Engagement Strategies That Work

Erin Stutzman, Ed.S.- PBiS CoachNatalie Hilton, Ed.S.- PBiS coach

What is Engagement?Think (ink): ● What is engagement? What

does it look like, sound like?

Pair: Turn to your elbow partner

Share: 1’s then 2’s● What is engagement?● How were your responses the

same? different?

NormsBe Respectful

Please silence all cell phonesParticipate in activitiesRemain engaged in presentation

Be ResponsibleTake notes in a way that works for youUse work time given to create a planAsk questions when something does not make senseFeel free to use the restroom as needed

Objectives● I will be able to state how active engagement increases

student learning.● I will be able to identify when and what engagement

strategies I will use to get students actively engaged in my classroom.

● I will be able to use a variety of engagement strategies (i.e. choral reading, cloze reading, Think, Pair, Share)

Engagement is...

Engagement IS: Doing, Reading, Answering, Speaking, Writing, Signaling, Performing, Thinking.

Engagement is NOT...

Engagement is NOT: Quietly watching others, Listening, Waiting for your turn, Pretending or faking, Just more seat work, Killing time quietly…

Engagement is NOT the strategy you choseIt is about:

o Why did I choose that strategy?o How will I structure the use of the strategy to make the thinking

of all my students visible?

Why use Engagement Strategies?

Knowing that six or seven students understand (i.e. those who raise their hands) is not the same as knowing that 32 do.~Fisher & Frey, pg. 37

You cannot measure their thinking if you cannot make their thinking visible. ~Anita Archer

Verbal ResponseWritten ResponseAction Response

Engaging ways to make thinking visible

THINK, INK, PAIR, SHAREThis is a 4 step protocol. 1. First we will think of as many ways as possible that a student could

verbally respond to a lesson.2. Then, we will individually write a list of all the ways we can think of.3. Then, we will share with our elbow partners.4. Then we will share out with the large group.

Engagement- Verbal Response

Verbal Responses-Choral Responses● Use when answers are short and the same

Students are looking at teacher:● Ask question● Put your hands up to indicate silence● Give thinking time● Lower your hands as you say, "everyone"

Students are looking at common stimulus:● Point to stimulus● Ask question● Give thinking time● Tap for response

Choral Responses● Provide adequate thinking time

● Have students show signal to you that they are ready to respondo thumbs upo eyes on you

● If students do not respond or if they blurt out an answer- REPEAT

Choral Reading

● Read passage with students● Read at a moderate rate● Tell students, "keep your voice with mine".

Let's PracticeChoral reading has a number of benefits over round-robin reading. First, more students are on task and gaining reading practice. Second, because you are reading with your students, you are modeling appropriate fluency, and prosody. Finally, you provide support for the lowest-readers, because they immediately hear any words they did not know.

Cloze Reading● Use anytime you have to read something (directions, paragraph, word

problem)● Teach the students how to do it before you ask them to do it. Practice

doing this and give feedback.● Ask students to put their finger on the first word they are going to read.● Monitor to make sure all students have their finger on the word –or- tell

them to look at their partner and see if their partner has their finger on the word.

● Begin reading pausing at meaningful words. The students will read that word. (If it is two words that go together like United States, you delete the second word).

Let's PracticeThe cloze procedure is very useful when you want all students to be attentive and you want to read the material quickly. Cloze Reading can be used for reading directions, for reading an explanation of a process in a textbook, for reading the initial pages of a chapter, for reading examples and nonexamples, for rereading a passage to increase decoding fluency, and to read a math story problem.

Verbal Responses:Partners ● Use when the answers are long or different

Partners:o Assign partnerso Pair lower performing students with middle performing studentso Give each partner a number 1 or 2

Partner 1 share with Partner 2; Partner 2 share with Partner 1o Use triads only when necessary

Assign a strong student to be 1 and the weaker student to be one of the 2's.

Verbal Responses-Partners● Other helpful hints:

o Teach students how to work together: Look, Lean. Listen, Whisper

o Explain that partners are not related to "friendships" but a working relationship.

o Occasionally change the partnerships (every three to six weeks)

o Join two partnerships to work in cooperative teamso Consider using a sentence starter like “ I agree with the

assertion….”o Consider putting numbers 1 and 2 on tables

Anita Archer- SLANT Strategy

● Chants (When we write, we TAP, TAP, TAP. They know �this means think Topic, Audience, Purpose)

● Songs �● Pull sticks-They all have to be on task as they do not �

know who will be called on. You can also ‘faux pull sticks’ when needed.

● Study, tell, help, check�● Whip around or pass�

More verbal responses...

