Student Engagement
Embedded Files
Question or Topic:
“Engagement- how to work with students who refuse to work with their peer or do not talk to their class partner/group”
What:
How do you motivate productive collaboration within your classroom? First, figure out what's going on with the uncollaborative student. Also, do the structures you are using require or only invite students to collaborate with one another?
Why:
You already know collaboration is essential to today's classroom -- especially in the age of Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and the Partnership for 21st Century Skills Framework (P21). Students who truly collaborate construct knowledge together. When we ask students to collaborate, we’re asking them to take responsibility for their learning.
How/Resources:
Do you know is it a will or skill problem that they are not engaged?
Megan - I can share that I observe students (one working [choosing not to collaborate] and one not working [skill deficit])
Megan - In another partner set, they are capable but don’t work.
Kayla - 2 partners not engaging [will]
Shane - 2 partners with 1 okay and the other seems to suffer from both [will/skill]
Seems like collaboration skills have plummeted since the pandemic
Discussion Protocols that Engage All Students (for Grades 6-12) - Edutopia
Numbered Heads Together:
What it is: Numbered Heads Together is a cooperative learning strategy that holds each student accountable for learning the material by having students work together in a group.
Video - Numbered Heads Together Formative Assessment - Rebecca Woodlock, Forbes Middle School
Explanation - TeacherVision
Math - An example of numbered heads together can be used when solving math problems. Ask questions such as "What are the facts in this problem?" "Which strategy would be most appropriate?" and "What solution did your group agree on?"
Timed-Pair-Share:
What it is: Timed-Pair-Share is a cooperative learning strategy that holds each student accountable for learning the material by creating equal participation for elaborate responses.
Video - Teacher Toolkit: Time Pair Share
Explanation - And HOW it is different than the typical Think-Pair-Share
Let's contrast Think-Pair-Share and Timed-Pair-Share. On the surface these two strategies appear interchangeable. Upon analysis, however, we discover one produces equal participation and the other seldom does.
In a Think-Pair-Share, the teacher first guides the students to think about a topic, saying something like, "What was your reaction to the poem I just read?" After allowing "Think Time," the teacher instructs students to pair up and discuss their thoughts. Finally, the teacher calls on students one at a time to share with the whole class what was discussed. The teacher may call on students either to share their own thoughts or those of their partner.
In a Timed-Pair-Share, the teacher first has students think about a topic. Then for a pre-announced time (often a minute), one student in each pair shares his/her thoughts while the partner just listens. Finally, the students reverse roles, so the listener becomes the speaker and the speaker the listener, for the same amount of predetermined time.
Whereas there is nothing in Think-Pair-Share to make verbalization time equal within the pairs or during the class sharing time, Time-Pair-Share is carefully designed to equalize participation. Upon observation in Think-Pair-Share we find some students always doing most or even all of the talking, and other students doing little or none. Those who most need to practice verbalization are those least likely to verbalize. This unequal participation is not possible with a Timed-Pair-Share because equal time is structured into the interaction. In fact, the Kagan approach to Cooperative Learning is called the structural approach; we structure for the outcomes we value.
Page updated
Report abuse