Creating Engaging Classrooms

There is much talk and research about the correlation between student engagement and student learning. The type of engagement that goes beyond “teacher-pleasing behaviors” such as sitting up straight and paying attention to cognitive engagement is much harder to observe.  In his book, The Architecture of Learning, Kevin Washburn outlines the process for planning instruction that engages student thinking needed to construct learning.   

• Experience – The brain gains raw sensory data
• Comprehension – The brain sorts, labels, and organizes the raw data
• Elaboration – The brain looks for patterns, recalls prior experiences and blends this knowledge to construct understanding
• Application – The brain practices using the new understanding or skills in widened contexts

Similarly, In Visible Learning for Literacy, Hattie, Fisher and Frey share the process of moving students through surface learning content, to deep learning that explores the relationship between and the extension of ideas to learning transfer that allows for the application of that learning to new problems and situations. 

How can we intentionally design classroom experiences to help students move to higher levels of learning?  I recently read Engagement by Design by Fisher, Frey and others and I think that their framework and suggestions provide a great starting place. The intersection of the teacher, the student, and the content overlap to create optimal learning environments. This overlap can be broken down even further to clarify the importance of the teacher-student overlap called relationships, the teacher-content overlap referred to as clarity and the student-content overlap known as challenge. Intentionally designing inviting, engaging classrooms will place the highest priority on relationships, clarity and challenge.

Relationships – We know that teacher-student relationships facilitate learning. When students are confident that their teachers care about them and believe that they can be successful, it makes an incredible difference. A foundation of respect, trust, honesty and communication are important elements as we seek to have healthy relationships with our students. Ron Ritchhart from Harvard’s Project Zero and author of Making Thinking Visible shared 10 Things to say Every Day at our annual stlinatl.com conference. A few of his suggestions include saying Hello and Goodbye (we all have a basic human need to be known and acknowledged in a welcoming environment- learning names and stories are part of this), What Makes You Say That? (asking students for their reasoning behind thoughts or ideas increases motivation and challenge), Let’s Debrief (allows students to consolidate their learning) and We (supports building a culture of community). Equitable distribution of response opportunities, noticing students without strong relationships and advocacy are all examples of action steps to enhance student-teacher relationships.

Clarity – Students must have a clear understanding of the learning targets or goals that they are to be learning, why they are learning it, how they will know they have learned it, and how their learning will be assessed. When students trust in the teacher and believe that the teacher is competent, this inspires a level of security among their students. Teachers can clarify their organization of learning outcomes, lesson tasks, activities and assignments. We should strive for a clarity of explanation that includes relevant, accurate comprehensible information. There should be a clarity of examples transitioning into guided practice as students move to independence with teacher support. Finally, students need clarity of assessment of student learning which involves formative feedback through discussion and written responses.

Challenge – Many teachers do not want their students to struggle but it is important to increase the challenge for students in our schools. Vygotsky Zone of Proximal Development suggests that there is a difference between what a student can do alone as compared to what they can do with support. Learning is limited when we only present students with what they can do on their own. Furthermore, the more that a student struggles, and even fails, while trying to learn new information, the more likely that student is able to retrieve and apply that information in the future.

Reading Engagement by Design is a great way for educators to reflect on how we can increase our impact in the lives of our students. Designing learning environments where students are cognitively engaged must include a focus on relationships, clarity and appropriate challenge.  I enjoyed this book immensely.

Resources:

Washburn, K. D. (2010). The architecture of learning: Designing instruction for the learning brain. Pelham, AL: Clerestory Press.

Fisher, D., Frey, N., & Hattie, J. (2017). Teaching literacy in the visible learning classroom. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Literacy.

Ritchhart, R. (n.d.). Ron Ritchart 10 things to say to students every day.pdf. Retrieved from https://thinkingpathwayz.weebly.com/uploads/1/0/4/4/104440805/10_things_to_say_to_your_students_everyday.pdf

Fisher, D., Frey, N., Quaglia, R. J., Smith, D., & Lande, L. L. (2018). Engagement by design: Creating learning environments where students thrive. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Literacy.