What Eric Jensen Says About Student Engagement

Eric Jensen’s Engaging Students with Poverty in Mind discusses collaborative conversations primarily through the lens of building strong, respectful relationships and fostering a supportive classroom culture. While the book may not use the exact phrase “collaborative conversations” frequently, it strongly emphasizes strategies that support this type of interaction, including:

• Building a safe, inclusive environment where students feel valued and respected, which is essential for effective peer-to-peer dialogue.

• Teaching social-emotional skills, including how to listen actively, respond constructively, and express ideas clearly—key skills for meaningful collaboration.

• Modeling and scaffolding interactions, particularly for students who may lack exposure to rich, respectful dialogue at home.

• Using cooperative learning structures that require students to work together toward common goals, naturally fostering collaborative conversation.

Jensen’s core argument is that positive relationships and cognitive engagement—often facilitated through dialogue—can dramatically increase motivation and achievement, particularly for students from low-income backgrounds.

Classroom strategies from the book that encourage collaborative conversations:

1. Think-Pair-Share with a Twist (Chapter 5: "Engage for Motivation and Effort")

Jensen emphasizes the power of structured interaction. To deepen collaboration:

• Ask a higher-order question (e.g., “Why do you think the character made that choice?”).

• Give students a moment to think silently, then pair up.

• During the share phase, have each partner summarize what their peer said first, then add their own thoughts.
  ✅ Why it works: This builds active listening and respectful dialogue—skills students in poverty may not practice regularly outside school.

2. Role-Based Discussions (Chapter 5: "Engage for Motivation and Effort")

Give students specific roles in a small-group discussion:

• Facilitator, Note-Taker, Timekeeper, Devil’s Advocate (gently challenges ideas), etc.

• Rotate roles weekly to build different conversation and leadership skills.
  ✅ Why it works: Roles create structure, accountability, and a sense of purpose in conversations, especially for students who may feel unsure or hesitant to speak up.

3. Use Sentence Starters to Scaffold Talk (Chapter 4: "Engage to Build Cognitive Capacity")

Many students, especially those from poverty, benefit from language scaffolds to help them engage in academic dialogue. Jensen suggests providing sentence stems like:

• “I agree with ___ because…”

• “I’d like to add to what ___ said…”

• “Can you explain what you meant when you said…”

Display these visibly and refer to them often during discussions.
✅ Why it works: This reduces anxiety around “saying the wrong thing” and gives students the tools to participate confidently and respectfully.

4. Academic Peer Coaching (Chapter 4: "Engage to Build Cognitive Capacity")

Pair students up for peer coaching after a mini-lesson or task.

• One student explains their thinking while the other listens and gives feedback or asks clarifying questions.

• Then they switch roles.
  Jensen notes this reinforces learning while building interpersonal and metacognitive skills.

✅ Why it works: It promotes reflection, deepens understanding, and gives students consistent, structured opportunities to talk about their thinking with a partner.