Engaging Students In Learning
Comprehensive Induction Program
Delaware Performance Appraisal System II

Activities and Assignments

Grouping of Students

Instructional Materials and Resources

Structure and Pacing of the Lesson
Component 3- Criterion 3a
What Is Student
Engagement
Student Engagement
minutes—think of a time (as
teacher, learner or observer) when you
experienced high levels of student
engagement.
 Alone: Three
 Group: Share
 Brainstorm a
your experience.
list on chart paper: What does
student engagement look like?
Activity
Attentive
Committed
Engaged
Connected
Persistent
“Students who are engaged are
involved, but not all students who are
involved are engaged.”- Philip
Schlechty
Student Engagement Defined
1.Engagement - (High Attention and
Commitment to the tasks at hand)
2.Strategic Compliance - (High Attention and
Low Commitment the tasks at hand)
3.Ritual Compliance - (Low Attention and Low
Commitment to the tasks at hand)
4.Retreatism - (No Attention and No
Commitment)
5.Rebellion - (Diverted Attention)
5 Student Responses to Work
Engaged
Strategically
Compliant
Ritually
Compliant
Retreatist
Rebel
Create
Create
Create
Learn Little
Learn Little
Evaluate
Evaluate
Evaluate
Negative
Attitudes
Negative
Attitudes
Analyze
Analyze
Analyze
Disengages/
Disrupts
Disrupts
Apply
Apply
Apply
Understand
Understand
Understand
Remember
Recall/
Remember
Recall-Short
Term
Typical Student Activities
Delivering Engaging
Instruction
Student Engagement
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Make the students the center of your
classroom.
Smile at your students.
Greet your students when they walk into the
classroom.
Overlook what you can.
Establish procedures and routines early.
Laugh at yourself.
Eliminate personal habits that may annoy
kids.
Use multiple modes of learning.
Talk less than your students.
Improving Your Charisma
Don’t
Do
Talk more than your students.
Design activities that encourage your
students to speak with each other.
Create lessons that allow your students to
be passive.
Skip the worksheets and ask students to
solve puzzles, debate points, engage in
other open-ended thinking activities.
Let the push for accountability cause you
to neglect those “teachable moments”.
Turn any occasion into a learning event in
your classroom.
Allow yourself to drift when it comes to
finding the correct pace for delivery of
instruction.
Plan alternate lessons in case the pace you
initially set for a lesson needs adjustment.
Allow your students to sit around with
nothing to do while they wait for class to
begin or end.
Plan more work than you think your
students will be able to accomplish.
Confuse your students by giving hurried or
unclear directions.
Deliver a combination of written and verbal
directions and check for student
understanding.
Avoid Common Pitfalls
USE YOUR VOICE
EFFECTIVELY
VIDEOTAPE YOURSELF
SET THE STAGE
MASTER THE ART OF
PAUSE
KNOW YOUR
AUDIENCE
LEARN TO MAINTAIN
EYE CONTACT
COMMAND ATTENTION
USE BODY LANGUAGE
TO MOIVATE YOUR
LISTENERS
Improve Your Oral Presentations
Help Students Make a
Personal Connection to the
Lesson
•Include names, interests, hobbies and cultures of your students when
creating your lessons.
Present a Slideshow
•Have students create their own PPT slide summarizing the key points
of your lesson.
Invite Guest Speakers Into
Your Class
•Having students hear from members of the professional community
who have a connection to the topic can reinforce points you are trying
to make.
Use a Variety of Media
•Try using newspapers, cartoons, music, magazines, etc. when trying to
demonstrate how you want something done.
Display a Statement on the
Board
•Immediately play a video that supports the statement.
Surprise the Students With
Theater
•Use theater techniques to stage a reenactment. Wear a costume (or
have students wear costumes) to re-emphasize a point.
Make a Point Students Remember
Engage Students During Lectures
Before
During
•
Post procedures in
a prominent place
•
Enforce the
procedures
•
Determine the
purpose of the
discussion
•
Introduce the
discussion topic
•
•
Create the
questions your
students will
discuss
•
•
Arrange the room
Explain the
importance of
supporting their
opinions
Encourage deeper
thinking and risk
taking
•
Recognize
speakers
•
Get out of the way
After
•
Have students
reflect (written or
oral)
•
What went well
•
Suggestions for
improvement
•
Retelling of the
important points
•
Written summary
Engage Students in Discussions
Engage Students With Games
Concept Maps
Description Maps
Graphic
Organizers
Time Sequence
Maps
Cause-and-Effect
Maps
Engage Students With Graphic
Organizers
1.
Cultivate your communication skills and charisma
2.
Fully plan and prepare for oral presentations
3.
Pay attention to all aspects of delivery (voice, demeanor, and body
language)
4.
Plan ways to encourage students to stay on track and on task
5.
Take advantage of the power of play
6.
Use graphic organizers
7.
Use hands-on manipulatives to enliven lessons
8.
Provide examples of what you expect of students
9.
Even mundane seatwork can be made more appealing and creative with
careful planning
Student Engagement Strategies
Summarized

Schlechty, Phillip C. Engaging Students: The Next Level of
Working On The Work. First ed. San Francisco: JosseyBass, 2011. Print.

Thompson, Julia G. The First-Year Teacher's Survival
Guide. Third ed. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2013. Print.
Sources