Action #1: Make it Their Idea
Click on the strategies below to explore the solutions that Eric Jensen suggests to build student engagement and motivation by increasing the amount of Student Choice in your classroom. When you are finished exploring feel free to click here to respond to our disucssion prompt and see what other Agora Educators are doing in their sessions.
Provide Content ChoiceWhen appropriate, provide students with the choice of content (“Do you want to learn about this aspect of the topic wear that one?"); social conditions (“Who would rather work with the neighbor on this assignment?"); or learning process (“You have three choices to gather information for this assignment: research online sources, watch and consult these DVDs, or conduct an in person interview"). Remember to sell the choice!
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Hold Regular "Drumroll Drawings"Sometimes small things can become engaging classroom rituals here's one: write all of your students’ names on cards or paper slips and keep them in a bowl or another container. At any point during class, let one student come up to the container and draw out two student names (the name drawer is ineligible). Have students do a drumroll on their desks for added suspense. One of the two students chosen gets a standing ovation (pure fun!) and the other gets to answer a student submitted question related to the unit of study. Have students submit questions in advance, and vet them before using them.
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Delegate Tasks with Classroom JobsThis may be the simplest way to engage students and give them some control over the class’s proceedings. At the secondary level, you’ll need illustrators to write down student suggestions and create visual aids, graphic organizers, and posters for the class; a special effects manager to act as class DJ, do drum rolls on the desk, or be in charge of a punctuating instrument like a tambourine or drum; and “energy directors” to lead the class in short dance moves and stretch breaks or simply signal the teacher when energy lags. Share the power so that the students feel some ownership of the class and its proceedings.
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Project Based LearningProject learning - the time-honored teaching approach of having students learn authentically by working on real-world projects and challenges - requires the skills of planning, prioritizing, risk management, and decision making. Students need to keep the project’s ultimate goal in mind while managing resources, time, and people. For example, for a unit on weather and an upper elementary classroom, a for student cooperative group Mike research, script, and produce a video weather forecast. At the secondary level, projects may include setting up a school-wide recycling program, creating a “Respect Your Classmates” anti-bullying campaign, or fundraising for a student determined cause. the students are the ones who generate these projects and make the important choices along the way, and the resulting sense of ownership ensures that they continually put in strong effort and remain highly engaged.
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