(gentle upbeat music)
(upbeat energetic music)
- [Narrator] Wel come to our video for High-Leverage
Practice Number 18: Use strategies
to promote active student engagement.
There are 22 high-leverage practices
for special education spread across four domains.
HLP Number 18: Use strategies to promote active
student engagement is listed under the instruction domain.
The main sources for content in this video
is the Handbook of Research on Student Engagement
edited by Christenson, Reschly and Wylie.
And the HLP in Special Education book
published by CEC and the CEEDAR Center.
This video is split into two parts.
In part one, we define active student engagement
and provide rationale for this HLP.
In part two, we highlight and demonstrate three
essential components of this practice.
Part One: Definition and Rationale.
The simplest way to think about student engagement
is to picture a teacher digging deep into their bag
of tricks to keep students actively
engaged in the learning process.
This notion of student engagement is important
and the focus of this video within our series
on HLPs for special education.
But expert's view student engagement
as a multidimensional construct.
Students can demonstrate behavioral engagement
which involves such behaviors as raising their hand,
watching the teacher and answering questions.
Students are also impacted by affective engagement.
Affective engagement involves positive feelings
about the learning process such as motivation
to learn and is reflected in students taking
responsibility for their own learning.
Engagement is a relevant construct
for all teachers and students.
Students who report higher engagement
within school are less likely to drop out
or get in other trouble in and out of school.
Engaged students are more successful on immediate
school related tasks but also make healthier life choices,
have stronger social emotional well-being
and go on to more rewarding and lucrative careers.
This is true regardless of socio-economic status
or other student factors.
In this video, we focus on the role
of the general and special education teacher
in supporting engagement of students with disabilities
within academic lessons and other school settings.
Teachers can generate active student engagement
for students with disabilities by using a range
of motivational strategies which help them make
the most of learning opportunities during class and beyond.
A hallmark of a teacher who generates
actively engaged students is they build and maintain
positive relationships with students.
This is achieved by proactively taking an interest
in students lives and prioritizing positive relationships
in all facets of the school day.
We elaborate in part two of this video.
Another hallmark is effective teachers
provide students with numerous scaffolds
to actively participate during lessons
and then offer meaningful feedback on their performance.
In sum for part one:
Active student engagement in learning is critical
to academic and behavioral success.
Although engagement is a bit of a controversial construct
given its many possible definitions and permutations,
there is broad agreement that teachers
play a critical role in helping students remain engaged
within lessons and school writ large
which is essential for students with disabilities.
Part Two: Three key components
to support student engagement.
There are three key components of this HLP.
They are:
One: Teachers must build positive
teacher-student relationships.
Two: Teachers should use a variety of strategies
for ensuring student engagement during lessons.
And Three: Teachers need to actively monitor
for engagement and provide ongoing specific feedback.
Component One: Teachers must build
positive teacher-student relationships.
Teachers can build positive relationships
with students in a number of ways.
One key opportunity to build positive student engagement
is by forging connections to students' lives.
Teachers can leverage entry points into students' lives
at numerous junctures including academics, sports,
pop culture and of course by considering and attending
the students cultural and familial backgrounds.
A good idea is for teachers to greet students at the door
before each class with a warm smile and greeting.
Asking the student about a sport they play
or activity they participate in is an easy way
to show you care about the student as a person.
Going the extra mile to attend a game or other event
in the community is also a worthwhile investment
in building a positive teacher-student relationship.
These student interests can easily
be incorporated into lessons.
For example, teachers might construct real world
math problems based on student interests,
use metaphors and similes that include students' daily lives
to illuminate content and select reading materials
that connect students to content in more personal ways.
Teachers who make an overt effort to better acknowledge,
celebrate and understand students' diverse backgrounds
are using another essential strategy for setting
students up to be engaged during class.
Simply being open to the fact that students' individual
backgrounds are a core part of how they see the world
and honoring that world view is one powerful way to connect.
