Engaging Students Creates Successful Students

Before entering the social studies methods course, I did not know very much about the differences in lesson plans. Through my freshman and sophomore year, I just learned how to write a standard formal lesson plan and thought that, that was how it always would be. Before fieldwork, Dr. Smirnova had discussed a direct lesson, inquiry lesson, and cooperative lesson. I did not understand the differences between an inquiry and cooperative lesson as clearly until I saw my classmate, Kelli, implement each. As I observed her inquiry and cooperative lessons, I noticed that these both modeled an engaging lesson. When I am an elementary education teacher, I want my course to be both instructive and engaging to help students enjoy learning the content.

As I observed the fifth grade students, it became clear to me that during these lessons the students were teaching themselves. Kelli was not in front of the classroom lecturing the students on material or telling them what they should be thinking, writing, or drawing for either activity. During the inquiry lesson, given materials, the students were solving a problem through their own knowledge as well as their group members’ knowledge. As mentioned by Jones, Valdez, Nowakowski, & Rasmussen (1994), “These learners are strategic in that they know how to learn and are able to transfer knowledge to solve problems creatively” (p. 1). When the students solve a problem, they feel accomplished and this creates a passion for learning and understanding ideas through their own discovery. The task needs to be challenging. For Kelli’s, this was definitely the case. The students had to read their individual article and discover answers to clues on their own. Then, they had to put their individual clues and thoughts together to determine the mystery. The students will not find solving problems an enjoyable mission if the problem is simple and does not involve much higher-level thinking skills.

During the cooperative lesson, the students were completing a project as a group as well as each given a specific role. The engagement is being collaborative. Having the skills to work with others is more evident in some students. When students are exposed to collaborative efforts, they will all continuously develop and improve with these skills. During Kelli’s cooperative lesson, the students created a timeline. In every group, each student was given an assigned role. A few of the roles included an illustrator, a timekeeper, and a researcher. As the students developed their timelines, Kelli completed an assessment of engaged learning. As stated by Jones, Valdez, Nowakowski, & Rasmussen (1994), “Assessment of engaged learning involves presenting students with an authentic task, project, or investigation, and then observing, interviewing, and examining their presentations and artifacts to assess what they actually know and can do” (p. 1).  Kelli followed this by more of an interview approach. She went around to the different groups and would ask questions to check for understanding among the different students. The questions were based off of the timeline the students were in the process of creating. This allows her to see how much the students are involved in the activity.

Both Kelli’s inquiry and cooperative lessons included learning-centered collaborative work. To promote engaged learning, “Heterogeneous groups (including different sexes, cultures, abilities, ages, and socioeconomic backgrounds) offer a wealth of background knowledge and perspectives to different tasks”(Jones, Valdez, Nowakowski, & Rasmussen, 1994, p. 2). If a range of diversity in several aspects was not the case, the students would have a more difficult time discovering a solution to a problem or completing a project because all of the ideas put towards each would be very similar. Also, for both lessons, reflection is key after the students have interacted with one another. As stated by Jones, Valdez, Nowakowski, & Rasmussen (1994), “Students are then encouraged to reflect upon their discoveries, which is essential for the student as a cognitive apprentice” (p. 2). This is when the student examines and uses the thinking processes of experts. For inquiry, Kelli had the students consider their use of the scientific method and how they came to their conclusion through a presentation. For cooperative, Kelli had the students share their findings in presentation as well as complete a self-evaluation and group processing form. These two forms allow the students to see what they would do again and what needs improvement.

I have observed the different aspects of engaged learning through an inquiry lesson and a cooperative lesson. I will be implementing these features when I teach my two lessons as well as when I move onto student teaching and my own future teaching position. 

~ Christine Brown

References:

Jones, B., Valdez, G., Nowakowski, J., & Rasmussen, C. (1994). Designing Learning and Technology for Educational Reform. Oak Brook, IL: North Central Regional Educational Laboratory.