Seeking Assistance (1) (2)
Physical evidence is not the only evidence of student engagement in the classroom. Since things like class participation, eye contact, body language and attendance can all be measured and counted, I didn’t know if there was a way to gauge how someone “felt” about who was and wasn’t engaged. In Engaging Schools: Fostering High School Students' Motivation to Learn, the author writes “It is important to consider mental or cognitive behaviors as well as observable behaviors (active participation in class, completing work, seeking assistance when having difficulty, taking challenging classes) […]” (Committee on Increasing High School Students’ Engagement and Motivation to Learn) This element of student engagement is reflected here.
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The authors of “Engaging Schools” write, “Motivation to attend school is not sufficient, however, because students can participate actively and enjoy the social affairs of school without making meaningful academic progress.” (Committee on Increasing High School Students’ Engagement and Motivation to Learn) The student addressed in this reflection is a very active participator during class. She asks questions and draws conclusions. She does the reading assigned to prepare for class and volunteers to answer questions. During this lesson especially, she was very engaged. I support this statement by highlighting that during the lesson she asked questions and came after school to gain clarity on matters she wasn’t fully clear on. “Engaging Schools” clealy supports this evidence by saying that students only do this when they are engaged.
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Students must feel safe emotionally and academically to have the strength to approach a teacher for assistance. If this is achieved, as seen in this case presented, students are afforded the luxury of personal attention and direct instruction in areas of confusion. For a student to know where he/she is confused, he/she must first be engaged.
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