Student engagement is obviously one of the key goals of effective teachers. If students aren’t engaged, then learning will be minimal. Whilst what the teacher does is important, it won’t matter what the teacher does, if the students are not engaged.
One of the key factors in student engagement is the relationship between the student and the teacher. Students don’t care how much the teacher knows, until they know how much the teacher cares!
Whilst I am certain that you have heard this saying before, I am also certain that it is true. The better we can connect with our students, the better they will be able to learn. Making a connection by showing you care is vital!
In providing opportunities for all students to learn, it is essential that teachers build rapport and make a connection with all students. Often the most difficult students to connect with are the students who find learning the most difficult.
I love the term used by behaviour management guru Bill Rogers, “Warm, Yet Demanding!” Rogers argues that our interactions with students should be characterised by a balance between the ‘warmth’ that shows that we care about them as individuals and the ‘demanding’ that shows we have expectations of them and their behaviour. I find it helpful to see this as a continuum.
Some teachers are too far to one end of the spectrum. Whilst it might seem contradictory, I believe some teachers are ‘too warm’. They are clearly very keen to be friends with their students and work very hard at building rapport. At times it has appeared that the teacher was afraid to do anything that would jeopardise the friendship and the students ‘liking’ them. To them, retaining the friendship seemed to be the highest priority. In that situation the student is setting the tone. The teacher therefore had very limited control.
I have also worked with colleagues who are ‘too demanding’. I’m sure you know the “Don’t smile until Easter!” approach. Teachers at this end of the spectrum display an attitude which could be described as harsh. There is no warmth displayed or any effort to build rapport with the students. They are very demanding, have very high expectations of students and could be seen as aloof. Whilst they make their expectations explicit to students, they are at risk of being unrealistic and disconnected from their students.
The ideal situation is an appropriate balance between warmth and demanding. The warmth is necessary to connect with students, have a good rapport and a relationship where students know you care about them and their learning. In this situation the student is more likely to respond by doing their best. Being demanding is also important as students need clear expectations and boundaries so that they know what is expected of them and rise to those expectations.
Schools can be tough places, filled with negativity and failure, especially for students who find learning difficult. Often they develop self-protection strategies to defend their self-esteem. This presents as “Too Cool for School” behaviour.
Whilst very challenging, these are the students who would most benefit from a warm – demanding approach. They need clear boundaries and consistent expectations but they also need to feel their teacher is interested in helping them and cares about them.
As the adult in the situation, I believe it is the teacher’s professional responsibility to do whatever they can to maximise every student’s engagement. Identifying and addressing barriers to student engagement is a professional responsibility. Have you ever thought about asking students for feedback on what is helping their learning (and what isn’t!)?
I’m currently working with a number of schools to refine a survey instrument for gathering feedback to teachers from upper primary and secondary students. The feedback is designed to be formative to help the teacher refine their practice and increase student engagement.
The second crucial factor in maximizing learning opportunities for all students is Starting From Where They Are. It is essential that teachers identify what each student can already do, knows and understands. This should be the starting point in catering for individual differences.
The ideal environment for learning is when the student is engaged in tasks that are sufficiently challenging to be a little difficult but not so challenging that they are insurmountable. It’s a little like Goldilocks and the three beds – one bed was too soft, one bed was too hard but one bed was just right.
The Russian psychologist, Vygotsky developed the concept of the zone of proximal development. Explained simply, this is the range of performance within which a student can function if they have support.
Easy tasks that a child can perform independently, build their confidence and familiarity so that they can become ‘automated’ but are not sufficiently challenging that they stretch the student (too soft!). Too many tasks at this level and the student will quickly become bored and will disengage. Tasks that are too difficult for the student, without support, are likely to lead to frustration, lowered self-esteem and disengagement (too hard!). The Learning Zone or in Vygotsky’s terminology, the zone of proximal development, is the zone where true learning takes place.
To ensure that we cater for all students, it is important that we aim to maximise the amount of time each student spends in their Learning Zone (just right!). Optimising the learning of every student comes from undertaking activities that challenge them but don’t frustrate them. This is one of the keys to engaging and motivating students.
The Learning Zone will be different for each student. It is imperative that we start from where students are, by identifying what they can already do, know and understand, without support. We then need to provide the necessary support to stretch the student into their Learning Zone.
I believe that when true learning takes place, the student feels slightly uncomfortable. Their status quo is challenged as they move to a higher level of understanding and skill. This is the true Learning Zone and where we need to provide the necessary support.
The explicit teaching model of “I”, “We” and “You” is based on the transition through the Learning Zone by initially providing support through a demonstration and then a shared experience before completing the task independently.
The third crucial factor in catering for all students is that Success Breeds Success. It is vital that students build their confidence and self-esteem through seeing themselves as successful learners. Starting from where they are and maximising their time genuinely in the Learning Zone is the key to their success.
Whilst students are acutely aware of their strengths and weaknesses relative to their peers, it is vital that students experience success and see themselves making progress and being successful learners.
The more success that students experience, the more that they will see themselves as learners. However the success must come from being challenged in their Learning Zone, not on tasks that they see as too easy or ‘dumbed down’.
Student engagement, success, behaviour and self-esteem are inter-twined. All come from connecting with students, starting from where they are and scaffolding the support necessary for them to successful overcome the challenges that are present when true learning occurs.