Engagement Strategies
In order to enable all students have the means to effectively learn in my class, I plan to use a variety of engagement strategies. These strategies will be a benefit to all student learners, but some strategies will provide a specific benefit to certain groups of students.
Special Needs
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English Learners
- Fuzzy Points. At the end of a lesson, students write down a concept that they still don’t fully understand and then they hand it in anonymously. The teachers collects the fuzzy points and uses them to inform the next day’s lesson.
- Talk to Your Partner. Students turn to their partner to discuss a question or concept. This allows students to hear another person’s perspective and allows them to verbalize their own thinking.
- Group Chart. In groups, students develop charts and diagrams to illustrate a math problem or concept. Each students presents their graphic to the group. Charts can be displayed for class review and comparison.
- Hand Signals. Teacher can prompt students to respond to a question or provide meaningful feedback using gestures with their hands. The teacher could ask a true/false question and prompt for thumbs up or thumbs down. Teacher could also present a problem and then ask students what strategy is needed to solve the problem, giving numbered options. Students could then respond with a number hand gesture.
- Peer Coach. Students pair up and take turns being the coach and the one being coached. The coach then watches their peer answer a sample problem. When complete, the student-coach is able to provide feedback to their peer and both can ask each other questions. Then the roles are reversed and the coach is now the one being coached.
- Follow the Leader. One student reads a word problem to another student and then prompts them in how to solve the problem. Effective communication is needed since only the reader has access to the written problem. When the problem is completed the roles switch.
- Students Questions. The teacher provides opportunities for students to develop questions they have about the topic the class is exploring. For example: the unit being studied is the Pythagorean Theorem, so the teacher might pose a question he has, like, “Who discovered the theorem?” He could then ask the students at various points in the lesson what questions they have. The students could then write these questions in their math journals and could be referenced throughout the unit. If a student found an answer to their question, then they could present the answer to the class.
- Preferences Line Up. Present a math question that could have a variety of responses or multiple methods for solving, then prompt students to answer the question on their own. Then on the white board or overhead, create a graph that represents the different preferences for solving the problem. Then prompt students to place themselves on the graph where appropriate. This gives a visual indication of the variety of thinking in the class and informs students of alternative methods for solving.