil perceptions
When planning, think about the class and their views/knowledge of the location. Do not make assumptions.

Consider how your choice of images and multimedia may influence your pupils' views and sense of the place you are studying. This is worth discussing with older KS2 pupils.
Starting moments...
What views do your pupils already have of the location you are studying? It is vital to have an idea of pupils' views before starting so that you will know if your lessons have any impact.

Ask them to write 5 words/ sentences that sum up their views (good for seeing how perceptions change). Teachers may be surprised by either the depth or lack of knowledge. Assessment - repeat the 5-word task and note any changes.

Split class in two and tell your pupils that you are giving them images that represent their new place of study. They have 15 mins to look at images and draw conclusions about the location to give feedback to the other half of the class. (Don't let each group see the other images)

Give half the class a selection of images of the country to study and the other half a contrasting location within that country. It can be as simple as rural/urban, tourist/local life, industrial/agricultural.

After their presentations tell them that this is actually the same country just different aspects of it demonstrating that what you are shown in an image informs your view of a place. Pupils could then 'guess/work out from their own geographical knowledge' the location of their new place of study.
Reflections/ Assessment or Evaluations
Ask pupils to reflect upon what they have learnt and how they learnt it.

What were your assumptions about this place before? Have they changed? How have they changed? What helped you gain a better understanding / view?

What do you know about this place now?

Why is it important to find out what a place is (really) like?

Resources
Dollar Street -
https://www.gapminder.org/dollar-street
Royalty free images to use -
https://pixabay.com/ https://www.pexels.com/ https://search.creativecommons.org/photos/
This resource was initially written to support primary geographers in their planning and teaching about places, but is likely to also be useful to secondary teachers and teachers of subjects beyond geography. If you have found it useful, please share it more widely. Lets get everyone thinking about how they teach about place.

Photo credit: Johnny Miller/Unequal Scenes

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Teaching About a Place? Stop and Think First! - Decolonising Geography

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
It can be challenging to teach about any distant place that is likely to be beyond the experience of most children. There is a danger of over-generalising, of projecting stereotypes and out of date images or of over simplifying information. Questions to consider before planning a unit What are your views of this place?

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Korbey, H. (2018, May 23).  A History in Which We Can All See  Ourselves. Edutopia. Retrieved January 12, 2022.

# data[].attributes.headline
A History in Which We Can All See Ourselves

# data[].attributes.subject
A History in Which We Can All See Ourselves

# data[].attributes.body
The article “A History in  Which We Can All See Ourselves” offers information on the importance of a  representative curriculum in the pursuit of student achievement. It is  found that students who can relate to the stories that they are exposed  to in social studies show a higher level of engagement in the content  that they are given in class; students will also become more civically  active as individuals outside of the classroom (Korbey, 2018). This is  relevant to my research question because it further helped me understand a strategy that can be implemented into my pedagogy to improve student engagement. It will prove to be advantageous for students later in life  as well because it enhances the level of equity in society due to the  fact that underrepresented students may grow up to be initiative-taking  in participating in their communities and their local, state, and federal  governments to help advocate for their interests. This was investigated by consulting with survey data collected from students about their identities and how they feel represented in the classroom.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
A History in Which We Can All See Ourselves

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Educators are finding ways to tell a richer history of America-responding to the demands of an increasingly diverse student body.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Gehlbach,H. (2011).  Making Social Studies Social: Engaging students through different forms of  social perspective taking.Theory  Into Practice, 50(4),311–318.

# data[].attributes.headline
Making Social Studies Social: Engaging Students Through Different Forms of Social Perspective Taking

# data[].attributes.subject
Making Social Studies Social: Engaging Students Through Different Forms of Social Perspective Taking