● Think about your objectiveo What do you want students to understand at the end of the lesson?

● Think about assessmento What is the best way to determine if students are meeting the

objective? o How will you be able to see their thinking?

● Think about feedbacko How can you provide the most effective, timely feedback to the most

students?

Effective Engagement Planning

Planning Time

Which verbal strategy would you like to try and incorporate on your first day? ● Pick 1● Star your choice on the Engagement Strategies handout or add to the

bottom if not on the list

How do you plan to use this strategy?● Remember to consider the objective, assessment, and feedback

THINK, INK, PAIR, SHAREThis is a 4 step protocol. 1. First we will think of as many ways as possible that a

student could respond in writing to a lesson.2. Then, we will individually write a list of all the ways we

can think of.3. Then, we will share with our elbow partners.4. Then we will share out with the large group.

Engagement Written Response

● Use to quickly formatively assess all students● Teach students how to pass out or have access to white

boards, marker, erasers● Keep the pace quick● Model how students will show their answers● Provide instructions on what to answer● Give the cue of "write your answer" then give the cue of

"show me."

Written Response: Whiteboard

Sentence Frames

● Teacher provides student with sentence starter● ex- “ I predict that…”● Provides students with academic language that

we want them to use● Reminder of what you want them to be writing

about so they can focus on the content

● Timeline�● Hi-light�● Graphic Organizer�● Draw�● Write a sentence or word on paper, post-it, journal, log�● Quick write, ● Written exit ticket�

More Written Responses

Planning Time

Which written response strategy would you like to try and incorporate on your first day? ● Pick 1● Star your choice on the Engagement Strategies handout or add to the

bottom if not on the list

How do you plan to use this strategy?● Remember to consider the objective, assessment, and feedback

THINK, INK, PAIR, SHAREThis is a 4 step protocol. 1. First we will think of as many ways as possible that a

student could respond with actions to a lesson.2. Then, we will individually write a list of all the ways we

can think of.3. Then, we will share with our elbow partners.4. Then we will share out with the large group.

Engagement - Action Responses

● Touch things (Put your finger on....)● Clickers● Thumbs up/down● Fist to Five (report out answer or level of understanding)● Stand up/sit down● Agree/disagree cards● Claps● 4 corners● Act something out

More Action Responses

Planning time

Which action response strategy would you like to try and incorporate on your first day?

● Pick 1● Star your choice on the Engagement Strategies handout or add to the

bottom if not on the list

How do you plan to use this strategy?● Remember to consider the objective, assessment, and feedback

Practice● Watch Emily Fisher a LPS Teacher at Dawes Middle

School

● Write down each engagement strategy you see Emily using

● After video, use give one, get one strategy with elbow partner

It’s not what you say or do that ultimately matters. It is what you get the STUDENTS to do as a result of what you said and did that counts.~Kevin Feldman

If we choose to take just a few well-known, straightforward actions, in every subject area, we can make swift, dramatic improvements in schools. Some believe we could virtually eliminate the achievement gap within a few years.~Mike Schmoker

Two Closing Thoughts

Exit TicketOn half sheet of paper please answer the following questions

1. Write down one way you will intentionally plan to use engagement strategies to make student learning visible in your classroom.

2. What resources will you need to carry out your plan?

3. How we can make this presentation more useful to others in the future?

ReferencesArcher, Anita L., and Charles A. Hughes. Explicit Instruction: Effective and Efficient

Teaching. New York: Guilford, 2011.Brookhart, Susan M. How to Give Effective Feedback to Your Students. Alexandria,

VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 2008.Fisher, Douglas, and Nancy Frey. Checking for Understanding: Formative

Assessment Techniques for Your Classroom.Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 2007.

Marzano, Robert J., Debra Pickering, and Jane E. Pollock. Classroom Instruction That Works: Research-based Strategies for Increasing Student Achievement. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 2001.

Schmoker, Michael J. Focus: Elevating the Essentials to Radically Improve Student Learning. Alexandria, VA: ASCD, 2011.

Video/Web Resourceshttp://docushare.lps.org/docushare/dsweb/Get/Document-1074509/Emily%20Fisher%20Root%20Words.m4v

http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.theteachertoolkit.com%2Findex.php%2Ftool%2Fstudent-response-cards&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNFuwTibBaIegnBCUI0XAIzZzn8eig

http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fdocushare.lps.org%2Fdocushare%2Fdsweb%2FGet%2FDocument-1208738%2FRachel%2520Bruce%2520Choral%2520Response%2520and%2520Reading.mov&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNFZ3QCxySpOBuygPkpbfdT8HhqYmQ

http://explicitinstruction.org/