I'm Engaged!

I'm engaged!  Pic courtesy of luvimages.com

A few years ago the district I was teaching in at the time decided to do a staff development on Schlechty's Working on the Work.  We all got black t-shirts with the phrase, "I'm Engaged!" on the front in white.  We thought they were so cute until one of us went to pick up lunch solo and got all kinds of congratulatory remarks.  This just goes to show that, when we think about or talk about engagement, we are not all talking about the same thing and sometimes this causes us to miss the boat with our students as well.
Schlechty talks about 5 different levels of engagement.  I will discuss each one briefly and give you some samples.  The district I currently worked in has also done some work with engagement this year and I have developed a nice little guide that you can use while analyzing your students as well. (You can find this in the "pages" section of my blog or email me for the color copy.)  It is important to consider if your students are engaged, but we also need to ask why are they engaged. Schlechty helps us to answer that question.

The first level of engagement is Authentic Engagement.  Students are authentically engaged when they want to learn the material and find relevance in the lesson.  They understand that this information is going to be pertinent to them and they do not necessarily even view the assignment as work but they would do it even if there was no tangible pay-off for them--like a good grade or praise from the teacher. These are the most difficult lessons to design but it's certainly not impossible to reach this level of engagement consistently.  Much of it has to do with creating a climate where learning is valued in your classroom and then designing your lesson with your particular students in mind.  Allowing students to choose their own topics or books can often lead to Authentic Engagement.  Letting them do problem solving activities that are relevant to their lives can also create this type of engagement.  For example, let them determine what should be on the lunch menu or if they have enough marbles in the jar to have a party.  Family history projects or those that relate to a place they find interesting often lead to authentic engagement, as does the use of many technology apps or websites.
Ritual Engagement is the next level on Schlechty's list.  This is a slightly lower level than Authentic Engagement but it is still something to strive for. The student completes the assignment because they want to earn good grades or receive praise from a parent or teacher. They are not genuinely interested in the topic but they don't mind it so much either.  They would not complete the work if there was no reward but they do complete it in order to receive something in return.  Assignments that fit the bill for Ritual Engagement might include a book assigned by the teacher, finishing a certain amount of math problems in order to receive a specific grade, completing a worksheet so that they earn a star or a sticker.  The student doesn't see that the work is important or relevant but they understand that the teacher sees it as such so they do it.

The third level of engagement is Passive Compliance.  Rather than trying to earn something, the student in this situation completes an assignment to avoid something--a phone call home, detention, being sent to the office. They are not trying to get a reward, they just don't want to be punished.  Sometimes it may be something as simple as being scorned by the teacher or a parent that pushes the student to complete the assignment, the "I don't want to get in trouble" factor.  In the case of a student who was previously even less engaged, they may be hanging out here for a while because they are not yet capable of seeing the relevance in schoolwork which would eventually cause them to be more engaged. This is not a level of engagement where we want our students to spend a lot of time.  A classroom with a lot of students engaged at this level (or even less engaged) is not going to be extremely productive.
The next level of engagement is Retreatism.  This one can be tricky to spot so a teacher must be watching carefully.  In this level, a student does not complete his or her work but does not disrupt others either.  He or she sits there and either does something else or nothing at all.  It is often easy for these students to blend in until an assignment is due or to completely get by without working in the case of a group assignment.  These are the kids who consistently fail to find a partner whenever there is paired work to be done. They slink into the corners and hope that no one sees them and then they often stare into outer space while those around them cover the material.
The final level of engagement is really no engagement at all. It's called Rebellion and we have all had at least a few students over the years who fit the description completely.  Rebellion is characterized by refusal to complete assignments, yelling out in class, arguing with the teacher, disrupting others, aimlessly wandering around the classroom--all of those things that make us want to pull our hair out at the end of the day. And the most frustrating thing about having a Rebel in your class is that sometimes it doesn't even matter how engaging the rest of your students find the assignment--they are still rebelling! This may be an indicator that something else is wrong and that the student needs more than just a different lesson plan to keep him or her engaged.  In the case of the consistently rebellious student, do not hesitate to ask for help from your teammates, administrators, or specialists. It is nearly impossible to keep the rest of your class engaged when you have a rebel on the loose.
What does all of this mean for the classroom teacher?  Schlechty continues with a discussion of how to plan lessons so that students are more engaged.  In fact, he has written extensively about how to engage students at higher levels. I will discuss his suggestions for developing lessons that help students to become more authentically engaged tomorrow.  For now, take a look at the students in your classroom. How many of them would you say consistently fit into each of these categories  If they are not authentically engaged, do you know why? Is there anything you can change to make your lessons more engaging?  Are there outside forces at work in your classroom and if so is there anything you can do to alleviate or influence these sources?  There are a lot of things to consider when it comes to creating engaging classrooms.  I would really like to hear your thoughts!