By Jerry Wircenski
CTE Project Director
Getting
students focused and on task at the beginning of a class is a challenge for all
instructors. Equally challenging is
having students eager to begin the class.
However, unless instructors are able to capture and keep students
focused, learning is not going to take place.
De
Frondeville identifies 10 rules of engagement for instructors:
1. Start class with a mind warm-up
a. Ask
students to find the mistakes planted in material written on the board
b. Have
students solve a curriculum-related problem with a partner
c. Use
a puzzle or question to gain student attention
2. Use
movement to get students focused
a. Ask
all students to stand and stretch or walk to the other side of the room
b. Offer
a “seventh inning stretch”
3. Teach
students how to collaborate before expecting success
a. Doing
project learning and other team-based activities without providing students
with appropriate skills can lead to lots of dead time and problems.
b. Teach
collaboration skills before projects are assigned
c. Use
debriefing to focus on positive team-building skills
4. Use
“quickwrites” when you want quiet time and student reflection
a. When
interest seems to be decreasing, or when you want to settle students down after
a busy teamwork activity, ask them to do a “quickwrite”, or short
journal-writing assignment
5. Run
a “tight ship” when giving instructions
a. Preventing
dead time is essential when giving instructions
b. Before
you begin speaking ask for total silence and complete attention before going on
c. Utilize
the pattern of ”Sit up, Listen, Ask, Nod when you understand”
6. Use
a “fairness cup” to keep students thinking
a. Write
each student’s name on a Popsicle stick and put the sticks in a cup. To keep students on their toes, pull a random
stick to choose someone to speak or answer a question.
7. Use
“signaling” to allow everyone to answer your question
a. Regularly
ask questions to which everyone must prepare at least one answer
8. Use
minimal supervision tasks to squeeze dead time out of regular routines
a. Tasks
that require minimal supervision should be used when the instructor is doing
something to create “dead time” (e.g., passing back papers, collecting
homework, working with a small group of students)
9. Mix
up your teaching styles
a. To
keep students involved , try to move from teacher-centered learning to
student-centered active learning
10. Create
teamwork tactics that emphasize accountability
a. Insist
that students “ask three before the instructor” so that they learn to seek
assistance from all members of their team before they turn to the instructor
De
Frondeville, T. How to Keep Kids Engaged in Class.
http://www.edutopia.org/classroom-student-participation-tips
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