# data[].attributes.body
The article “Making  Social Studies Social: Engaging Students Through Different Forms of  Social Perspective Taking” discusses the importance of social interaction  as a factor of student engagement in a social studies class. Within this  dialog, it is found that teachers will have success in promoting student  engagement in social studies classes if academic content and personal matters were not so harshly divided (Gehlbach, 2011, p. 12). This further informed my research question in that it speaks on the importance of  framing content in a way that will keep students engaged in their  learning. This helped drive my research because it involves an  exploration of effective pedagogical approaches to use in the classroom,  but it also helped to clarify what aspects of learning that students need to have prioritized when learning about social studies while not framing them in a way that strictly adheres to strategies and methods of teaching. This was investigated by evaluating student behavior during class time in addition to evaluating data collected during research.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
People are intrinsically motivated to connect to others socially. One of the most important mechanisms in fostering social relationships is social perspective taking (SPT)-the capacity to discern the thoughts and feelings of others. Thus, students in social studies classrooms might be motivated to engage with their subject either through taking the perspectives of their peers in class (interpersonal SPT) or through taking the perspectives of the historical and cultural figures they are studying (academic SPT). This article first provides a theoretical overview of the contrasts and similarities between these two forms of SPT. Next, it describes 3 examples of how these 2 forms of SPT might be implemented in teaching social studies.

Notes

1. These preferences might be reversed in other classes (i.e., in a different context). Sammy might be more invested in the subject matter and/or Samantha might be more interested in connecting with her peers.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Making Social Studies Social: Engaging Students Through Different Forms of Social Perspective Taking

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
People are intrinsically motivated to connect to others socially. One of the most important mechanisms in fostering social relationships is social perspective taking (SPT)-the capacity to discern the thoughts and feelings of others.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Lynch, M. (2015, August  22). 6 Ways Teachers Can Foster  Cultural Awareness in the Classroom. The Edvocate...

# data[].attributes.headline
6 Ways Teachers can Foster Cultural Awareness in the Classroom - The Edvocate

# data[].attributes.subject
6 Ways Teachers can Foster Cultural Awareness in the Classroom - The Edvocate

# data[].attributes.body
The article “6 Ways  Teachers can Foster Cultural Awareness in the Classroom” provides a  discussion of the ways in which teachers can help create a classroom that  holds equity as a priority and a standard. It is found here that a  culturally responsive curriculum that considers the needs and backgrounds  of students in its pedagogical structure are beneficial for students in  the long run (Lynch, 2015). This helps inform my research question in  that it helps provide intel on the practical ways in which teachers can  turn their classroom into an equity-focused learning space. This will  help in my research because it supports the idea that a classroom that is  geared toward equity is a classroom that is geared toward student  achievement and success, which overlaps with the goal behind promoting  student engagement. This can be investigated by evaluating survey data in addition to observing student engagement while presented with a culturally responsive curriculum.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
6 Ways Teachers can Foster Cultural Awareness in the Classroom

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Schools that acknowledge the diversity of their student population understand the importance of promoting cultural awareness.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Cameron, Meghan E. Ms and Habkirk, Evan J. Dr. () "Engaging Students Using Local History and Perspectives," The Councilor: A Journal of the Social Studies: ...

# data[].attributes.headline
Engaging Students Using Local History and Perspectives

# data[].attributes.subject
Engaging Students Using Local History and Perspectives

# data[].attributes.body
In the article "Engaging Students Using Local History and Perspectives" by Cameron and Habkirk, the concept of teaching a representative curriculum is discussed and is applied in a classroom that resulted in increased engagement. This informs my research in that it stresses the importance of teaching classes about the "ugly" side of history and it stressed the need for a representative curriculum. Not all schools, though, have allowance for teachers to choose and implement their own curriculum, though, so this better informs the overall goals of my research in the way that it offers ideas to improve student engagement through creating a more equitable classroom.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Abstract

Teaching Reflection for special issue journal co-edited by Samantha Cutara

Recommended Citation

Cameron, Meghan E. Ms and Habkirk, Evan J. Dr. (2021) "Engaging Students Using Local History and Perspectives," The Councilor: A Journal of the Social Studies: Vol. 0: No. 1, Article 4.
Available at: https://thekeep.eiu.edu/the_councilor/vol0/iss1/4

DOWNLOADS

Included in

Curriculum and Instruction Commons, Curriculum and Social Inquiry Commons, Economics Commons, Educational Methods Commons, Elementary Education Commons, Elementary Education and Teaching Commons, Geography Commons, History Commons, Junior High, Intermediate, Middle School Education and Teaching Commons, Political Science Commons, Pre-Elementary, Early Childhood, Kindergarten Teacher Education Commons, Secondary Education Commons