Attending or hosting heritage fairs, visiting students'
homes or neighborhoods and inviting parents or other family
members to be regular contributors to the classroom
are all viable options for boosting students' engagement.
In this first clip, Ms. Iesha Samuels leads her inclusive
elementary classroom through a fun call and response chant
to help build confidence and self-esteem
and in the short term, get ready
for the forthcoming mathematics lesson.
Her slogan, "Push Through" is used routinely throughout
the day to help her students stay engaged and as a
cornerstone of her positive relationship with students.
- Alright, so you guys did an awesome job
with pushing through, cleaning up.
I see everyone standing nice and tall.
I see almost all my eyes.
You guys know how we've been reading Matilda.
- [Students And Teacher] Yes.
- And Matilda can move things with her.
- [Students] Mind.
- Her mind and through her eyes.
You should be trying to make me move right now
with your eyes, giving me that glare.
(students talking in background)
- (laughing) Exactly.
Alright, so that's, I need all your eyes on me right now.
Alright, we're gonna get ready to push through because we're
getting ready to start our next half of the lesson.
We've been talking about fractions for the past week
and some change, we're gonna actually go into a new part
of fractions today but we're gonna be using pattern blocks.
We'll be using pattern blocks a lot this year to make
patterns but I bet you guys do not know that you can
actually use them to use them for fractions.
Alright, what if it's too tough?
- [Students] I'm gonna push through.
- What if there are too many words?
- [Students] I'm gonna push through.
- What if there are too many numbers?
- [Students] I'm gonna push through.
- [Ms. Samuels] I'm too tired.
- [Students] I'm gonna push through.
- [Ms. Samuels] What if I'm not good enough?
- [Students] That's not true.
- [Ms. Samuels] What if I'm not smart enough?
- [Students] That's not true.
- [Ms. Samuels] What if I'm not cool enough?
- [Students] That's not true.
- [Ms. Samuels] What if I'm not pretty enough?
- [Students] That's not true.
- [Ms. Samuels] Because why?
- [Students] I can do anything I put my mind too.
- [Ms. Samuels] I believe in you.
- [Students] Chin up.
- [Ms. Samuels] I believe in you.
- [Students] Chin up.
- [Ms. Samuels] I believe in you.
- [Students] Chin up.
- [Ms. Samuels] Okay, head high.
- [Students] Head high.
- [Ms. Samuels] Heads high.
- [Students] Heads high.
- [Ms. Samuels] Because why?
- [Students] We push through anything we put our minds to.
- [Ms. Samuels] Alright.
- [Narrator] Component Two: Teachers should use a variety
of strategies to ensure student engagement during lessons.
Teachers have numerous opportunities within any
lesson to promote student engagement.
Providing multiple opportunities to respond
to various prompts and questions is a terrific
option for keeping students engaged.
These opportunities to respond
can be teacher or student led.
Teacher led opportunities to respond can include:
oral questions, response cards, choral gestures, using
technology such as clickers, and numerous other options.
There is no optimal and scientifically agreed upon number
of opportunities students should have to respond per minute
to ensure success but the number is higher than zero.
Prompts to respond should cut across
academic and behavioral domains.
Student-led options can include: students working in pairs
or groups to further their learning.
Including routines that promote collaborative learning
not only keeps them engaged but also creates
a space where they take on the role of expert
and have the opportunity to try out new skills
and concepts with independence.
Teachers can also leverage technology to promote engagement.
Whether that is having students use individual devices
or whole group methods such as interactive whiteboards,
or other options that allow students to share
and contribute skills and processes.
This component is also key to several other HLPs,
including HLP number 16 using explicit instruction,
HLP number 17 use flexible groupings and HLP number 19
use assistive and instructional technologies.
In this clip, Ms. Raines is having a morning meeting
in her low incidence classroom.
Students each have an opportunity to use
the interactive SmartBoard and software.
Note her use of multiple opportunities to respond,
clear feedback and the appropriate pace
for the level of her students.
- Show or Ms. H.
Yep, I'm gonna stay here.
Oh, Ms. H. could you come join us please?
