On this page you will find:

* an explanation of learning engagements

* 4 videos and photos showing Grade 2 learning engagements and Grade 3 learning engagements (also found on the Planners and Videos page)

* the role of cross curricular learning (scroll to bottom of the page to view this)

What is a learning engagement?

A learning engagement is a classroom activity (or outdoor/field trip) that intentionally addresses a learning goal. It is a meaningful exercise meant to ensure students interact with the critical content of the unit. There are many examples of excellent learning engagements in the specific expectations of the Ontario curricula.

When beginning a unit of inquiry, the introductory context needs more explicit direction and guidance from the teacher. Early on, the teacher may provide guiding questions to lead students to a specific insight, or may present the context in a way that highlights the concepts at play. Texts, videos, or class activities should be designed to lead students down a fairly straightforward path of understanding. The goal is convergent, meaning that the teacher wants all students to uncover (roughly) the same conceptual relationships. (Stern, Lauriault, Ferraro, 2017)

In the early lessons of our unit we worked on building French vocabulary to support students with communicating their thinking about their new learning. Learning engagements introduced the vocabulary students would need to in order to begin to make connections. Labeling activities, definition activities and purposeful reading were some of the learning engagements that supported the development of French vocabulary.

It is essential that students stop to explicitly reconsider their understanding of the Big Idea by returning to the guiding conceptual question several times throughout the unit of study, not just at the end. The concept board is helpful in structuring these activities.

The four major steps in any Concept-Based lesson framework are as follows:

1. Students respond with initial thoughts to conceptual questions about the relationship between the concepts.

2. Students explore one or more specific contexts that illustrate the nature of the relationship and give students the fact base needed for deep thinking.

3. Students explain (write, draw, tell, etc.) a statement of conceptual relationship with evidence from the context to help support and explain the relationship.

4. Students transfer their understanding to a new situation. (Stern, Lauriaut, Ferraro, 2017)

Videos:

Grade 2 Learning Activity

Grade 3 Learning Engagement

Exploring the Globe

Building Vocabulary and Concepts

The Role of Cross Curricular Planning

Teachers who are experienced with inquiry-based instruction are familiar with the way that most subject areas become drawn organically and intentionally into the learning. It is this experience that can be unsettling for teachers who are newer to inquiry. Because inquiry methods require teachers to be responsive and to frame learning as it is happening it is important to have a structure to refer to. Using our planning tools, like the concept board and planner, can be useful for providing this structure. In our planning activities we looked to all areas of the curriculum for content that would support the conceptual understandings of our social studies learning goals.

• We used perspective drawing to help student communicate their understanding of physical environment (Visual Arts)
• We used measurement concepts for temperature to help students make relationships to climate (Mathematics)
• We used 3-D geometry concepts when students created models of their homes (Mathematics)
• We drew on MANY language curriculum expectations in our response writing and opinion texts activities (Language Arts)

Bringing in other subjects such as visual arts, drama, math and outdoor education to support learning is a great way of engaging students. It also provides a different lens through which the students can learn, appealing to the different strengths of our students.