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Something that we struggled with during this first year of teaching is knowing how to engage students. It is frustrating when we feel like we "lose" our students and are competing for their attention. As ELA teachers, we are already interested in the topic of ELA and already have skills that help us engage and enjoy reading and writing. However, students are all different and come into our classes with different levels of interest and knowledge about ELA topics. Using the traditional methods of engagement have varying levels of success and overall aren't effective in engaging ALL students. We want to continue this discussion and hopefully find ways to meaningfully engage students in class and have them learn the course content.

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How do you define engagement? How do you know when students are engaged?

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Eliciting Engagement in the High School Classroom: A Mixed-Methods Examination of Teaching Practices

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Eliciting Engagement in the High School Classroom: A Mixed-Methods Examination of Teaching Practices

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The video listed here is a great resource upon how to structure essay writing work stations. You have to sign up with a free account to watch the video.

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ELA.RI.9-10.1

Common core State Standards

ELA: English Language Arts

RI: Reading Standards for Informational Text 6-12

9-10: 9th & 10th Grades

1:
Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text
says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.

Download Common Core State Standards (PDF 1.2 MB)

|

ELA.RI.9-10.2

Common core State Standards

ELA: English Language Arts

RI: Reading Standards for Informational Text 6-\x80\x9312

9-10: 9th & 10th Grades

2:
Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course
of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific
details; provide an objective summary of the text.

Download Common Core State Standards (PDF 1.2 MB)

|

ELA.W.9-10.2d

Common core State Standards

ELA: English Language Arts

W: Writing Standards 6-12

9-10: 9th & 10th Grades

2d:
Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas,
concepts, and information clearly and accurately through the effective
selection, organization, and analysis of content.

a. Introduce a topic; organize complex ideas, concepts, and information to
make important connections and distinctions; include formatting (e.g.,
headings), graphics (e.g., figures, tables), and multimedia when useful to
aiding comprehension.

b. Develop the topic with well-chosen, relevant, and sufficient facts, extended
definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples
appropriate to the audience'\x80\x99s knowledge of the topic.

c. Use appropriate and varied transitions to link the major sections of the text,
create cohesion, and clarify the relationships among complex ideas and
concepts.

d. Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to manage the
complexity of the topic.

e. Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone while attending to
the norms and conventions of the discipline in which they are writing.

f. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports
the information or explanation presented (e.g., articulating implications or
the significance of the topic).

Download Common Core State Standards (PDF 1.2 MB)

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Discussion and Supporting Materials

Thought starters

1. How does Mr. McComb use success criteria to help students be more self-directed in their learning while making progress towards the standards?

2. What structures and supports does Mr. McComb have in place to ensure students are engaged and productive during the workshop?

3. How does Mr. McComb formatively assess students during and after the the workshop?

School Details

Patapsco High & Center For Arts
8100 Wise Ave
Baltimore MD 21222

Data Provided By:

Teachers

English Language Arts / 9 10 11 12 / Teacher

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Making Learning Personalized & Customized

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Sean McComb engages his students in a workshop model in order to provide personalized and customized learning. Students are working on social justice projects that involve research, blog writing, and creative writing on topics of their choices. During class, students work at stations based on where they are in their projects.

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Blended Learning's Impact on Student Performance and Engagement in a Middle School Language Arts Classroom by Claire Cole

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Blended Learnings Impact on Student Performance and Engagement i.pdf

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Blended Learning's Impact on Student Performance and Engagement in a Middle School Language Arts Classroom by Claire Cole

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Blended Learning's Impact on Student Performance and Engagement in a Middle School Language Arts Classroom by Claire Cole

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The article's main focus is upon how blending learning can improve upon student performance and engagement.

Researchers were noticing that students were not responding to traditional methods of learning and were generally disengaged. Researchers recognized that students needed to take responsibility for their own learning and that teachers need to create an environment that is condusive for student-led learning.

Researchers concluded that a possible solution was to implement blending learning, which Cole (2020) defines as "in-person learning is “blended” with technology-based instruction to best meeting the diverse needs of students" (6). Essentially, blending learning is intended to by UDL-friendly as the teacher designs learning in person experiences through lecture, group work, or station work while also including instructional videos, content on learning management systems, and the use of technology-based engagement platforms and tools.

There are four identifiable models of blended learning, but the primary focus is on the rotation model. The rotation model is used for in person classes as instruction is "blended" with some instruction being given by the teacher and some instruction given through digital means. These learning experiences are usually organized in stations.

The primary benefits that are gather from other literature say that blending learning helps increase achievement and satisfaction while decreasing problems with behavior for the possible following reasons:

1) designed for specific learning needs
2) potential to draw students into the learning process
3) discovering information for themselves

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Cole (2020) studied a 7th grade ELA classroom in Iowa for her master's thesis. The data from three class periods (75 students total) was collected over two different units. These students were diverse and had a wide spectrum of skill sets related to ELA. The first unit about plot, characters, setting, and conflict was taught using traditional methods whereas the essay writing unit was taught using blended learning (specifically the rotation model).

The teacher included the following:
1) digital tools (Nearpod, Peardeck, Edpuzzle, pre recorded mini lessons)
2) small group work with the teacher
3) independent work time

Data was collected through surveys along with formative and summative assessment scores.

The results showed that students were making significant improvements in all areas and in all groups. Students seemed to prefer blended learning methods and felt like they had more autonomy, more access to technology, and enjoyed the activities that the teacher had planned (i.e. mini lessons and teacher small group activities). Ultimately, 20.3% preferred traditional methods whereas 79.6% of students prefered blended learning.

