Engaging Teens in Their Own Learning

8 Keys to Student Success

Paul Vermette

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2014
• ISBN:
  9781317926832
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

This book offers valuable teaching strategies to engage a diverse group of teens in thinking, understanding, and learning activities.

1

One Class in the Life…ENGAGING Mrs. Reallygood’s Students

Essential Question

How does one teach so that every teen is valued and can develop meaningful understanding?

Mrs. Reallygood

Jose, 15 years old, is a tenth grader at Roosevelt High School in Big City, USA. He is sitting in his third period science class with twenty-five others adolescents. He is fortunate because his teacher, Mrs. Reallygood, is a first-class teacher. She wants her students and their classes to be thoughtful, meaningful, and joyful, and she understands that each learner is a unique individual. She is a “master teacher” and her charges enjoy the experience of her class, realize that they are learning a lot, and are going to pass the dreaded state assessments in June. They know they must work together so that each can succeed. Ramona, who was classified as a “slow learner” when she went to private school, is doing well and also likes this class. She used to dislike Jose immensely because he always acted tough and “picked on” her and her friends, Jill and Mandy, but that doesn’t happen any more, either in class or out.

E	entice effort
N	negotiate meaning
G	group collaboratively
A	active learning
G	graphic organizers
I	intelligence interventions
N	note making
G	grade wisely

Class started at 10:00. An observer, using a modified shadow technique, observed the class and focused on Ramona and Jose. Brief interviews were conducted to gather confirming statements. Here are the observer’s notes. Please read the passage to interpret the quality of the teaching. (Consider jotting down your own comments on a piece of paper.)

10:03 Both Jose and Ramona are busy making a list of things they know about the respiratory system with their assigned teammates. Each offers a couple of ideas that make it onto the team list and each is keeping a personal list on butcher block paper that will be displayed later. Over the teacher’s desk is a sign that reads “How my lungs work…and why I care, ” which is the theme of the unit and their assignment.

10:07 Jose was interested and attended thoughtfully as two students, including Ramona, told stories of how loved ones had gotten lung cancer and died at a young age. He, himself, has a touch of asthma, although he hasn’t shared that information widely, and he thinks about how his own alveoli are similar to the ones of the people in the stories.

10:09 Reallygood knows about Jose’s health and gives him a quick look when a long-distance runner, Tim, tells about the effects of his training. Jose raises his hand and discloses to class about the ways that he has worked on his lungs. While sharing the story, Reallygood walks over behind him, stands nodding her head and smiling at him gently the whole time. She does speak once, offering a technical comment about oxygenated blood as Jose stops, listens carefully, and then continues.

10:23 The students are reading a short passage from a magazine about a teen with a lung problem who lives in a heavily polluted city. Each student has been asked to fill out a sheet called a Venn diagram, which will be compared to those generated by classmates in a few minutes. Ramona, who has reading difficulties, is quietly chatting with Jill who helps her with the passage and completion of the form.

10:32 As they are working together, Reallygood asks each student to personally draft a single sentence about what they thought the reading meant. (All do the task quickly.) Pairs of students informally share their sentences. Ramona tells Mandy about the dangers of smoking and Jose explains to Felix about how lungs operate differently when they are damaged.

10:40 As she makes her way around the room, Reallygood stops by Jose’s desk and tells him that his sentence would make a great opening for his essay. Caught off guard, Jose is pleased and makes a mental note of her comment. Then Reallygood asks him to help Mandy with her wording; he grunts an “OK” and slides his desk over to help her. Ramona is asking Jill about several word meanings and Reallygood chooses to leave them alone. She drifts from desk to desk, reading over the students’ shoulders.

10:54 The students are now working individually on their writing. Reallygood walks by Jose’s desk and adjusts his scrap notes so that he can see them; touching them has caused him to reexamine them. The process has also made the sheet called “rubric” become visible again. “Pretty good so far, ” is all she says.

11:08 Reallygood interrupts the entire class by asking for one minute of their time. She wants them all to state one thing that they have thought deeply about during class that day. “Tell your neighbor, ” she requests. When the noise dims, she calls on five students to tell their ideas to the whole class—they represent the variety of ideas present around the room. Every student has his or her idea represented and then they are thanked and told to get back to work.

11:21 Reallygood calls on Jerome, a large and hulking young man. He is asked to tell why he thinks they are writing this narrative. Seemingly surprised, he slowly says, “Well, we gotta know about…well, science and lungs and stuff…to help…you know…stay healthy.” Reallygood smiles and says to all, “You have thirty seconds to come up with three reasons. Please chat with those around you.” One minute later, she calls on Jerome again and then three others (including Ramona), each of whom has a good reason. As she tells the class to finish up and get ready to go to the next class, she writes the four reasons on the board.

11:24 As the students leave the room, Reallygood stands by the door and nods and smiles at each student. Holding a stack of rubrics in her left hand, Reallygood uses her right hand to wave or give a “thumbs up” sign. (She shakes hands with Jerome and gives a sloppy “high five” to Mandy.) She does remind them all that they should plan to work hard on their writing and finish it over the next few days.

Reflection Time

What did you think of this class? What did you think about the assignment, the material being considered, and the role the teacher chose to play? What did you think of the teacher’s use of time? How did Reallygood treat the students? How were students motivated to think deeply and carefully? How did the students seem to enjoy the experience? What was expected of them? What else could have been done to make the class more productive? In short: How good was this class?