- She's the lucky winner.
- She is the lucky winner.
- Great, alright. - You can sit right there.
- [Ms. H.] Thank you.
- Alrighty, fantastic.
And look at P.J., she had such a nice calm body.
Can you show everyone?
Great job.
Alright, who wants to start?
- [Students] Me.
- Alright, you can start today Eva,
we'll start with calendar.
(feet hitting floor)
(someone exclaiming excitedly)
- [Computerized Voice] It's March 2018,
let's make our calendar.
- Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday,
Thursday, Friday, Saturday.
What day of the week is today, Eva?
- [Eva] Tuesday.
- Good job, P.J.
Thursday.
(students talking over each other)
- Good job.
- Fifteen
-Fifteen
-Eighteen
Good job.
- [Computerized Voice] 15, Thursday, great.
- Do we have any special days this week?
Where are we going tomorrow P.J.?
- [P.J.] The pool.
- The pool, we're going swimming.
So Miss Eva, why don't you pick either the smiley face
or the star, put it on, this is tomorrow.
- [Eva] Swimming.
- Yes, we are going swimming.
- [Eva] On the 16th.
- On the 16th, you are right.
- [Narrator] Component Three: Actively monitor
engagement and provide ongoing feedback.
Teachers should also closely monitor students learning
and provide meaningful feedback immediately following
completion of a task or behavior.
It is generally not enough for teachers to assume students
will be inherently interested in a lesson
and therefore, demonstrate engagement.
This is particularly true for students with disabilities.
Because many students with disabilities struggle
with limited background knowledge and cognitive functioning,
they often experience frustration and failure in school.
General and special education teachers need to be
particularly vigilant in their monitoring
of student progress or lack thereof.
It is therefore essential that students need to receive
meaningful feedback on their progress as often as possible.
When it is determined students with disabilities
are not engaged as evidenced by poor academic
or behavioral performance, the team should
brainstorm new evidence based approaches
to hopefully make a positive impact.
HLP video eight and 22 provide specific examples
of how to provide high quality feedback.
In this clip, Ms. Angie Norman is leading her inclusive
second grade class through a mathematics lesson.
She is actively monitoring her students
during independent practice time.
She pays particular attention to a student
who has been struggling and uses a strong feedback loop
to help him and the whole class fix a common error
during subtraction with regrouping.
- Alright, so let me look at your mats.
Oh, I see a good example here
of a common mistake that we make.
So what happens when we notice that we have a big bottom
borrow, what do we need to do Conner?
- When you did take one, a ten and put it in the ones
that, the one that couldn't make the big,
the one that couldn't make the big bottom borrow.
- Right.
So we need to rename it and we need to borrow.
Say, "Hey, Mr. 10, can I borrow a 10 from you
"and put it in the ones place?"
but when you did that, what happened over here
when you took one away, did you note it
on your paper when you transferred it?
No, so you should have a what here?
- Six.
- Six tens, there you go and how many ones should you have?
- Eight.
- How many ones should you have once we,
when we take one away and make it?
How many do you have here now?
- Oh, 16.
- You got it, 16, very good.
Boys and girls, please make sure that when we go
and we borrow from our 10s position that we take
that number away, you have to take one 10 away, okay.
We'll always subtract one, your number'll be one less.
- [Narrator] In summary, actively engaged
students have the best chance to succeed
within learning and behavioral tasks.
However, to ensure high levels of engagement,
teachers must maintain and communicate
high standards for all students.
This includes providing scaffolds to help
all students make progress towards academic
and behavioral goals and objectives
and celebrating when students meet milestones.
It also includes allowing for students
voice and choice in the classroom.
This can mean including students in the selection
of materials and methods for instruction
but it could also mean being purposeful
with regard to how teachers attend to students'
expressions, concerns and questions during class.
More information about active student engagement
and its role in supporting the needs of students
with disabilities can be found at
www.highleveragepractices.org.
Thanks for watching and please continue
using resources from this series
on High-Leverage Practices for Special Education.