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Engaging Students Using Local History and Perspectives

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Abstract Teaching Reflection for special issue journal co-edited by Samantha Cutara Recommended Citation Cameron, Meghan E. Ms and Habkirk, Evan J. Dr. (2021) "Engaging Students Using Local History and Perspectives," The Councilor: A Journal of the Social Studies: Vol. 0: No. 1, Article 4.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Abla, C. (2019, January  22). 7 Ways to Spark Engagement.  Edutopia. Retrieved January 12, 2022, fromhttps://www.edutopia.org/article/7-ways-spark-engagement

# data[].attributes.body
The article “7 Ways to  Spark Engagement” explores simple ways in which teachers can improve the  state of student engagement in their classrooms.

It is emphasized that  student engagement can help students to develop a sense of community and  to feel connected to their learning (Abla, 2019). It is found that  teaching methods can strengthen the connection between students and how  they feel about learning as a whole if they deal with collaboration and critical thinking (Abla, 2019). This can be important when considering  ways in which teachers can help to create an equitable and positive learning environment for social studies students, thus informing my research question about student engagement within the classroom as a  result of a classroom’s pedagogical structure. This was easily investigated by carrying out some of the methods that are being suggested in the article during my student teaching experience.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Student engagement is the Mega Millions of education: When you hear about it, it seems so easy to win-and then you read about the odds. The good news is that there are effective strategies for boosting student engagement, and they're considerably more likely to pay off than playing the lottery.

A growing body of research in education and the social sciences suggests that students' curiosity can be stimulated in ways that strengthen their connectedness to lessons, interactions with each other, and willingness to commit to learning goals. There are simple techniques that teachers can use during a lesson to boost curiosity, and thus engagement, among students-especially older ones, who are at greater risk for losing interest.

Boosting Student Engagement

1. Harness the power of mystery and puzzles: As storytellers from Scheherazade to the writers of Stranger Things have known, humans have a compulsive need to find out what happens next. We love solving puzzles and finding sequences and patterns. So introduce your next new unit with a mystery.

Try posing a broad question to groups of three or four students, such as: "What would happen if a butterfly's habitat was suffering a severe drought during the pupa stage?" or "What if Tupac had lived?" Let the groups discuss and present their justifications to the class. The realization students need to come to: Conjecture is a legitimate starting point for learning.

2. Pause after asking a question-and again after getting an answer: Rushing through questions and answers doesn't help most students. We all process information differently, and taking an answer from the first student whose hand shoots up means others may abandon the question before they've truly processed it.

Pause with purpose after every question, and again after every answer. That second pause helps other students reconsider the question and reflect on the first answer.

Remember, too, that choral responses aren't just for younger students: When everyone repeats and responds at the same time, the risk that they're not actively involved in the content is reduced. While we'd all like to see education become as individualized as possible, there's something affirming about being part of the group every now and then, even for older students.

3. Craft fewer-but deeper-questions: One or two thoughtfully phrased questions can lead to a deep discussion. Try using questions that begin with "What if" or "How might," and aim for questions that don't have an undisputed yes or no answer and that don't rely on simple recalling of facts. The goal should be to foster mature thought and collaborative discussion.

4. Introduce controversy: Debating an issue and trying to persuade others are great ways to become invested in a topic. This is true not only in current affairs, but in literary and historical analysis. You might pose questions such as, "Why do you think the character responded as she did?" or "What do you suppose happened to John Smith when the crew accused him of mutiny?" You'll have to be prepared to step in if the exchange of views threatens to deteriorate into an overly emotional argument.

5. Mine the gap: The knowledge gap, that is. A certain amount of background knowledge needs to be delivered by direct instruction; then a combination of guidance, self-direction, and curiosity can propel learning indefinitely. If you can lead a student to recognize that she knows something about a subject, and that she'll be better off if she pushes herself to learn a little more about it, curiosity will kick in and motivate her to make that extra effort.

Ask students what they know about a topic, and then ask what they think they don't know about it. Ask which of the "don't know" items they think are most important for them to learn. Do they seem to be guessing? That's all right-you're asking them to comment on something they've already conceded they don't know. Examining their knowledge and capacity to learn is the whole point.