As you analyze and evaluate her work, I ask you to ponder the following eight questions, which directly align with the eight factors involved in the ENGAGING process that I promote and articulate as the central theme of this book. Simply put, if we really care about teenagers and if their lives do “matter, ” the eight factors can be very powerful instructional tools. In some ways they have been foreshadowed in this exercise, but I ask that you articulate an answer for each of the following questions and ask you to reread segments of the description to clarify your own thinking.

1. How did the teacher get the students to do the meaningful thinking that was expected of them and how did she nurture positive relationships with each student?
2. How did the teacher get Ramona and Jose to think deeply about the essential content and concepts so that the ideas made personal sense?
3. How did the teacher develop a sense of belonging and the feeling of community so that everyone could interact safely and productively?
4. How did the teacher create and utilize opportunities for feedback for the efforts and accomplishments of every student?
5. How did the teacher use strategies and activities that helped learners organize, scaffold, and record their developing ideas?
6. How did the teacher use planned activities and spontaneous interactions to promote the learning efforts of Ramona and Jose?
7. How did the teacher assist students to document their own understandings of major ideas and organize them so they could be used and examined?
8. How did the teacher use “grades and marks” to promote a sense of justice and to avoid decreasing student effort?

Take a moment to reflect on your responses to these eight questions and to compare them with your original thinking as requested by the set of questions at the beginning of this section.

Eight ENGAGING Factors Described

The eight factors of the ENGAGING process are reintroduced in the narrative below. It is my contention that we are in the midst of a paradigm shift, moving to one that is student-thinking centered and away from the teacher-information-presenting one of traditional classrooms. Research in psychology and neurology supports this shift, and our history of failure with so many adolescents demands it. As you read over these eight factors, think again of Reallygood’s practices, your response to the eight questions above, and your interpretation of what her classroom looks like. Please keep your vision of her efforts in mind as you consider the key factors in the ENGAGING process.

Eentice effort and encourage continuously, building positive relationships at every opportunity

Nnegotiate meaningful understanding of essential content by each individual

Ggroup collaboratively, building and sustaining a community of thinkers and learners

Aactive learning strategies and assessments allow for frequent feedback and reinforcement

Ggraphic organizers provide structural prompts to help thinkers manage information and ideas

Iinterventions, both carefully planned activities and spontaneous interactions with individuals, build relationships, personal responsibility, and cognitive understandings

Nnote making, a process whereby a student records his or her own thinking and meaning, is far more powerful than the traditional note taking, which focused on simply transcribing information

Ggrade (mark) students and their work judiciously, for it can be a powerful motivator or a great source of discouragement

These eight factors all overlap, reinforce each other, and carry some essential themes that stand directly as advice to secondary teachers:

♦Care about the individual and know him or her as unique and valuable;

♦Expect students to think deeply by solving complex intellectual problems, relating to ideas personally, or creating something new;

♦Embed social, emotional, and cognitive skill development in meaningful works of conceptualization;

♦Make schoolwork an enjoyable, safe, and self-revealing process;

♦Use activities that are structured to entice teens to create and share thought and which encourage students to willfully take ownership of their own education; and

♦Do everything possible to build a sense of community within your classroom.

As you will learn later in the chapter, many theorists support the focus that has been placed on these eight factors. Glasser (1986), for example, sees motivation tied to fun, freedom, a sense of belonging, and power—all of which are represented here. Bruner (1996) acknowledges the central focus on concept development. Gardner (1983) recognizes unique sets of intelligences and asks that teachers adjust accordingly. Ladson-Billings’ (1994) culturally relevant teaching (CRT) places the individual’s personal and cultural experiences at the center of every lesson. Vygotsky (1962) recognizes the power of conversation as an essential learning tool and sees much of the process as interactive in nature. Piaget’s (1963) theories certainly support the need for an individual’s continuous analysis of ideas, and Dewey’s (1916) call for “investigations” laid the theoretical groundwork for the entire process.

So, one may ask, how did Reallygood measure up? The answer to that question varies with each of you; you are all unique, you have had different prior experiences, you have responded differently to the passage and my narrative, and you are at different places in your professional journeys. As I briefly articulate my judgments of her use of the ENGAGING process, I acknowledge that there may well be great differences among my readers, and I hope that these interpretations will be the source of further dialogue. Of course, I am confident about the wisdom of my judgments and hope you find them valuable as well.

Factor 1: Relationships and Student Effort

It is clear that Reallygood has built very positive relationships with her students. By urging Jose to share his “asthma” story, she shows confidence in him and an abiding support for his personality and his pride. She did not force him to disclose but recognized that he wanted to share and trust his classmates and she supported his inclination. She knew that it was good for Jose to be an integral part of the rationale for the lesson and saw clearly that classmates would respect him for sharing. She also created the safe environment necessary for this decision to happen. Later in the learning session, she sees quality in his writing and then correctly praises that achievement (Good & Brophy, 2008).

There are several other indicators that suggest Reallygood’s relationships are generally functional. She expects students to offer their ideas publicly and always receives those ideas in a positive light. She challenges their perceptions and their concepts, and clearly thinks that they are capable, insightful, and bright young people: she understands tha...