Heather Wolpert-Gawron surveyed 220 8th graders on what engages them in the classroom and synthesized the results into a list of 10 key points. While there are some differences between the 8th graders she surveyed and the 10th graders I am working with now, I certainly see enough similarities that the ideas in the article could be useful to teachers who aren’t already aware of them.
The first one she listed is working with peers. This is something I’ve known for a while and is at the top of my list as well; many teenagers are socially-oriented and having them work in collaborative groups can bring out the best in them. I’ve started implementing group-based lessons at least once every two weeks in my classroom and have long-term group projects that will make up the core of my post-Spring Break units on the Cold War and the Post-Colonial Developing World.
Second on her list is working with technology. This is something I believe strongly in (though perhaps not strongly enough for some people). I am teaching at a school site where every student has been issued a Chromebook, and I design my instruction around that by delivering content and having students complete their work electronically.
The third thing on her list that I am committed to implementing is student choice. I already did this in the fall semester when I had my students select the format of their summative project from an essay, poster, podcast or video, and will probably do something similar with the group projects I am implementing toward the end of this semester.
Wolpert-Gawron’s blog post summarizes the basics of engagement that we have been exposed to since entering this credential program in August, but does it in an easy-to-read format rather than the wall of academic text which other authors utilized.
Citation:
Wolpert-Gawron, H. (2012, April 26). Kids Speak Out on Student Engagement. Retrieved March 8, 2015, from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/student-engagement-stories-heather-wolpert-gawron.
The first one she listed is working with peers. This is something I’ve known for a while and is at the top of my list as well; many teenagers are socially-oriented and having them work in collaborative groups can bring out the best in them. I’ve started implementing group-based lessons at least once every two weeks in my classroom and have long-term group projects that will make up the core of my post-Spring Break units on the Cold War and the Post-Colonial Developing World.
Second on her list is working with technology. This is something I believe strongly in (though perhaps not strongly enough for some people). I am teaching at a school site where every student has been issued a Chromebook, and I design my instruction around that by delivering content and having students complete their work electronically.
The third thing on her list that I am committed to implementing is student choice. I already did this in the fall semester when I had my students select the format of their summative project from an essay, poster, podcast or video, and will probably do something similar with the group projects I am implementing toward the end of this semester.
Wolpert-Gawron’s blog post summarizes the basics of engagement that we have been exposed to since entering this credential program in August, but does it in an easy-to-read format rather than the wall of academic text which other authors utilized.
Citation:
Wolpert-Gawron, H. (2012, April 26). Kids Speak Out on Student Engagement. Retrieved March 8, 2015, from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/student-engagement-stories-heather-wolpert-gawron.