One of the biggest things I hear with MyView is that it is not engaging. I am just going to put my opinion out there to start and get it over with. I do not believe engagement equals fun. Engagement means participation. Kids should participate and engage in their learning. Sometimes, their participation can be super fun, but fun isn't the goal. Participation is the goal so kids learn.
Alright. Now that is out of the way, let's talk about how we ENGAGE kids in THEIR learning! I kept the "Archerisms" here because two of them relate to engagement. The first is that learning is not a spectator sport. You should not be doing all the work. Yeah, you have to model, but that should be a small part of your lesson. The rest is kids working WITH you and you giving feedback on how they are thinking and doing and learning. If at the end of your lesson, you feel you worked and talked more than the kids, it's time to reflect on how you could have them participate more.
The second is that everyone does everything. There are times where one student is talking or writing or doing something. How could you have ALL students doing the work all the time? Could they ALL write on white boards? Could they turn and talk to a partner so they are all answering?
Here is one quick strategy to help with both of these!
Choral Practice (Give instructions then check for understanding.) This straegy also makes me think of Mirror from Whole Brain Teaching.
1. Give instructions or share facts-
2. Students finish the teacher’s sentence, or repeat instructions, in unison to a teacher question, such as,
“The first vocabulary word is...it means..."
Look for the next blog post where I present engagement, or participation, strategies for each Day's Routine!
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