Lesson 2: Engagement

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The Four C's to Engagement

"The 21st-century learning skills are often called the 4 C's: critical thinking, creative thinking, communicating, and collaborating. These skills help students learn, and so they are vital to success in school and beyond." (University of Nebraska-Lincoln) These 4 C's are important aspects of promoting engagement in the classroom. Ensuring that we as educators are effectively implementing these skills into our weekly lessons we help to foster engagement in your classroom.

To learn more about specific learning skills of the 4 C's click this link to watch videos for each skill. https://k12.thoughtfullearning.com/FAQ/what-are-learning-skills

Higher Engagement = Higher Motivation = Better Management

Motivation is a key factor in understanding the success of your students. Ensuring motivation within the classroom is something that can be difficult to implement. However, educators must try to ensure motivation by implementing creative, engaging, and collaborative lessons. As well as always using positive words and positive reinforcement for students to want to do better and keep them motivated to succeed, even in times of struggle. It is easy for students to believe that they “can't do” something. We must teach them that they "can".

In the article How People Learn II, it states motivation “Is critical to learning and achievement across the life span in both informal settings and formal learning environments.” (NASEM 2016) As motivation plays a huge role in students learning it is important to make sure that they feel welcome and comfortable to continue to try to do their best whether they succeed the first time or the fifth. A way to go about creating an impactful learning environment is by creating student-centered learning and multiple collaboration activities. This will create a sense of environment in community within your classroom.

Group Collaboration

According to Bielaczyc and Collins, learning communities must provide a way of “sharing knowledge and skills among members of the community” (Bielaczyc& Collins, 1999) By promoting group collaboration and sharing of ideas students will become more engaged and interested.

Group collaboration can make a positive impact in multiple styles of learning such as through:

Whole group discussion
Turn and Talks
Group Work
Partner Work
Collaborative Projects

The teacher can then facilitate this learning by prompting engaging questions and encouraging discussion. “In the learning communities the approach the teacher takes on the role of organizing and facilitating student direct activities, whereas in most classrooms the teacher tends to direct the activities. The power relationships shift as students become responsible for their own learning and learning of others.”(Bielaczyc& Collins, 1999)

What ways do you try to engage your students?

For this lesson add ideas or ways that you try to promote creating engagement in the classroom to the Classroom Collaboration Doc. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1uP4PbZIUfQTH36HpUNRqOjkyf4ECgCeXqzc9-wtm3q0/edit?usp=sharing

Click this link to go to the next unit: Unit 4: Building Community