Increasing Engagement and Depth of Learning

Dear Teachers: 

One of the things you have been concerned about is student engagement with your content. The best way to do that is to select strategies that create opportunities for 50%+ of the students to be involved cognitively or verbally at one time.

Traditional questioning involves the teacher posing a question to the class, calling on one student, and then evaluating the answer. In a class of 30, the percentage of engagement for that strategy would be a very low engagement rate. I don't do math. Sorry. 

Let’s eliminate that call and response model and experiment with these 5 basic protocols. A good rule of thumb is to use one of these strategies every 10 minutes. 

1. Process Partners: (50% engagement) Step One: Have students complete the front of the folder with interesting facts about themselves. Step Two: Have students open the folder and select partners for each type of question.  They share the fun fact and write the name of the partner they will talk with when you ask for that type of question. You sign your name too. Step Three: Pause your instruction periodically to pose questions to students. Have them get up out of their desks and meet with their partners to discuss. Step Four: Debrief the discussions with the whole class to reteach, refine, or extend their responses. 
2. Think Pair Share: (50% engagement) Students think about their response to a question, discuss answers in pairs, and then share their own or their partner’s answers with the class. Think-Pair-Square is an adaptation where students share with their team rather than the whole class. (This is a Kagan stragegy.) 
3. Talking Chips (25-50% engagement): Get some poker chips or tokens. Students receive a certain number of chips. Students place their chips in the center each time they talk. They cannot speak again until all chips are in the center and redistributed to the members of the class or group. (This is a Kagan stragegy.) 
4. Numbered Heads Together: (25-50% Engagement) Students huddle to make sure all can respond to a question. A number is called. The student with that number responds. (Groups of Four. You call the number 1-4 first. Those kids stand. They can check with group members to make sure they can answer. Then you call the group number and that person answers. Keeps all kids thinking.) An adaptation is Paired Heads Together: Students in pairs huddle to make sure they can both respond. An A or B is called; the student with that letter responds. Another adaptation is Traveling Heads Together: Students in Numbered Heads travel to a new team to share a response. For example, you call a 1. All the 1’s have to go to a new group to explain their idea.(This is a Kagan Strategy.) 
5. Option: If you HATE talking chips, try this one: Inside Outside Circle: (50% engagement) Students sit in concentric circles face to face. A teacher asks a question, or asks students to read or write something. They work with that partner to complete the task. Then students rotate. (This is a Kagan Strategy too.) 
6. Option: don’t forget the
1. Lead4Ward app for quickchecks. Those are good too. The engagement rate depends on how you employ the questions.
2. Look at the Instructional Strategies Playlist for ideas. See attached. I’d say that ONE of these per day would transform your classrooms and the depth of instruction. https://lead4ward.com/playlists/

Your raving fan,

Shona Rose