Welcome to today's #ETCoaches Twitter Chat about Engagement. The first question will be here in about 5 minutes. Please share who you are and what you do while we wait! Looking forward to learning with everyone tonight! @EdTechCoaches@iste
#ETCoaches - Hello! I am Melissa from PA (finally stopped raining). I am the Educational Content Manager and an online tech coach for Source for Learning
I am excited to be hosting the chat tonight. I'm a HS Science Teacher and Instructional Technology Coordinator in Naperville, IL. I try to live as a curious lifelong learner in all I do. #etcoaches
Q1: How would you define engagement in a classroom or in a professional development environment? What keywords can be connected to your definition of engagement? #ETCoaches
A1: Engagement in the classroom is when students are actively involved in their learning by actually practicing a skill. It can also be students actively involved in finding an answer or discovering a solution. Key words: active learning, curious, hands-on. #etcoaches
A1: We had some great shares earlier today. One of my favorite keywords was Active. I also love engaged classrooms where students are asking questions and challenging each other to learn something new. #ETCoaches
I think that student engagement is a combination of a lot of things. I notice that my students learn best when they have opportunities to collaborate and connect. I'd say the BIG keywords: create, communicate, collaborate and think critically #ETCoaches
A2: It is OK to be teacher-led as long as students are actively learning. I'm not just talking about taking notes. I love tools like @PearDeck to support reflective engagement and formative assessment during teacher-centered activities. #ETCoaches
Q2 - checking for understanding is important during a teacher led lesson. However, when I use tools like Seesaw, Flipgrid and Kahoot to find out what they know, I get much more creative and excited answers from my students! #ETCoaches
Yes! Effective questioning is a skill that the best educators develop. I know there are some great @edutopia articles to support effective questioning! #ETCoaches
A3: Engaged students in learner centered classrooms are electric. There is passion in their eyes, they are actively exploring, and collaborating. It can be very inspiring when you find those moments of pure engagement for the sake of learning something new! #ETCoaches
Great point. I love that you are using a variety of tools to support checks for understanding. No matter how good the stategy or tool, it can get stale for learners if it is overused. #ETCoaches
Q2 - checking for understanding is important during a teacher led lesson. However, when I use tools like Seesaw, Flipgrid and Kahoot to find out what they know, I get much more creative and excited answers from my students! #ETCoaches
Q4: Reflect and share. Based on the responses to the last two questions, is engagement different in teacher-centered vs learner centered experiences? If yes, how? If no, why? #ETCoaches
Being able to differentiate the experience for students can be a great way to make sure everyone is engaged. Thanks for sharing this great point! #ETCoaches
A3: We use Chromecast & displays to help students collaborate with a team or partner. This holds students accountable for staying on task & helps me see what they are doing on the bigger screen. #etcoaches
A5. It really depends on the activities that the class are participating in - - so many different options. I think active learning is a part of both... #ETCoaches
A4: Tough question and hard to visualize. I think that engagement in teacher-centered activities often is reflective of the teacher's personality and student-centered engagement may be more reflective of the students' passions and curiosities? #ETCoaches
A4: Engagement in teacher-centered and student-centered is usually different in the sense that students tend to be more enthusiastic and invested in learning when the lesson is student-centered. They seem more involved in the task. #etcoaches
Q5: How are learning experiences (PD) that engage educators different than or similar to learning experiences that engage students (School)? Should there be differences? #ETCoaches
A5: same, making it relevant increases engagement and making it interactive in some way (discussing an idea/quote with a partner or small group) #ETCoaches
A5: I think the best PD experiences are designed to model student engagement. The facilitator needs to provide staff with opportunities to explore, create, and ask questions. #ETCoaches
Q5: Grrreeeaaattt Question! We often sit for long periods of time at PD and have little hands on or small group work. Adults like to have choice, collaboration & show what they know in different ways just like the kids! #etcoaches
Q6: Sometimes engagement starts the moment learners walk in the door, what tips or strategies do you have to “hook” learners from the beginning of a learning experience? #ETCoaches
A5: Learning experiences for educators need to be similar to engaging lessons for students. Often times I have been to PDs where the presenters talk about how teachers need to do less lecturing and more hands-on, but yet, the PD presentation is all one big lecture! #etcoaches
Q6: Sometimes engagement starts the moment learners walk in the door, what tips or strategies do you have to “hook” learners from the beginning of a learning experience? #ETCoaches
A5: Learning experiences for educators need to be similar to engaging lessons for students. Often times I have been to PDs where the presenters talk about how teachers need to do less lecturing and more hands-on, but yet, the PD presentation is all one big lecture! #etcoaches
A5. I don't think that they should be that different. Adults have attention issues just like students. We also learn best by active, rather than passive learning #ETCoaches.
A6: Sometimes I get too caught up in getting started that I forget about hooking my students at the beginning of a unit or activity. I always try to remind myself how important it is to connect them to the learning right out of the gate. https://t.co/vNJMEJs5Do#ETCoaches
Q7: Beyond the start of class or a PD experience, there are many correlations between engagement and building strong learning communities. What tips do you have to help build a community of connected curious life-long learners? #ETCoaches
A6: Sometimes I get too caught up in getting started that I forget about hooking my students at the beginning of a unit or activity. I always try to remind myself how important it is to connect them to the learning right out of the gate. https://t.co/vNJMEJs5Do#ETCoaches
A6: I try to "hook" my students with an anecdote, video clip, or an interesting question. Today, I taught my students about commas. I introduced the lesson by asking students: Did you know that commas save lives? Example: Let's eat Grandma vs. Let's eat, Grandma! #etcoaches
a6: I think connecting to their "kid real world" at the beginning is great. Humor is a sometimes a great hook as well. Sometimes I let my 2nd grader's record part of my lesson ahead of time to show the 1st graders. They love seeing other kids in this role! #etcoaches
A7: Building a learning community has to start from day 1. Get to know your students and let them get two know you. After that I think the key is being consistent and fair in all you do. #ETCoaches
Q8: I think it is important to get learners to own the experience. I am a big fan of blending the 4 Cs with student voice, student choice, reflective learning, and formative assessment. #ETCoaches
Q9: Student agency and student voice are often connected to engagement. What strategies or resources would recommend to support one or both of these concepts? #ETCoaches
A9: Student choice is a great strategy. I am a big fan of #HyperDocs that give students a choice of what and how to learn. I love to capture student voice in a variety of ways. Here are a few favorite creative student voice resources https://t.co/To4jLjXK4n#ETCoaches
Q10: Engagement can be difficult to measure, how can formative assessment support student engagement in classrooms. What assessment strategies or tools would you recommend to support formative assessment as part of the learning process? #ETCoaches
A10. My favorite topic - tech tools! @Flipgrid is my favorite for verbal response. I also love @quizlet for creating virtual quizzes. Plus @quizizz is great for group assessment #ETCoaches
A10: I don't know how I would survive as a teacher without formative assessment. It both engages students and drives the learning experience. Here are a few favorites https://t.co/3xFXpCMrhy#ETCoaches
Q11: Creativity, Communication, Critical Thinking, and Collaboration are skills that can be connected to activities that engage learners. What are your favorite #EdTech resources that you use to engage learners? #ETCoaches
