2. WHAT ARE ACTIVE ENGAGEMENT
STRATEGIES?
Strategies that help students remain active and
engaged in the lesson and curriculum
Help to eliminate off-task behaviors
3. TYPES OF RESPONSES
Action Responses
Allows students to
respond by doing an
activity
Examples:
Tickets out the door
Green, yellow, red
response cards
True/False, Multiple
Choice, Yes/No cards
4. TYPES OF RESPONSES
Verbal Responses
Allows students to
respond by speaking
Examples:
Choral responses
Partner responses
Individual responses
5. TYPES OF RESPONSES
Written Responses
Allows students to
respond through
writing
Examples:
Word Splashes
Tickets out the Door
Cornell Notes
6. PAIRING STRATEGIES
Allows students to work together to solve
problems and answer questions
Can be done using Think, Pair, Share or team
collaborative pairing strategies
9. RESOURCES
Discovery Education. (n.d.). Close up of teacher working on laptop with students.
Retrieved from http://app.discoveryeducation.com/search?Ntt=teacher
Discovery Education. (n.d.). Teacher explaining subject to students. Retrieved
from http://app.discoveryeducation.com/search?Ntt=teacher
Discovery Education. (n.d.). Wide shot of teacher teaching students. Retrieved
from http://app.discoveryeducation.com/search?Ntt=teach
Discovery Education. (n.d.). Wide shot of children working at desks. Retrieved
from http://app.discoveryeducation.com/search?Ntt=classroom
Flickr. (n.d.). Student at work at senior high school in new ulm, minnesota.
Retrieved from
http://www.flickr.com/photos/35740357@N03/4726884811/in/photolist
Halifax Area School District. (2012, Aug. 22). Active engagement strategies
Sayko, S., & Turner, S. (n.d.). Active engagement strategies for whole group
instruction. [PowerPoint Slides]. Retrieved from
curry.virginia.edu/../Georgia ActiveEngagement Strategies
Editor's Notes
This presentation is on Active Engagement Strategies and their usefulness for classroom teachers. My district encourages us to use these strategies in our classrooms, and much of the information you will learn in the following slides comes from professional development training we have received on the subject.
What are Active Engagement Strategies? As the name suggests, Active Engagement Strategies are tools that teachers can use to help students remain engaged and active during lessons. Since the students will be constantly engaged, there will be a decrease in off-task behaviors.
What are some examples of Active Engagement Strategies? The first strategy is types of responses. There are three main types of responses, the first one being action responses. Action responses are responses in which the student is required to complete an activity. This could look like tickets out the door or green, yellow, red response cards that show a student’s level of understanding. I also use flashcards that use true/false, multiple choice, and yes/no responses for quick checks for understanding during a lesson.
Another type of response is the verbal response. Students can be engaged in the classroom simply by using a variety of different verbal responses. Some examples of this are choral responses, also known as whole group responses, partner responses, or individual responses. There are many different ways to have students respond individually to questions, such as popsicle sticks and hand raises. The choice is up to you, as the teacher, and what works for your classroom.
The last type of response is the written response. Again, tickets out the door are great tools to use, because they help to summarize the lesson and are quick checks for the teacher to determine student understanding. Other ways to have students use written responses are word splashes and Cornell notes. Word splashes, or word clouds, help students to test their comprehension skills in several different way, such as building their own, or using a previously made word splash to generate sentences or paragraphs. Cornell notes are a great organizational tool for students to use while taking notes. These graphic organizers are created by splitting the top half of the paper into two columns. The left hand column is used for key points and the right hand column is used for actual notes. The bottom half of the paper is used for students to summarize what they learned in the lesson.
Another Active Engagement Strategy is using pairing strategies. These allow students to work together to solve problems, which builds collaboration and cooperation skills. It is also a great strategy to use for students who might be struggling with the lesson material. The most common example of pairing strategies is Think, Pair, Share, but there are also other strategies to consider. If your classroom is set up in teams of four, you can use shoulder partners who are side by side, face partners who are across from each other, and crosstown partners who are diagonal from each other. This can also be adapted if students are rows as well.
Higher level questioning is also another great tool to use, because it encourages different levels of thinking about the same concept. Teachers should vary their questions so that they are using higher level questions, as well as lower level questions to evaluate student comprehension. Level one is based on recall, such as basic math calculations, labeling, and recalling details of a story. Level two is based on a particular skill or concept, such as solving multi-step problems, using context clues, and identifying patterns of events. Level three is based on strategic thinking, such as developing a scientific model for a complex situation, determining the author’s purpose and how it affects the interpretation of the story, and supporting ideas with details and examples. The final level is level four, which is based on extended thinking. These questions focus on the upper tiers of Bloom’s Taxonomy and involve activities such as designing and conducting a research experiment, analyzing and synthesizing information from multiple sources, and applying a mathematical model to illuminate a problem or situation.
The final strategy to discuss is the need for routines and transitions. The less down time a student has, the less likely he/she will present off-task and disruptive behaviors. An example of this is Do Nows. These tools are commonly seen at the beginning of class to engage students as they come into the classroom or transition from another subject. Do Nows help to remind students of what has been previously taught or help to set the stage for the day’s lesson. Another effective routine and transition is to always make sure you are providing specific instructions so that students know exactly what is expected of them. Of course, when designing your own routines and transitions, you should start at your comfort level and slowly work your way up from there.
This concludes my presentation on Active Engagement Strategies. I hope that you have learned some different strategies that you can use in your own classroom to help your students remain on-task and involved in the learning process.
