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Sunday, September 11, 2011
TEACHER BEHAVIORS THAT LEAD TO ACTIVELY ENGAGED LEARNING
I guess it is the behaviorist in me that wants to define the "teacher behaviors" in the classroom that lead to actively engaged student learning. My thought is that these defined behaviors can be replicated or modeled in other classrooms to yield the same "actively engaged learners." I think I know what an actively engaged learner looks like. They are participating in the learning activity as a partner with the instructor. Decision making on how to accomplish learning outcomes is shared and the actively engaged learner has ownership in the activity. The class as a whole has built an environment with relationships of trust, support, and inquiry.
I would like to build a model of teacher behaviors that create actively engaged students. I want to know if these behaviors are replicable and are there particular skill-sets required. I really believe most teachers want to develop these skills. I know that there are thousands of principals and experienced teachers out there that can share insight into these behaviors. Please post a comment with your experiences and observations of teacher behaviors that create "actively engaged learners."
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Teachers with actively engaged learners have both a passion toward their content and a passion toward learning. These teachers are always looking to improve and enhance their craft; they are not afraid of failure, and they believe that in order to do great things in the classroom there needs to be a certain level of risk.
ReplyDeleteThese teachers not only expect a lot from themselves, they expect a lot from their colleagues. They are easily inspired, and they are always looking to inspire and motivate others.
These teachers realize that relationships are more important than any piece of content or information. They understand that it takes time to develop strong and enduring relationships, but that the time is also well spent.
The teachers with engaged learners are able to make school relevant, purposeful and enjoyable. An engaged learner most definitely has an engaged teacher, and engaged teachers will do whatever they can to engage others.
An engaged teacher also needs to find their job as more than just a paycheck. They need to be a part of an environment that meets their needs before they are able to meet the needs of their students.
Thanks Justin! I know that you know first hand what happens in an engaging teachers classroom! I think I am trying to figure out how to bottle up the things you did in class so I can serve it up as needed.
ReplyDeleteTeachers who have actively engaged learners take a genuine interest in their students and view them as more than a name or letter grade.
ReplyDeleteWhen my students know that I care about them, they care more about my class.
I agree. Building positive relationships... It's not about English, it's about you and me! Thanks for your comments.
ReplyDeleteAn engaging teacher presents challenges, not problems; challenges that dare students to use course content and their prior knowledge to solve real world issues, and to use multiple skills and technologies to present measured and measurable outcomes.
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting Jeff. I think you are right on the money. I want to try to create a conscious understanding with my staff of what it means to have their student "actively" engaged in class. What the teacher does has to be different if we want to change what the students do. I'm trying to develop some deliberate acts that teachers can embrace. I hope all is well the STUCO and NASSP. I really enjoyed my time with student activities. It is definitely a career highlight.
ReplyDeleteIn order for students to become actively involved in school, they need to be shown the full impact on their lives learning a concept can have. In order for this to happen, the teacher MUST make real connections with between the content and the "real-world". As JP said, you must build a relationship, but not just with the teacher and students, but take it a step further, a strong relationship with concepts and their impact. When that relationship is fostered, an innate desire to learn more happens by design, not happenstance.
ReplyDeleteJosh Krisher
I have had tremendous success when I allow the students choices. When I have material to cover and it is not necessarily important the order in which it is covered, I give them a choice of what they would like to do next. In the long run it really doesn't matter the order, just that it gets covered.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I have the students come up with ways to review the material. For example today, we reviewed all the vocabulary we have learned up to this point. I gave them a challenge to come up with 3 of the most crazy, creative sentences using as much of the vocaulary as they could. They came up with far better sentences than I or any book could have produced. It was often relevant to their lives or shared class experiences or discussions.
I regularly ask for feedback on pacing, ideas on lessons and activities we do. I seek their input in how to make something interesting. I tell them they are a part of the class and they actually have a role to play in making the class what it can become, that it isn't all on me. They seem to invest themselves much more.
When the students are actively engaged, the teacher is guiding the students and not lecturing the students. The teacher might be making important points by paraphrasing the students, but the students are guiding the lesson. Therefore, the teacher is very flexible and takes advantage of the moments.
ReplyDeleteThe students will not take the risk to be actively involved if they do not trust the teacher. So I completely agree with the statements earlier in regards to taking time to build the relationship with the students. I start the process to build relationships with my students by making taking time at the beginning of the year to have a conversation with each individual student. I also encourage and offer support to students to participate in sports, clubs and other organizations. By taking an interest in who they are and what is important to them, they tend to be more inclined to trust me to help them learn.
Wow, thanks guys! Great input. It sounds like you all agree that taking time to build trusting, caring relationships with students is an important part of having actively engaged learners. Creating activities that are relevant to their lives and having a voice in things that are planned is also important. Val's comment about being the guide reminds me of an analogy I once heard. You are the traffic cop directing the car in traffic, not the motorist driving the car in traffic. Let the students do the driving! Thanks for your comments!
ReplyDeleteI agree, giving students ownership makes a huge difference. A goal of mine is to continue growing in this area. (It's also one of my biggest challenges.) However, I started small, with class meetings. The students gave suggestions and constructive feedback. I listened. I learned it’s worthwhile. Amazingly, many of their suggestions on improving the class and the lessons are in alignment with educational research.
ReplyDeleteThen, I noticed how well they were with finding solutions when I started doing service learning. It was new to me, so we spent time together, moving the projects forward. They felt useful and invested, and, as a result, they tried much harder than I had experienced in the past, even with my best planned lessons. Now, I am convinced that if I want them to be fully engaged, they need to have a voice in what we are doing and how we are going to accomplish it.
Another helpful way I have gotten feedback from them is through "Teacher Evaluations," which they complete periodically, throughout the year. While I always get one or two wacky suggestions, I see themes in their responses that show me where and what I need to change. Some of the best changes I’ve made have been a result of their feedback. And, I must say, they love it when I remind them that they, too, teach me how to improve!
Lisa Buchmeier
How do I get students to be actively engaged?? I don't answer their questions!!!! I know that sounds really strange for a teacher to say. The reality is that students ask teachers for the answers all the time, they don't ask how to go about finding the answer for themselves. So when they ask me questions, I turn it around on them and I keep asking them questions until they discover it on their own. They will eventually realize that they can discover more on their own than simply asking me for the answer... because I won't give it to them.
ReplyDeleteMy approach to introducing new material is to (as often as possible)relate the information to something they already know and then start asking open ended questions until I lead them to the new information. I love to lay "a trap" and lead them to it with a trail of breadcrumbs.
Lisa I agree. I don't think that you can ever go wrong listening to the kids. I think everyone knows how much I value service learning as method of teaching that is sure to engage all students at a high level. Thanks for your input. Aimee, I call that the Socratic Seminar. What a great way to challenge kids. I love your analogy with the breadcrumbs! Thank you for commenting.
ReplyDeleteWe are studying this idea in my online course at P2PU: Student Engagement- http://p2pu.org/en/groups/pd-on-p2pu-engaging-students-and-checking-for-understanding/
ReplyDeleteFor me, engagement is a VERY big subject area that involves many aspects of teaching and learning. Teaching that I have seen that engages, seems to use a type of chemistry with one or a number of these elements:
relationship and rapport
relevance, importance, or fun
choice
novelty
participation
interaction
creativity
music, art, physical learning
fabulous questioning (especially open-ended)
zone of proximal development
technology
student opinion and argument
wonderment/curiosity
creation and encouragement of student agency
culture-classroom and beyond
purpose and meaning
:)Great topic
Bonita