Strategies to Promote Active Student Engagement
This microcredential represents an educator's ability to use a variety of instructional strategies to promote active student engagement.
To earn this 0.5 credit microcredential you will submit two types of evidence to demonstrate your competency in using strategies to promote active student engagement. You will also complete a written or video reflective analysis. Click Earn This Microcredential to learn more!
Teachers must initially build positive student–teacher relationships to foster engagement and motivate reluctant learners. They promote engagement by connecting learning to students’ lives (e. g., knowing students’ academic and cultural backgrounds) and using a variety of teacher-led (e.g., choral responding and response cards), peer-assisted (e. g., cooperative learning and peer tutoring), student-regulated (e.g., self-management), and technology-supported strategies shown empirically to increase student engagement. Teachers must also monitor student engagement and provide positive and constructive feedback to sustain performance.
High leverage practices are frequently occurring, educational practices that all educators should know how to do. These practices are evidence based, meaning that they reflect effective methods that when successfully implemented can improve results for each learner.
Student Engagement Strategies:Student engagement strategies are instructional strategies that result in active student responding. They promote engagement by connecting learning to students’ lives (e. g., knowing students’ academic and cultural backgrounds). These strategies include activities that are teacher-led (e.g., choral responding and response cards), peer-assisted (e. g., cooperative learning and peer tutoring), student-regulated (e.g., self-management), or technology-supported and have been shown empirically to increase student engagement.
Elementary Scenario At the beginning of the year 1st grade teacher, Harmony Evans spends her lunch with three students at a time to get to know them. These small chats build the rapport necessary to have the trust needed to engage them academically. She plans her lessons with the student interests and backgrounds in mind. Ms. Evans utilizes a variety of engagement strategies as well so that students can have space to reflect, process, and share their understanding with peers. These students not only enjoy the variety of activities to share their learning, they also have a safe space in which to engage with their teacher and one another. This learning community supports the motivation to love being part of the class as well as the experience of learning through active engagement with the content.
Secondary Scenario Students in Marcie Baker’s 8th grade Science class are building an understanding of how energy can be transferred between objects. To actively engage her students, she considers the implications of this content strand in the students’ everyday experience. Ms. Baker learned earlier that year that she has a few students who enjoy skateboarding and frequent the local skate park. She asks these students to share how they determine how fast they will need to go to reach the other side of the incline. The students engage the others in explaining their experience and how it applies to the concepts being discussed about potential and kinetic energy. The students are then given time to consider one way in which these concepts apply to their own experience and interests. The students are given the option of representing this understanding in one of several ways including: a detailed drawing or diagram, a video with accompanying explanation, writing a narrative detailing the connection, or another approved student-choice option. The students are free to engage with the learning through their desired medium and have agency in their learning that empowers them to continue to confidently explore abstract concepts that can be applied and made concrete through their reflection on their own experience.
Category: Preparation and Planning
Submit the evidence described below to demonstrate your preparation and planning to promote active student engagement.
Submit a lesson plan of your design that explicitly includes a variety of active student engagement strategies and the intent of each selected strategy (e.g., motivate reluctant learners, foster student-teacher relationships, peer feedback). In a separate section of the lesson plan, include citations for research supporting your instructional approach. (See the Resources section for examples.)
Category: Implementation
Submit the evidence described below to demonstrate your ability to use strategies that promote active student engagement.
Have a peer, instructional coach, or administrator observe your lesson and complete the observation checklist. A post observation discussion may be helpful so that the observer may ask for more information or seek clarity based on observation.
Review Criteria
Criterion 1: The lesson plan demonstrates evidence of engagement strategies that foster positive teacher-student relationships.
EXAMPLE: The lesson plan includes targeted questions to ask students, how they will be able to respond (examples: using technology, turn and talk, think-pair-share, written on whiteboards, etc.), and how the answers to these questions will inform the direction and subsequent action of the lesson.
NON-EXAMPLE: The lesson plan includes an outline of the structure, but doesn’t indicate when students will engage in the process. Active engagement activities aren’t explicitly mentioned.
Criterion 2: The lesson plan demonstrates evidence of a variety of strategies to ensure active student engagement during the lesson.
EXAMPLE: The lesson plan includes a variety of modalities for students to engage with the content, such as turn and talk, collaborative discussion, opportunities to practice using technology, and ties to relevant connections to students’ lives and/or prior knowledge and learning.
NON-EXAMPLE: The lesson only includes one kind or very few opportunities for students to engage with the content in a way that asks them to connect the content to their lives and learning.
Criterion 3: The lesson plan demonstrates evidence of how the teacher will monitor and adjust based on student response/feedback.
EXAMPLE: The lesson plan includes targeted questions that include paths for learning for students who understand the content, require reteaching or clarification for misconceptions, and/or opportunities to take the learning deeper.
NON-EXAMPLE: The lesson plan does not include a plan for reteaching or extension when soliciting feedback from students.
Criterion 4: The observation checklist is included and shows that the educator met all criteria.
Identify at least one Utah Effective Teaching Standard (see link the standards in the resources below) and discuss how the student engagement strategies you used in this lesson helped you meet this standard.
What are some of the most effective student engagement strategies you have used in your teaching? Why do you think they worked so well?
Reflect on the feedback from your observation. How will this inform your instruction in the future?
Review Criteria
Criterion 1: Response demonstrates a level of professionalism and personal reflection that demonstrates the teacher’s learning experience.
Criterion 2: Response includes reference to at least one Utah Effective Teaching Standard.
Criterion 3: Response describes effective student engagement strategies and explains why they worked well with students.
https://usbe.midaseducation.com/professional-development/courses/course/59174
This is a 2 USBE credit course that builds knowledge about each of the 5 Utah High Leverage Practices
High Leverage Practices: An Introduction
https://www.schools.utah.gov/file/ff54b5fa-43f9-47a1-a751-8cbed146cf72
This document was created by the Utah State Board of Education, Teaching & Learning Section to support the implementation of the 5 Utah High Leverage Practices.
High Leverage Practices
https://highleveragepractices.org/
This site explores the research-based high leverage practice that include the 5 HLPs for this stack as well as others that have been shown to be effective. It is published by the CEEDAR Center.
Utah Effective Teaching Standards
https://www.schools.utah.gov/file/f0e86540-5617-4166-a701-fea403f2f848
The Utah effective Teaching Standards articulate what effective teaching and learning look like in the Utah public education system.
Utah High Leverage Practices: Student Engagement Checklist
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Bg-T3CRJqNF7DaT0sVpFydHCOmY-Ljpq/view?usp=sharing
Have a peer, instructional coach, or administrator observe your lesson and complete the observation checklist. Upload a completed copy of the checklist as your evidence of implementation.
Joshua Aulava
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Lisa Kolanko
Stephanie Kourianos
Kari Larsen
Lacee Larson
Betsy Lopez
Dallin Maxfield
Sarah Mazuran
Sharon McGarry
Jennifer Perkins
250 East 500 South
Salt Lake City, UT 84111-3204
Phone: 801.538.7807