We all know that engagement is the key to true learning. So, as responsible teachers, we’ve tried many ways to engage our students…games, escape rooms, and more! Some of us may even feel like we need new ideas to keep the learning "alive" in our classrooms.
That's where #2ndaryELA came in - we chatted about engagement in the classroom with special guest host, Pernille Ripp. Read on to find out what other teachers are doing to keep students involved in their learning!
Welcome! What and where do you teach? Include a link to your blog if you have one. #2ndaryELA
I'm Lisa, your co-host with @literarymaven 23 yrs teaching MS ELA & Inclusion in FL. Blog:
http://mrsspanglerinthemiddle.blogspot.com Tonight's guest host is @pernilleripp so look for questions from her! #2ndaryELA
My name is Pernille, I teach 7th grade ELA in Oregon, Wi and my random thoughts baout education and life can be found on my blog at http://www.pernillesripp.com #2ndaryELA
Q1: How do you make a dynamic and engaging learning environment? #2ndaryELA
A1: Be prepared with multiple activities, be flexible, mix up lessons, whole class, group work, and ind. time, flexible seating and students get choices. #2ndaryELA
A1: I think that giving students as many ways to control their education. The difficult part is keeping the balance between state standards and student owned education. #2ndaryELA
Try to keep things relevant. Kids always want to know why they have to know if. Also be willing to do weird stuff #2ndaryELA
I try to offer as much choice as possible. Collaboration opportunities and structured to talk while ss read and write. #2ndaryELA
And always being responsive to kids - what are the ways they can tell you when things are workin gor not working? #2ndaryELA
A1: I am always looking for new ways to do ordinary things. I love to incorporate music and movement as much as possible. #2ndaryELA
Q2: How do students invest and take ownership of their learning journey? #2ndaryELA
A2: Ss set goals and reflect on them, keep track of their data, have choices with book selection, writing topics, and with technology components. #2ndaryELA
A2: I’ve recently started creating learning target ladders where a target is written in tiers. Ss can see that mastery is a process and know what they’re working towards. We do a lot of reflecting. #2ndaryELA
A2: the power of choice! Small Choices lead to bigger choices. It eventually leads to self paced learning. #2ndaryELA
I find my students with IEPs and the advanced students are the most scared about choices. The average students just roll with whatever you give them #2ndaryELA
Students reflect, self-assess, give feedback on curriculum, and also help me plan what we want to do #2ndaryELA
In fact, due to the amazing conversations we are having right now, I am totally changing our TED talk exploration #2ndaryELA
A2: Students invest & take ownership through various choices in project-based opportunities #2ndaryELA
And I wonder; how many learning explorations are missed because we don't tap into the best professional development that we have - the students we serve? #2ndaryELA
Q3: Describe a time when you allowed students to take ownership in the classroom. #2ndaryELA
My 10honors wanted to read something we only had 2 weeks to do. I showed them the standards we had to cover and the calendar. Told them to make a plan. I didn’t teach a thing. #2ndaryela 1/2
A3: Daily during independent reading. Ss choose where to sit, how to read, PB, audio, Epic, online, on their own, with a partner, with an Instructional aide. (At the beg. of the year, they kept asking permission; now it’s automatic.)#2ndaryELA
A3: Here’s your learning target. Show me you’ve mastered it. Organized chaos, but Ss really rose to the occasion. #2ndaryELA
A3: To review the reading standards that would be on the state test, groups of Ss chose a standard to present in their own way. #2ndaryELA
A3: I teach private percussion lessons. During these I allow the students to pick their own music, because otherwise would they really feel the need to learn it? I feel this is relative across all literature.
#2ndaryela
Q4: What do you use for classroom management other than rewards and punishments? #2ndaryELA
A4: I spotlight great work and great things that happen naturally - a kind of random acts of kindness meets pay it forward. #2ndaryELA
I like to recognize my Ss too. Our school has a brag board. I write brag slips every month. #2ndaryELA
A4: community and conversation. #2ndaryela
Adding classroom jobs has done so much to increase our sense of community and accountability, and in turn, reduce disruptions. #2ndaryela #EdChat
And part of building that community is realizing when I am the problem and not the kids, so we talk a lot, and I ask "Are you okay?" a lot #2ndaryELA
Relationships. I genuinely like my Ss and they know that. I try to talk to them about non-school things regularly. #2ndaryELA
A4: Lots of teacher and student talks, try to find out why the behavior is happening, and parent contacts. #2ndaryELA
How many situations could be made better if we just sat down next to a kid and asked them if they are okay rather than assuming we need to fix or control something #2ndaryELA
Simply having the students make the rules on the first day and asking them what breaking the rules should mean. #2ndaryELA
I keep coming back to that school is bigger than what I teach, that it is not just about learning English, that it is about growing to be equipped to be a part of the broader world #2ndaryELA
A4: Feedback? I’m pretty good at giving feedback, but I won’t give feedback unless it’s their best work, so my students work to get it ready. #2ndaryELA
And keeping the humanity of someone at the center of everything we do, I don't need kids to fear me #2ndaryELA
Q5: Share your best engagement techniques and resources. #2ndaryELA
A5: Flipgrid, make writing for real purposes (authors, military, other teachers), make connections and celebrate reading throughout the year. (GRA,WRAD, RAAD) #2ndaryELA
A5: We put large posters on the wall with everyone's picture on it for the first week. Every once in a while we will all go write nice things on somebody's poster.
#2ndaryela
A5: I also have a love/hate relationship with Kagan strategies. #2ndaryela
My best engagement technique will forver be to ask the students how I can be a better teacher for them and then actually do something with the advice they give #2ndaryELA
A5: peardeck is great for adding engagement pieces to a “boring” lesson, like slides. Direction instruction becomes collaborative with immediate feedback #2ndaryELA
@padlet is one of my favorite activities for student engagement. #2ndaryELA
Another way is to give genuine praise, I sat down and wrote 26 "I have noticed..." postcards to a class, it matters so much to share that you see how hard they work #2ndaryELA
An incredible book to read is @CarlaShalaby Troublemakers - just the introduction will change and cement your view of kids forever #2ndaryELA
Thank you so much for having me #2ndaryELA chat - I will now resume my Twitter hiatus but can be found on Instagram recommending books, on my blog sharing https://pernillesripp.com/ , and in my classroom learning from the kids.
Remember, we keep the conversation going all week long at our Facebook group and we'd love for your to join the over 20,000 other secondary ELA educators!
Thanks for stopping by!