Nov 10, 2018 – JOURNAL OF EDUCATION AND DEVELOPMENT. Multi-disciplinary …. Dr. Pramila Kudva. 374. A STUDY ON classroom Management… Vol-8, No.16, December 2018.

CLASSROOM ENGAGEMENT – A 21 ST CENTURY SKILL

The term “21st-century skills” is generally used to refer to certain core competencies such as collaboration and communication, digital literacy and critical thinking, which, the educationists believe, the schools need to teach in order to help the students to thrive in the world to come.

Engagement is so important that even a TV show involves the audience in rating on the spot to get more involvement! The Indian reality show ‘Kaun banega Karorepati’ is a classic example.

Using the same yardstick, it is critical to use student engagement techniques that make students actively involved. This involvement is greater than mere participation. To differentiate between the two – In a workshop the participant engages in the activity when he / she discusses, debates, makes presentations. A participant merely attends the workshop.

What is Student engagement?

Student involvement or engagement is the involvement of the minds of all learners with that which is to be learned. It is based on the belief that learning improves when students are inquisitive, interested, or inspired.

In a classroom set up, the attention span of the students is most crucial. Most students can only sit and absorb information for fifteen minutes at a time. Many students can’t focus for ten minutes! Only way to ensure that they learn is to actively engage them in the teaching learning process.

Student engagement will help them to think, to pair and to share their learning. Collaborative learning teams are said to attain higher level thinking and preserve information for longer times than students working individually.

The teacher directed classrooms lead to passive learning and do not lend themselves to critical thinking, dialogue or involvement. Participative classrooms lead to engagement. It is based on the collaborative teaching techniques that include students teaching one another. In other words, the teaching is not teacher directed. Teacher is a facilitator who builds up strategies and techniques that make the students teach one another, discuss and learn together.

Journal of Education & Development | 374 Vol-8, No.16, December 2018 UGC Approved Journal – 41042

ISSN: 2248-9703

What leads to student engagement?

The teacher should be approachable, well prepared, and sensitive to student needs. In this case, the students would be more committed to work, get more out of the session and are more willing to express their opinions.

Teachers should create learning that is active, collaborative, and fosters learning relationships. Mere worksheets lead to a mechanical way of working. Start classes with a puzzle to be solved or a mystery to be understood.

Two of the techniques discussed in this article that lead to classroom engagement are Flipped classrooms and paired/group activity.

1. Flipped classrooms

Flipped classroom is an instructional strategy and a type of blended learning that reverses the traditional learning environment by delivering instructional content, often outside of the classroom.

The main goal in flipping a class is to cultivate deeper, richer learning experiences for students when the instructor is present to coach and guide them. Emphasis is on higher-order thinking skills and application to complex problems.

According to Bergmann and Sams (2012), there are numerous ways to flip your class. If the flipped class is to be held based on a video of the content given to them before hand, typically the class would go like this:

The student allocated the task would ask questions on the video seen earlier, clarifies misconceptions if any during the Q & A session and then the whole class would be involved in the planned activity.

Journal of Education & Development | 375 Vol-8, No.16, December 2018 UGC Approved Journal – 41042

ISSN: 2248-9703

Comparison of Class Time in Traditional versus Flipped Classrooms

The video could be replaced with the lecture notes in the form of explanations, Graphic organisers and so on. Flipped class room is also referred to under paired and group activity.

2. Paired and Group activity

It might appear that such activities are difficult in a literature class. Given below is a broad outline of a lesson plan – Poem Silver by Walter de la Mare for Grade 6

Introduction: Teacher shows two images and builds on perceptions leading to imagery.

Teacher introduces the poem Silver by Walter de la Mare.

Walter de la Mare

Procedure:

1. Teacher puts up a picture which was inspired by the poem on the Smart Board. Paired activity: Students discuss in pairs what they observe.

2. They describe the night and the flora and fauna lit by the moonlight. They describe the mood indicated by the picture. These words are listed out on the Board.

3. Teacher reads the poem loudly and students listen to her with the books closed. Teacher reads the poem loudly again and students follow the poem with the books open.

4. Paired activity: [This should be easy since the responses to the image is already on the board]. Teacher asks the students to find out the answers to the questions which would also include the rhyming scheme, figures of speech etc.

5. Teacher goes around and checks the activity.

6. Students answer the questions. Teacher gets the other students to correct the answers wherever needed and explains the new concepts.

7. Teacher asks them to teach the answers to one another.

Summarising:

Group activity

a. Teacher gives a poem on a similar theme by a different author to read and discuss. Summarise the meaning and compare it with Silver. Students can use their dictionary or thesaurus.

It might appear that the time taken to teach the lesson in this manner might be a little more than that of a traditional lesson. But, the learning would be retained. The technique used would be collaborative – think, pair and share technique is used extensively. The pairing between an average and an above average child would help in peer learning.

Journal of Education & Development | 377 Vol-8, No.16, December 2018 UGC Approved Journal – 41042

ISSN: 2248-9703

Assessing classroom engagement

Educators may hold different views on student engagement and it may be interpreted differently. For example, in one school observable behaviours such as attending class, listening attentively, participating in discussions, turning in the work on time and following rules and directions may be perceived as “engagement,” Whereas, in another school the concept of “engagement” may be largely understood in terms of enthusiasm, curiosity, optimism, motivation, or interest. So, the criteria of engagement need to be clearly defined by the stakeholders of the school.

Steps of planning for the teachers to bring about classroom engagement:

1. Consider what evidence needs to be collected to prove that students have met the goal.

2. The main difference between students who are engaged and those who are not is the way they respond to the situation or tasks at hand.

3. Specify the knowledge and skills that they will provide to demonstrate evidence of understanding.

4. Design a sequence of lessons, activities and learning experiences to help them master the knowledge/skills

5. Specify apt teaching and coaching strategies, such as direct instruction and cooperative learning.

6. Help the student to believe that he / she can learn. Build on the self-belief.

7. Use the 3-2-1 method of summarising – Students share in their group, 3 things they learnt, 2 interesting things and one question they have about what is taught.

Variation: You could ask students to record three of the most important ideas from the lesson or text, two supporting details for each of these ideas, and one question they have about each of these ideas.

Reading: Have students record three of the most important ideas from the text, two supporting details for each of the ideas, and one question they have about each of the ideas.

Compare and Contrast 3-2-1

As a way to compare and contrast, have students record three similarities between two items, two differences, and one question they still have about them.

8. Use the 10:2 method while the class is in progress. For every 10 minutes of instruction, allow 2 minutes for students to respond. It also helps if the

Journal of Education & Development | 378 Vol-8, No.16, December 2018 UGC Approved Journal – 41042

ISSN: 2248-9703

teacher were to get the students to get up and respond e.g. if the word is an adverb stand up.

Finally, I quote Alvin Toffler, “The illiterate of the 21st Century will not be those who cannot read and write but those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn”.

References

1. Maryellen W. PhD. 10 Ways to Promote Student Engagement

2. Zepke, N., and Leach, L. (2010). Improving student engagement: Ten proposals for action. Active Learning in Higher Education, 11 (3), 167-177.

3. Bergmann, J., & Sams, A. (2012). Flip Your Classroom: Reach Every Student in Every Class Every Day (pp. 120-190). Washington DC: International Society for Technology in Education.

4. https://www.facinghi9999story.org/resource-library/teaching-strategies/3-2-1