TL;DR:

• Grab students’ attention, interest, and curiosity to increase engagement.
• As you start planning your next lesson, think of ways to preheat your grill and hook students into your lessons.
• Give students a reason to look forward to coming back to class the next day.
• ‘Preheat your grill’ by using different virtual backgrounds, implementing scavenger hunts, and getting students moving.

Student engagement is a hot topic. I’m currently organizing an EdCamp and ‘engagement’ is the most popular session choice.  Teachers are seeking strategies to get their students more engaged in their various classroom environments.

The Ed Glossary definition of “student engagement refers to the degree of attention, curiosity, interest, optimism, and passion that students show when they are learning or being taught, which extends to the level of motivation they have to learn and progress in their education.”

As you start planning your next lesson, think of ways to preheat your grill and hook them into your lessons. Give them a reason to look forward to coming back to class the next day. Click To Tweet

Students who are inquisitive, excited to learn, motivated, and ENGAGED are more successful in school.

What happens when engagement is not the sole responsibility of the learner?  Teachers everywhere are working overtime to find ways to engage their students, especially in virtual spaces. 

One of the first measures we used when we initiated crisis teaching online this spring was engagement.  Unfortunately, it was not clearly defined. It referred to students who participated in any level of learning.  Students who logged into their iReady or Zearn platforms during the week were counted as ‘engaged’.  Students who did not log in were then ‘flagged’ for follow-up by staff.  We were really tracking which students were completing independent work and had the support at home to do so.  Most of our younger students didn’t even know their login information or how to navigate the platforms.

Some teachers quickly created Google Classrooms. A few even dove into using Zoom or Google Meets as ways to meet with their students.

The deeper we went into our crisis teaching mode, the more the word engagement surfaced.

It makes me wonder if and how we measured engagement before the pandemic created a new model of instruction delivery.  As a school principal, I did not have teachers asking for help with getting students “engaged.”  Teachers struggled to find ways to reach students who had difficulty completing work in class, didn’t turn in homework, or participate in class. But they were not seeking ways to engage students.  At least, not the same as they are now.

I came across this reflection from Alice Keeler in a recent newsletter: 

“Had a discussion with a colleague this morning about how bad my textbook is. Here is the ENGAGE question for the lesson: ‘What are the relationships between angles formed by lines that intersect a circle?’ Well I certainly feel engaged; I’m sure you do too. I feel frustrated that I want to engage my students with relevant and interesting content without the time to make it all!”

Teachers want to engage their students in the lessons.  This comes easier for some more than others.  This textbook example shows us that even with the best intentions and provided resources, it’s still difficult to engage students with learning.

Grab their attention, interest, and curiosity.

“A good teacher, like a good entertainer, first must hold his audience’s attention. Then he can teach his lesson.” – Hendrik John Clarke

Teachers are perfecting the performance arts each day in their classrooms, even more now as they try to deliver content through a computer screen.  One of my friends who is a preschool special education teacher was recently meeting 1:1 with one of her students via Zoom. The teacher asked, “What is your favorite thing to watch on TV?” The student responded, “You!”  Teachers are becoming TV icons.

You’ve seen the popular videos circulating social media and the news that depict teachers doing whatever it takes to engage their students. Some are dancing, using puppets complete with voices, putting stickers on their faces, dressing up in costume, and making interesting green screen backgrounds.

Teachers are working harder than ever to keep students engaged and learning in a variety of environments. And they are using several methods for delivering instruction, sometimes simultaneously.

Teachers are rethinking their curriculum, activities, and lessons. They are looking at ways to substitute, augment, or modify their usual tasks to make them appropriate for remote learning and increase student engagement.  Technology is being used to drive instruction and provide students with non-paper and pencil tasks. 

Start with team building.

Harness the power of the camera in the virtual classroom.  A great way to start your class is with a game of “When the Wind Blows.”  In the traditional classroom, students would sit in a circle and the child who starts would be in the middle. They say “The wind blows for…” and then they insert a characteristic: “The wind blows for people who love to eat chocolate.” Those who love to eat chocolate go into the middle and then try to find a new seat. 

The one left standing gets to announce the next round.  In the virtual classroom, all students have their cameras off and one student is chosen to say “The wind blows for…” and any student who this is true for would turn their camera ON! A new student is then chosen for the next round.   This is a great warm-up and gets students comfortable with turning their cameras on, and who knows, maybe a few will keep them on!

In the classroom, teachers use individual whiteboards for students to write their answers and quickly hold up for the teacher to scan and identify any misunderstandings.

Teachers have found ways to do this remotely and have students hold responses up to their camera. One way to increase student engagement is to transition this activity to Jamboard or Padlet.  This allows students to complete a sticky note with their answer and post it in a common place. 

For some students, this takes the activity to the next level and gives them the opportunity to also apply new skills.  You can take this lesson to the next level by having students compare answers and debate which ones are correct and why.

Sometimes students just want to talk and/or work with each other.  Breakout rooms are great for small group work, but have you tried partnering students so they have someone to talk to while doing independent work?  It’s reassuring to students to know there’s someone a computer screen away with whom they can interact, ask questions of, or share an ‘aha’ moment.

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How hot is your grill?

How do you preheat the grill?  This is one of the ideas from Dave Burgess, teacher, and author of “Teach Like A Pirate.” He says, “I don’t put my content down on a cold grill. I preheat it! Build mystery, curiosity, buzz, and anticipation before you even start your lesson.”  This is true no matter where you are teaching students.

We need to hook students into our lessons. When students are interested and excited to learn, they will be more engaged. Think about the preview teaser for your favorite Star Wars movie. It gets you excited as you anticipate the release date.  Teachers can harness this within their classrooms too.  You can even create a preview video for what your class will learn the next day and why they won’t want to miss it. 

Other ways to preheat your grill:

• Change your Zoom background screen to hint at something coming up during the week.
• Send a link for students to watch a video or do a scavenger hunt before an upcoming class to see if they can figure out what the lesson will be about.
• Show a simple item on your desk that represents something in the coming lesson that will get them thinking. Or better yet, a bag that has a ‘mysterious’ item you’ll reveal to start the next class.
• How can you get students moving? A quick scavenger hunt (which could just include the things they will need for class that day) can get in a little movement before you begin.
• Students love music.  Try opening your class a few minutes early and playing a new song. Maybe it’s from a playlist your class puts together.
• I love visual supports.  One thing I did when diving into so many virtual meetings was I created some note cards that had sayings like “I agree,” “You’re on Mute,” “YES!” or “Me too.”  Students are able to quickly hold these up to their cameras to quietly engage in the conversation.  They may just have fun creating their own at home.
• Chair dancing is cool and another quick way to add some movement into your day. This can also get students ready for a lesson you need their focus on.  You can find several chair dancing videos on YouTube.

As you start planning your next lesson, think of ways to preheat your grill and hook students into your lessons.

Preheat your grill and give them a reason to look forward to coming back to class the next day. If you want to take it to the next level, check out Dave’s book, “Teach Like A Pirate.”

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About Bobbie French

Bobbie French is an educational leader, presenter and writer from Massachusetts.

Bobbie has been an educator for over 24 years. She has been an elementary guidance counselor, classroom teacher, special education coordinator, Title I Director, Preschool Director and Administrator.

Bobbie is passionate about focusing on the whole child and creating an environment where all students have a sense of belonging. She appreciates and recognizes the hard work of teachers, and is committed to supporting others to be their best for kids every day. Her passion and enthusiasm for creating a positive and engaging school culture is contagious.

Bobbie is also an avid photographer and loves to tell her school’s story.