Although the results from this study are generally positive, there are some limitations with class size and population. There needs to be more research done to prove the benefit of blended learning in the future.

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This study helps readers identify and learn more about how to address the need for differentiation in our classrooms. Learning has never been a one-fits-all model, and that will never change. Blended learning gives teachers an opportunity to design meaningful learning experiences in which students will actually engage with the content regardless of their maestry of the content. Blended learning allows learning to be personalized to each learner that is present in the classroom. Technology can be a useful tool for engagement and allows for the teacher to give more direct attention to specific students or more difficult concepts.

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How does technology impact student engagement in the classroom? Is it a positive impact? Negative impact? Neutral?

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This article identifies three ways students engage:

1. Behaviorally: this refers to the ways students show engagement and is generally considered "good" class behaviors such as participating in activities and actively listening.

2. Cognitively: how much mental energy is a student exerting in class?

3. Emotionally: this refers to the positive/negative feelings a student has about class, how much they want to succeed, etc.

It also identifies three teaching practices that support engagement:

1. Connective Instruction: What kind of personal connection do students have to the content? How does the content honor who they are as an individual?

2. Academic Rigor: Giving students tasks that demand a high level of cognitive functioning and focus, tasks that are challenging, or tasks that students are passionate about increase academic rigor.

3. Lively Teaching: This includes anything that engages students in active learning, notably games and "fun activities," group work, and student-driven projects.

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This study shows what we probably already knew: connective instruction, or relevancy to student's lives, is the most important factor for recruiting engagement. Creating a culturally responsive classroom is a necessary first step to getting students engaged.

The researchers note that academic rigor and lively teaching are still important to engagement, however, though the success of these two factors relies on their implementation. An academically rigorous task may hinder engagement if it doesn't require creativity, while a group-bases project may not be engaging if students are not challenged by it, but when done right, they do help.

Overall, I think that we as teachers should strive to implement all three factors in our curriculum, as they are more powerful tools when used together.

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This study sought to find out:
1. How the three teaching practices intersect in a classroom.
2. How and why, individually and collectively, these practices work to engage students.

To answer this question, researchers surveyed 1132 9-12 grade students on their engagement in all of their classes. Each student had between 6-8 classes, so the survey followed 581 classes and 106 teachers. In the end, researchers had an individual report for 6842 classes.

What they found is that out of all three teaching practices, connective instruction was 7x more likely to improve engagement than the other two factors, with student perceptions of "teacher care" being the most important factor.  The least important factor was the perceived level of challenge--if the other two were absent, academic rigor was not helpful in promoting engagement.

The study also showed that student identity played a role: there was a large difference in the level of engagement among genders, age groups, ethnic groups, athletes, musicians, etc. Students were most likely to engage in classes when they felt that their personal identities were honored and validated.

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What are you doing now to increase student engagement? What strategies have worked, and which ones didn't?

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Cooper, K. S. (2014). Eliciting Engagement in the High School Classroom: A Mixed-Methods Examination of Teaching Practices. American Educational Research Journal, 51(2), 363–402. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24546691

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This is a preview. Log in through your library.

This case study analyzes how and why student engagement differs across 581 classes in one diverse high school. Factor analyses of surveys with 1,132 students suggest three types of engaging teaching practices-connective instruction, academic rigor, and lively teaching. Multilevel regression analyses reveal that connective instruction predicts engagement more than seven times as strongly as academic rigor or lively teaching. Embedded case studies of five classes use interviews and observations to examine how various classes combine connective instruction, academic rigor, and lively teaching and how these practices individually and collectively engage students. Across these analyses, this study introduces a typology for thinking systematically about teaching for engagement.

Journal Information

American Educational Research Journal (AERJ) has as its purpose to publish original empirical and theoretical studies and analyses in education. The editors seek to publish articles from a wide variety of academic disciplines and substantive fields. They are looking for contributions that are significant to the understanding and/or improvement of educational processes and outcomes.

Publisher Information

The American Educational Research Association (AERA) is concerned with improving the educational process by encouraging scholarly inquiry related to education and by promoting the dissemination and practical application of research results. AERA is the most prominent international professional organization with the primary goal of advancing educational research and its practical application. Its 20,000 members are educators; administrators; directors of research, testing or evaluation in federal, state and local agencies; counselors; evaluators; graduate students; and behavioral scientists. The broad range of disciplines represented by the membership includes education, psychology, statistics, sociology, history, economics, philosophy, anthropology, and political science.

Rights & Usage

This item is part of a JSTOR Collection.
For terms and use, please refer to our Terms and Conditions
American Educational Research Journal © 2014

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Eliciting Engagement in the High School Classroom: A Mixed-Methods Examination of Teaching Practices on JSTOR

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This is a preview. Log in through your library. This case study analyzes how and why student engagement differs across 581 classes in one diverse high school. Factor analyses of surveys with 1,132 students suggest three types of engaging teaching practices-connective instruction, academic rigor, and lively teaching.

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EduTopia offers a host of resources for creating a culturally responsive classroom.

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George Lucas Educational Foundation

Find and share resources and explore strategies to engage students by connecting to and honoring their cultures, experiences, and backgrounds.

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Find and share resources and explore strategies to engage students by connecting to and honoring their cultures, experiences, and backgrounds.