Student Engagement: A Key Feature for Academic Success

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Student EngagementA Key Feature for Academic
Success

• Nancy A. Mundschenk, Ph.D.
• Southern Illinois University
• PBIS Winter Leadership Conference
• January 15, 2009

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Chicken or Egg?

• Many children bring with them to school
  well-developed and practiced behaviors that
  interfere with learning.

• Others have learning needs that make it difficult
  for them to attend and engage
• with instruction.

(Gresham, 2004 Reed, Patterson, Snyder, 2003
Walker, et al., 1993)
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In a Nut Shell

• Daily Achievement Precedes Adjustment

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Highlights of Effective Teachers

• Are clear about instructional goals
• Are knowledgeable about their content and
  strategies for teaching
• Communicate to students what is expected of them
  and why
• Make expert use of existing instructional
  materials in order to devote more time to
  instruction and practice
• Provide feedback from teachers and peers
• Provide frequent embedded practice opportunities
• Are knowledgeable about their students and adapt
  instruction to their needs
• Integrate instruction across content areas
• Are thoughtful, reflective practitioners

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Design and Delivery

• Features of well-designed programs include
• Explicitness of instruction for teacher and
  student
• Making it obvious for the student
• Systematic supportive instruction
• Building and developing skills
• Opportunities for practice
• Modeling and practicing the skill
• Cumulative review
• Revisiting and practicing skills to increase
  strength
• Integration of Big Ideas
• Linking essential skills

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Secondary example (Marzano, 2003)

• Bring your papers, pencils, books,
• Unless you want my dirty looks.
• Class will start-I know Im pushy-
• When in your seat I see your tushy.
• You need to know that its expected
• That you respect and feel respected.
• Watch your words and be polite,
• Avoid aggression, please dont bite.
• Sometimes youll sit, sometimes youll walk,
• Sometimes youll listen, sometimes youll talk.
• Please do each of these on cue.
• Listen to me, Ill listen to you

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• These rules exist so we can learn.
• Obey them and rewards youll earn.
• I also feel compelled to mention.
• Breaking rules will mean detention.
• If these rules seem strict and terse,
• Please make suggestions, but only in verse.

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Scaffolding instruction

• Direction that provide more structure
• Tape recorders
• Re-teaching
• Study guides
• Modeling
• Graphic organizers
• Reading buddies
• Mnemonics
• Clear criteria for success
• Hands-on activities

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Engagement

• Engagement includes on-task behavior, but it
  further highlights the central role of students
  emotion, cognition, and voice.When engagement is
  characterized by the full range of on-task
  behavior, positive emotions, invested cognition,
  and personal voice, it functions as the engine
  for learning and development. (Reeve, 2006, p.
  658)

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Help Students Focus and Prepare for Learning

• All eyes up here.
• Lets get started.
• We can begin as soon as everyone is ready.
• Flipping the lights
• Ringing a bell or snapping fingers
• Clapping rhythmic pattern

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Help Students Focus Attention with Intensity and
Teacher Enthusiasm(Good Brophy, 2003)

• Rapid, uplifting vocal expression
• Varied voice inflection and vocabulary,
  expressive , wide-opened eyes
• Frequent hand gestures
• Animated facial expressions
• Animated acceptance of student ideas and feelings
• High energy level

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The effects of Teacher Enthusiasm

• Statistically significant differences were found
  between science lessons taught with and without
  enthusiasm on the unit test scores, student
  interest, and time on-task of 7th and 8th graders
  with Learning Disabilities in an urban school
  setting. (Brigham, Scruggs, Mastropieri, 1992)

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Simple Strategies

• SLANT (Ellis, 1991)
• Sit up
• Lean forward
• Activate your thinking-ask yourself, What is
  this about?
• Name Key information-answer questions, make
  comments
• Track the talker-teacher and other students

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Keep Students Actively Engaged
Increased opportunities to respond has been
shown to increase academic outcomes and
decrease disruptive behaviors (Lewis, Hudson,
Richter, Johnson, 2004 Sutherland Wehby,
2001)
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Simple Strategies

• Response cards are easy to construct, can be
  designed on the spot, and can be used for short
  answer, true/false, multiple-choice,
  fill-in-the-blank questions.

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Response Cards (Heward, 2009)

• Select a class period or lesson in which response
  cards will be used.
• Instruct students to get their dry erase boards
  or response cards.
• Present a chunk of the material/lesson
• Ask a question.
• Give students a few seconds to write their
  response.
• Signal them to show their answers.
• Scan the class, praise a few and present the
  correct answer.
• If several students made error, present another
  question on same concept.

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Effects of Response Cards

• Increases in active student responding
• Increased opportunities to respond, increased
  time-on-task, and increased academic achievement
  were observed with the use of response cards with
  4th graders (Christle Schuster, 2003).

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Wait Time

• Post-teacher-question wait time
• Allow 3 seconds
• Within-student pause time
• Remember 3 seconds!
• Post-student-response wait time
• Give time for others to think of making a
  contribution
• Teacher pause time
• Allow time for students to process what you
• Dramatic pause time

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Student Interest

• Students learn by making connections. Use real
  tasks
• Instead of a worksheet on , provide mail order
  catalogues and specific budget, then have
  students work in pairs to discount 5 items of
  their choice. Have student interview adults whose
  job seems interesting to them and ask how they
  use fractions/math in that job. Or for writing,
  have students write a letter to a real person
  describing an real event rather than composing a
  fictional, narrative story.

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Jigsaw Cooperative Learning Model

• Assign students to teams of 5 or 6 members.
• Each team member is given a unique assignment
  related to the topic.
• Members in other groups receive same assignments.
• Teams reform into expert groups to share and
  expand
• Members return to original teams to share
  knowledge and expertise

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SCREAM at your students! (Mastropieri Scruggs,
2000)

• Structure
• Clarity
• Redundancy
• Enthusiasm
• Appropriate rate
• Maximizing engagement

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Structure

• The first thing-and Mrs. (name of teacher), if
  you would like to write this on the board- the
  first thing youre going to do is get your
  supplies and aquariumThe second thing that I
  want you to do is put your gravel in, which is
  step number 2repeatsThe third thing thats
  going to happen is that you are going to fill out
  parts of your activity sheet.(Mastropieri
  Scruggs, 1998, p. 18)

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Rate of Correct Responding

• Gunter and Denny calculated rates of correct
  responses based on effective instruction
  recommendations of 4-6 responses per minute with
  at least 80 accuracy minimum should be 3
  correct per minute for new content.
• For drill and practice activities the recommended
  rate of 9-12 times per minute with a minimum of
  90 accuracy should be 8 correct per minute,
  minimum.

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Multi-Tiered Support for Engagement

• Remember, the tiers are represented as a
  triangle but they are levels of instruction and
  support NOT locations they are TYPE not PLACE.

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Supports at Each Tier
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Supports at Each Tier
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Supports at Each Tier
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Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together
is progress. Working together is success.

Henry Ford
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