6. Give students a WIIFM (what's in it for me?): A student who asks, "Why should I know this?" is pointing toward a promising teaching tactic. Students must see why content is important to them. How will they use it later in life? How do people use it in the real world? For instance, you might know how a given subject relates to students' families' quality of life right now. We can give students relevant projects through which to apply and show what they know.

7. Encourage dynamic collaboration: With the right guidance, collaborative small-group work leads students to build social skills while also obtaining knowledge. They learn how individual and group success are mutually dependent, and how to fill gaps in peers' knowledge-and they do this in an environment that's engaging because it's social. Teachers can consistently build in short, informal collaboration techniques such as Mix, Freeze, Pair.

Virtually all teachers already use these techniques to some degree. But they become much more powerful when we view them as part of a coordinated, intentional strategy to boost student curiosity.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Student engagement is the Mega Millions of education: When you hear about it, it seems so easy to win-and then you read about the odds. The good news is that there are effective strategies for boosting student engagement, and they're considerably more likely to pay off than playing the lottery.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
National Social Studies  Supervisors Association. (2012). Make  Every Social Studies Lesson an Engaging Social Studies Lesson. Make  every social studies...

# data[].attributes.headline
Make Every Social Studies Lesson an Engaging Social Studies Lesson

# data[].attributes.subject
Make Every Social Studies Lesson an Engaging Social Studies Lesson

# data[].attributes.body
The article “Make Every  Social Studies Lesson an Engaging Social Studies Lesson” from the  National Social Studies Supervisors Association discusses the importance  of active learning for students and states that active learning happens  through active teaching. Some instructional methods are suggested in this  article, and all suggest creating an interactive lesson that is  student-centered (NSSSA, 2012). This information will help in conducting  my research because it sheds light on what teaching strategies and  methods work best to support student achievement and engagement in the  classroom. It also emphasizes the need for students to be the focus of a  social studies lesson if that lesson is meant to be engaging for  students, so it further informs my research question. This can be investigated by observing the level of which students engage in the class along with their level of enthusiasm while doing so.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
As you enter a classroom ask yourself this question: "If there were no students in the room, could I do what I am planning to do?" If your answer to the question is yes, don't do it. (1)
General Cubero's quote says a lot about the types of teaching strategies that we should use as social studies teachers. A passive lecture can be given in an empty room; a PowerPoint shown and explained, a worksheet passed out to empty desks, or even a reading assigned, but you cannot engage with an empty room; an empty room cannot inquire into an event, idea, or person dealt with in a social studies class. For an engaging lesson, we need students our students to be actively involved in that lesson. Because interaction and engagement is the climate to set in our social studies classes, General Cubero is correct; our focus must be on more than teacher-led presentations. A lot more.

Over the years, surveys have shown that social studies is often seen by students as boring, yet this certainly does not need to be the case. The disciplines that make up the social studies are deep and rich and engaging; it is important that our teaching also be deep and rich and engaging. But our lessons will not engage if everything is based around a stand and deliver model that could be done just as well in an empty room.

If we are to engage our students in every lesson, it is necessary for us as social studies teachers to develop a repertoire of active and engaging teaching strategies. When we engage our students, when they come to class with a sense of anticipation, when they do not know exactly what might occur in class but know that they will be working together, not do the "same old same old," and when they are actively discussing, and think, we will be making every lesson an engaging lesson.

With a number of active strategies to call upon, introducing a new unit or lesson will be much more than "OK, take out your notebooks." You might choose to begin with a discrepant event inquiry. In this strategy (which my students have always term their favorite), a puzzling statement or story is presented to students which they must figure out using questions that are answerable with a yes or a no. Questions build upon questions and answers build upon answers as students try to figure out the puzzle.

Perhaps instead of using a textbook reading you find some primary source materials which students can pose questions, intellectual wrestle with, and discuss using a , have them work in pairs with a V Response Group/DBQ strategy. Instead of having students fill out a worksheet while watching an entire DVD iewing Guide, to pose questions, make predictions, watch and discuss important segments of the program. During a lecture, throw in a Timed~Pair~Share (students think about an open ended question and in pairs take turns discussing their ideas each for a specified period of time) or Numbered~Heads~Together (after numbering off-one through four-in a group, students put their heads together to discuss, followed by a number is called; the students with that number in each group must explain their group's ideas) to help them process what they are learning.

