A Highly Engaged Classroom

A highly engaged classroom is essential. It is important for all students to be active participants in their learning, and that can only happen if all students are engaged. As teachers, we have to set students up for success. Engagement helps make this possible.

Engagement starts with pedagogical strategies. Having a strong pedagogy can set up the class to be highly engaging. The video over effective pedagogy brings up two points that I think are key for engagement: planning and creating a positive climate. Planning is crucial for many things in the classroom but can really contribute to engagement. To do this, planning should set expectations and learning should be centered around how students learn. Behaviors and actions in the classroom should be set in planning, and these expectations should be communicated with students. If students know what expectations to meet, then more energy and focus can be placed on engagement and learning with less distractions arising. This learning needs to be centered around how the students in the classroom learn. If content is presented in ways that promote learning for all students, then they are more likely to be engaged. A positive climate also is included in pedagogy. A positive climate naturally builds more interest. This can encourage students to participate, even if they are unsure. Planning and creating a positive climate are the foundation for high engagement.

The next piece of engagement takes ideas from the effective instruction and management video. Being effective as an instructor promotes engagement as well. Using explicit language and instruction is the base of effective instruction and management. This ensures that there is no confusion for students. If students are clear on what they are to be doing, then there will be less time for them to be confused and off task. Another important part of this is modeling behavior for students. They are likely to feed off of the teacher’s attitude and energy. One way to get students excited is to be excited ourselves as teachers. It is also imperative for high engagement that learning is kept enjoyable. Students have to be having fun and enjoy the learning to stay engaged in the classroom. Effectiveness goes right into engagement.

Another vitally important part of a high engagement classroom is knowing how to reach every learner. This idea comes from the video on high needs students. However, it is important that this is a goal for the whole classroom, not just high needs students. To keep students engaged, you must know strategies that will accomplish that goal.

Engaging resistant learners was another topic covered in our course that pertains to all learners. Out of the seventeen strategies celebrating students, caring, smiling, adding value to learning, and showing passion are strategies that stuck out to me to help guide engagement. I believe all of these things are particularly important, because they are specific things teachers can be mindful to do to help create engagement.

Article “The Key to Classroom Management” by Marzano: Teachers’ actions have a large impact. This follows up on the previous paragraph. Those mentioned strategies are all things a teacher can personally do to impact engagement. Teacher-student relationships provide an essential foundation. There must be a relationship to build engagement on for it to be successful. A connection with students will help on the journey to a highly engaged classroom.

In my classroom, creating a highly engaged classroom will be of great value. The needs of each individual student and the class as a whole will be taken into consideration. I will use all of these needs to plan my classroom. My goal is to use my own high impact in the classroom and plan lessons that are enjoyable for students. I plan to do so my being explicit, modeling my expectations, creating relationships with my students, and getting them excited by showing passion. A highly engaged classroom leads to deeper learning.