Student Engagement In CTE Continued

Now that you have looked at the importance of increasing student engagement and activity in your classes, we need to revisit the “Why?” 

Your class gets them a job.

Your class gets them into college.

Your class gives them marketable skills and college credit.

Your organization funds scholarships.

We are extremely valuable, but when dealing with a teenage population, they don’t always see that, which is why we need to market ourselves across the entire community in an effort to give people the opportunity to take advantage of these amazing classes and clubs that are available in a free public education environment. 

Types Of Student Engagement

Let’s revisit the different types of student engagement we are trying to capture:

In order to maximize our efficacy in the classroom, it is important for us to define and understand the different types of student engagement that we are working towards. While they are important independently, it is the synergy of the three working together that truly creates a “master class” that all students will rush to sign up for next year. Consider the different focuses for these types of students engagement:

Behavioral

Obviously, this type of engagement is centered on the actions of the students. An engaged student will come to class every day, on time, with all of the necessary tools to be successful in that class. This engagement shows itself in completed homework, participating in class discussions and asking questions of the teacher.  

Emotional

At the forefront of educational discussions following the COVID lockdown, putting the emphasis on emotional engagement requires us to connect even more closely with our students. Students demonstrating emotional engagement feel that they are an integral part of the class and the entire school community. Generally happy and upbeat, these students greet you in the hallway or the cafeteria, interact positively with their peers and participate in activities in class.

Cognitive

Demonstrating cognitive engagement includes assertiveness in class, a deep understanding of the topic, and a strong desire to learn and share more about the topic at hand. Students who are cognitively engaged ask challenging questions, and will complete additional research to find more information about a topic. 

Actual Examples Of Projects That Capture Students Interest

Me and you teach the absolute coolest stuff in the world, and if we can get the courage to leave the textbook behind, we can engage students in topics that are both current and interesting, topics they can share with their friends and families, and topics that can support them as good citizens. If you’re looking to start something that is deep in our state and national standards while still being engaging and timely for our students, here are just a few of the projects I’ve done this year that were total winners with my kids:

SVB or GameStop

Here is a golden opportunity for you to engage your students in some very important and relevant news that impacts them directly. Last month, I created a jigsaw type of activity focused on the causes and effects of the Silicon Valley Bank situation. Two years ago, I did a similar one with GameStop. Both of these phenomena include an important element of social media, which was extremely interesting to my students.

1. Break students into pairs
2. Assign each pair a question to research (Compare SVB situation to 2008, for example)
3. Have them complete a brief presentation answering the question. The presentation must include a maximum 4-minute video or newsreel they find.
4. At the end of 30 minutes, students move from group to group learning a different part of the situation at each table. By the end of their walk, they have learned everything about the topics.

SSG

Betterinvesting.org, a very popular adult investment site, offers free student accounts. Their Stock Selection Guide is incredibly in depth and thorough to investigate the stock performance and strength of a company.

1. Have each student (or pair if you like) choose a different company
2. Go through the SSG process and answer questions about the company
3. Research common knowledge of the company, also
4. Present your findings to the class in a presentation style.
5. Most important conclusion: Should we invest in this company for the Stock Market Game?

Super Bowl Ads

Particularly useful for the Super Bowl, this can be done at any time of the year, and is great for marketing classes or business law.

1. Break into groups of four
2. Choose (or assign) a commercial airing during a special event
3. Compare that advertisement to previous ads by the same company
4. Create a chart showing the similarities and differences in advertisements both over time and based on when it is being shown
5. Have groups present their findings to the class—including showing their favorite commercial

The Game Of Your Life

Many of us teach the Intro to Business survey course, which covers 9 – 12 grade, and is the first business course for many students. This is one of the culminating projects I do:

1. Basically this is my version of the Game of Life.
2. Students get a persona they will live as for a (very accelerated) year
   1. Includes family situation and age
   2. Includes education level
   3. Includes existing savings or debt
3. They must find a job and a place to live
4. They need to outfit their new apartment/house. This assignment is super fun, because they never considered that a “kitchen” doesn’t start life with a can opener and paper towels. HUGE lightbulb moment when they have to fill their kitchen and bathroom.
5. Things—positive and negative—happen to them every class period that they need to deal with/account for
6. The presentations at the end of this project are super interesting. They are always completely shocked how much time and effort goes into “living your adult life” as opposed to being a dependent teenager.

Summarizing The Class/Meeting

No matter how long or short your project is, the culmination is easily the most important part. This is not only where we assess the mastery level of our students on the standards we are focused on, but more importantly, the presentation skills our kids are gaining represents the best career and college training we do. 

“Is this for a grade”

If you look at the jigsaw assignment above, you might have noticed I NEVER looked at their presentations. That assignment wasn’t even graded, but it was extremely engaging to the students, and I had 100% participation in the creating and viewing of the deliverable. When you do it right, it won’t be about the grade.

Have students present or share

Get your kids accustomed to speaking in front of their peers. There are a variety of ways to do this in a non-threatening way, so that all of your students can build their confidence. My best suggestion is to start very small, and build into longer, more elaborate presentations. Start with a 30-second elevator speech, and work up from there.

Ask good questions to facilitate discussion

Make sure you are “rewarding” your students with your full attention, and a rich and robust conversation. You will find that while you may start the discussion, students who are truly engaged will jump in and lead it into places you hadn’t even considered. Be ready to relinquish that control.

Personalize the deliverable

I try to give very minimalist requirements for a deliverable, to tap into the individual creativity of the students. The less structure you give them—while still presenting a detailed rubric—the more interesting you will find the final products that students turn in. 

No Matter What

One of the key pieces of student engagement that we haven’t discussed is the incredible power you wield in this area. Your positive, consistent energy will be the thing that brings out the best in your students. You will find that as you build stronger and deeper relationships with your students, their grades will improve, as will their deliverables. They will not only be more interested in your class and engaged in activities, but this accountability they will feel can translate into success outside of your classroom.

We will create lifelong learners. And we will fill our classrooms. Every year.

Email me at ppilatbuono@gmail.com for rubrics and instructions for any of the projects mentioned above.

THANK YOU FOR READING THIS FAR

Wow, thank you for reading about more student engagement!

Hey, since you’re here! You may as well check out PART ONE, here, and learn about dressing for success, here! Check out our other topics here! Either way, I appreciate you!

Please leave a COMMENT about any tips you may have!! Or comment what your favorite lesson of mine was! How’s your student organization operating?

Feel free to contact me or leave a COMMENT with anything you would like to hear more about! Or reach out with any unrelated questions, comments, concerns, or random outbursts of excitement by clicking here.

Oh! And don’t forget to check out my video series by CLICKING HERE!!!

Resources 

https://www.prodigygame.com/main-en/blog/student-engagement-strategies/

https://www.edutopia.org/classroom-student-participation-tips