There are many many active thoughtful teaching strategies that we can employ to help out students grow, and developing such a repertoire involves continually growing professionally. Check out the excellent resources in the at Online Store socialstudies.org, attend graduate colleges, workshops and institutes (as both a participant and presenter I believe that the NCSS Summer Institutes are an excellent resource for social studies teachers), and expand your involvement in NCSS and your state affiliate in order to network and learn from others. Keep growing and learning as a teacher in order to add teaching strategies to your repertoire and variety to your lessons. It is with such variety that we can make every social studies lessons an engaging social studies lesson.

1. You will find GeneralRuben Cubero 's quote at http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/coursedesign/tutorial/strategies.html)

2. There are many books that can be used to find engaging teaching strategies. Here are a few that I would strongly recommend:

Bower, Lobdell, Swenson, History Alive!...., Teachers Curriculum Institute, historyalive.com

Kagan, and Kagan, Kagan Cooperative Learning, kaganonline.com

Silver, and Strong, The Strategic Teacher: Selecting the Right Research-Based Strategy for Every Lesson, ascd.org

Spencer, Everyone's Invited! Interactive Strategies That Engage Young Adolescents,amle.org

Wormeli, Summarization in Any Subject: 50 Techniques to Improve Student Learning, ascd.org

Yell, and Scheurman, A Link to the Past: strategies for engaging students in the study of history, Socialstudies.org

Michael M. Yell is a National Board Certified Teacher from Hudson Wisconsin (seventh grade social studies). During the 2008-9 school year he served as president of NCSS. The strategies in this article are explained in more depth in his blogs on teaching strategies at teachinghistory.org.

This blog was originally written as an article for the Oregon Council for the Social Studies ( http://www.oregonsocialstudies.org)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Make Every Social Studies Lesson an Engaging Social Studies Lesson

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
As you enter a classroom ask yourself this question: "If there were no students in the room, could I do what I am planning to do?" If your answer to the question is yes, don't do it. (1) General Cubero's quote says a lot about the types of teaching strategies that we should use as social studies teachers.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Scott, T. M., Hirn, R. G.,  & Alter, P. J. (2014). Teacher Instruction as a Predictor for Student  Engagement and Disruptive Behaviors. Preventing  School...

# data[].attributes.headline
Teacher Instruction as a Predictor for Student Engagement and Disruptive Behaviors

# data[].attributes.subject
Teacher Instruction as a Predictor for Student Engagement and Disruptive Behaviors

# data[].attributes.body
The article “Teacher  Instruction as a Predictor for Student Engagement and Disruptive  Behaviors” discusses the importance of instructional methods in regard to  overall student achievement. This article frames achievement as a way of  showing student engagement in relation to behavior. In this article, it  is found that teaching, as an active and passive method, negatively  correlates with class disruption and positively correlates with students’  engagement (Scott et al., 2014, p.198). This research helps to inform my  research question, but specifically the question pertaining to which  teaching methods are being used in class. Through this, it can be  explored which teaching strategies can be implemented to make learning  more active and less passive. This can be investigated by observing situations in which students are learning via a more passive or a more active teaching approach.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Effective instruction is a critical predictor of student achievement. As students with exceptionalities such as emotional and behavioral disorders and learning disabilities, who typically struggle with academic achievement, spend increasing amounts of general education settings, the need for precise instructional behaviors becomes more imperative. The authors present the results of 1,197 systematic direct observations of teachers’ instructional behaviors and their effect on student engagement and disruption. Results indicate statistically significant correlations between teaching and student engagement and disruptions, although there is variability depending on the grade level (elementary school vs. high school). Limitations, implications, and directions for future practice are discussed.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Terrance M. Scott
Terrance M. Scott is a professor and distinguished university scholar at the University of Louisville. His current research interests include instructional interventions for students with behavioral disorders, schoolwide prevention systems, and functional behavior assessment.

