The Art and Science of Teaching by Robert Marzano

Chapter 5 – What will I do to engage students?

What Do You Do To Engage Your Students?

• to get them to participate; to keep them on task; to keep them attending to the instructional activities occurring in class

• Research findings in four studies cited show achievement percentile gains of from 27 to 31 percent if you can keep students engaged.

Five Areas to Consider to Increase Student Engagement

• High Energy

• Missing Information

• The Self-System

• Mild Pressure

• Mild Controversy and Competition

High Energy

• To have students paying attention requires them to have a certain energy level.

• One way to enhance blood flow and oxygen transported to the brain is with movement – physical activity.

High Energy

• Slow transitions provide no stimulus to capture students’ attention. Use effective transitions that allow students to quickly respond to signals that have been taught and practiced.

• Teacher enthusiasm affects students’ energy levels and engagement. Animated behavior arouses the attending behavior of students.

Missing Information As A Stimulus

• Curiosity and Anticipation are know as “appetitive” states because they stimulate the mental appetite – Jensen

• Games and Puzzles stimulate the human appetite.

Missing Information

• Clozentropy – a psychological principal – human beings tend to fill in the blanks when presented with incomplete information.

• Gretel went with her brother ________ to see if the _________ was in her cottage.

• Contributing factors to the Great Depression included stock purchases made on ______, corporations and individuals becoming ____________, and high _____________.

The Self as a Stimulus for Engagement

• The “Me” Self – specific to situations – my idea that I can or can’t do well in math.

• The “I” Self – the things we find personally interesting and valuable

Mild Pressure as a Stimulus for Engagement

• Mild pressure forces attention on the source of the pressure. If the pressure becomes too prolonged, the thinking and learning are inhibited.

• Questioning – Students have to realize there is a moderate chance of being called on. Increase the rate at which students respond increases achievement (Good + Brophy 2003)

• Wait Time focuses students’ attention (Aitwood + Wilken 1991)

Mild Controversy as a Stimulus for Engagement

• Structured debate• Eliciting divergent

opinions on an issue and inviting students to resolve their discrepancies through sustained discussion.

Competition as a Stimulus for Engagement

• The opportunity to compete can add excitement to classroom activities.

• Individual and group competitions can be effective

Action Steps

• Games stimulate attention because they involve missing information.

• Focus the content of the games on academic content so that they represent a form of review.

Other Games

• Name That Category – ($100,000 Pyramid) list words in a category until the teammate correctly identify the category name. Example: water, soda, milk, tea, coffee…

Talk a Mile a Minute

• A team member is chosen to look at a list of terms in a category and say as many things as they can about the items but can’t use any words on the list or rhyming words. The game continues until teammates identify all the terms in the category.

Classroom Feud

• One Team of students take turns each giving an answer. Correct answers are worth a point. If a team gets three strikes the other team has a chance to steal the points that remain in a category.

Response Cards

• Each student gets a small whiteboard or other writing material on which to respond to a series of questions asked by the teacher. Students hold up their response to each question on the teacher’s signal. True/False, Multiple Choice, Fill in the Blank formats all work well.

Use Physical Movement

• Stand and Stretch• Body Representations –

example briefly represent the size of angles or the radius and diameter of a circle.

• Brain Gym – crossing the body’s midline activities or relaxation exercises.

• Simon Sez – follow the directions only when Simon Sez precedes

Give One Get One

• Students walk around the classroom to get a specific number of answers from others and also share their answers. They are only allowed to give and take one answer from each person.

Vote With Your Feet

• The teacher posts signs (A,B,C, D) in different corners of the room. Students move to the corner where they believe the correct answer is. The teacher can call on a student to explain for a bonus point.

Demonstrate Intensity and Enthusiasm for Content

• An intense presentation will begin with a direct statement of the importance of the message. “I am going to show you how to invert fractions – now pay close attention and make sure you understand these procedures. Then use a slow paced, step-by-step presentation during which key words are emphasized and exaggerate gestures that focus attention on key terms and steps. Scan the room after each step for signs of understanding or confusion.

Provide Unusual Information• Unusual Information is a form of

missing information and tend to capture students attention. Try to find some interesting facts that you can relate to a unit of instruction.

• Earth is the only planet not named after a

• pagan god.• Take your height and divide by

eight and that’s how tall your• head is.• Thirty-one percent of employees

skip• lunch entirely.• The first product to have a bar

code was • Wrigley’s gum.

Try Some Unusual Facts

• Acupuncture was first used as a medical treatment in • 2700 BC by Chinese emperor Shen-Nung. • Armored knights raised their visors to identify

themselves when they rode past their king. This custom has become the

• modern military salute. • In 1892, Italy raised the minimum age for marriage for

girls - to • 12. • President Lincoln proclaimed the first national

Thanksgiving Day in • 1863.

Summary – What Will I Do to Engage Students?

• Stimulate students on-task behavior via:High

energyMissing

informationThe Self SystemMild P

ressureMild Controversy

Competition

Promote Physical Movement

Challenge Students’ Thinking