Engagemeent STRATEGIES

The goal of engagement is to deepen the student's understanding.

Marzano, R. J., & Marzano, R. J. (2019). The handbook for the new art and science of teaching. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.

Effective teachers engage students in activities that help students connect what they already know with new content.

Marzano, R. J., & Marzano, R. J. (2019). The handbook for the new art and science of teaching. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.

Strategies to keep students engaged

Monitoring individual student engagement
Monitoring overall class engagement
Using self-reported student engagement data
Re-engaging individual students
Boosting overall class energy levels

Monitoring individual student engagement

Whole-class instruction:

Note-taking
Making direct eye contact or following the teacher with his or her eyes
Reacting to content being presented

Following directions
Asking questions or presenting comments related to content
Responding to question when called upon

Small-group instruction:

Interacting with other students
Maintaining appropriate volume levels

Referring to text or instructions while working
Taking notes while working
When queried, identifying the work their group has accomplished

Independent work:

Working quietly
Keeping eyes focused on work at hand

Writing in text or on handouts
Not interacting with or being distracted by other students

Monitoring overall class engagement

Characteristics of high and low engagement

High Levels

Students are alert and attentive
Different students volunteer to answer questions
Class discussion is fruitful & needs little guidance
Students can explain what they find interesting
Students can work independently or as a group, while staying on task
Students respond to cues

Low Levels

Majority of students seem bored or disengaged
Some students are disruptive or act out and successfully distract others
Students regularly incorrectly answer questions about content addressed during class
Teacher spends the majority of their time dealing with problematic students rather than teaching

Students are NOT Engaged, now what?

Monitoring individual student engagement

The teacher scans the room and identifies specific students who appear to be disengaged. The teacher engages in this type of monitoring during small-group instruction as well as during individual seatwork.

Monitoring overall class engagement

The teacher monitors levels of engagement of the whole class. When monitoring class engagement, a teacher assesses the degree to which the class seems interested in the work-at-hand without focusing on specific students.

Using self-reported student engagement data

The teacher periodically asks students to signal their level of engagement. The teacher might ask students to self-report their engagement levels informally by asking students to raise their hands if they feel their energy levels dropping or create a system to let students consistently report their engagement.

Re-engaging individual students

Once a teacher identifies a student who is not engaged or reacting to the content he or she is presenting, the teacher takes action to re-engage that specific student.

Boosting overall class energy levels

If a teacher notices that the energy levels in the classroom as a whole are low, the teacher ceases instruction and announces that something must be done to increase everyone's engagement. The teacher invites students to provide suggestions.

Re-Engaging Individual Students

Teacher actions

Remove the distraction - For example, something outside can be distracting students. Once the teacher closes the window blinds/curtains or closes the door, the outside stimuli is removed.

Directly call on student - If a student appears to be bored or not paying attention , the teacher can simply directly call on the student for his or her input.

Ask the student - If a student is disengaged during class, the teacher could query the student about their engagement level either either after class or during a class transition.

Report abuse