Regina G. Hirn
Regina G. Hirn is a project director and adjunct professor at the University of Louisville. Her current research interests include instructional strategies for students with learning disabilities and positive behavior supports for students with behavior disorders.

Peter J. Alter
Peter J. Alter is an assistant professor at St. Mary's College of California. His current research interests include behavioral interventions, positive behavior interventions and supports, and school partnerships.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Teacher Instruction as a Predictor for Student Engagement and Disruptive Behaviors

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Effective instruction is a critical predictor of student achievement. As students with exceptionalities such as emotional and behavioral disorders and learning disabilities, who typically struggle ...

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Southern Regional Education Board. “Instructional Strategies Motivate and Engage Students in Deeper Learning.” High Schools That Work, Southern Regional...

# data[].attributes.headline
Instructional Strategies Motivate and Engage Students in Deeper Learning

# data[].attributes.subject
Instructional Strategies Motivate and Engage Students in Deeper Learning

# data[].attributes.body
The article "Instructional Strategies Motivate and Engage Students in Deeper Learning" explores how we should view engagement when it is studied in this manner. It should be broken up into subcategories of engagement that could account for the different issues plaguing a student's ability to learn. For example, emotional engagement is separated from intellectual engagement in this article (SREB, 2013, p. 2-3). This informs my research by empowering me to push my students and challenge them to an appropriate degree in order to increase their intellectual engagement, whereas I might create a lesson centered around a social studies theme that they enjoy in order to engage students emotionally. Both are expressed as being necessary for deep learning.

# data[].attributes.body
Abla, C. (2019, January 22). 7 Ways to Spark Engagement. Edutopia. Retrieved January 12, 2022, from https://www.edutopia.org/article/7-ways-spark-engagement

Burnett, L., Brack, S., & Anderson, S. (2021, April 9). Teaching About a Place? Stop and Think First! Decolonising
Geography. Retrieved January 12, 2022, from https://decolonisegeography.com/blog/2021/04/teaching-about-a-place-stop-and-think-first/

Cameron, Meghan E. Ms and Habkirk, Evan J. Dr. () "Engaging Students Using Local History and Perspectives," The Councilor: A Journal of the Social Studies: Vol. 0: No. 1, Article 4. Available at https://thekeep.eiu.edu/the_councilor/vol0/iss1/4

Gehlbach, H. (2011). Making Social Studies Social: Engaging students through different forms of social perspective taking. Theory Into Practice, 50(4), 311–318. https://doi.org/10.1080/00405841.2011.607394

Korbey, H. (2018, May 23). A History in Which We Can All See Ourselves. Edutopia. Retrieved January 12, 2022, from https://www.edutopia.org/article/history-which-we-can-all-see-ourselves

Lynch, M. (2015, August 22). 6 Ways Teachers Can Foster Cultural Awareness in the Classroom. The Edvocate. Retrieved January 12, 2022, from https://www.theedadvocate.org/6-ways-teachers-can-foster-cultural-awareness-in-the-classroom/

National Social Studies Supervisors Association. (2012). Make Every Social Studies Lesson an Engaging Social Studies Lesson. Make every social studies lesson an engaging social studies lesson. Retrieved January 12, 2022, from https://nsssa.socialstudies.org/nsssa/communityblogs/blogviewer?BlogKey=d42136cd-61e3-4da2-ac28-885466106e8a

Scott, T. M., Hirn, R. G., & Alter, P. J. (2014). Teacher Instruction as a Predictor for Student Engagement and Disruptive Behaviors. Preventing School Failure, 58(4), 193–200. https://doi.org/10.1080/1045988X.2013.787588

Shagoury, Ruth and Power, Brenda Miller, (2012). Living the Questions: A Guide for Teacher-Researchers. Stenhouse Publishers.

Southern Regional Education Board. “Instructional Strategies Motivate and Engage Students in Deeper Learning.” High Schools That Work, Southern Regional Education Board, 2013, https://www.sreb.org/sites/main/files/file-attachments/13v06w_0.pdf?1459868613.

Zhou, Molly and Brown, David, "Educational Learning Theories: 2nd Edition" (2015). Education Open Textbooks. 1. https://oer.galileo.usg.edu/education-textbooks/1