Student engagement - action research ideas

1. STudentEngagement
by Tawna La Nasa

2. Whyisstudent engagementimportant?
In education, student engagement refers to the degree of
attention, curiosity, interest, optimism, and passion that
students show when they are learning or being taught, which
extends to the level of motivation they have to learn and
progress in their education.
Studies have proven that engaged learners are better learners
and that effective teaching stimulates and sustains student
engagement.
As teachers, if we can captivate our student’s attention they
will be more responsive and successful to assignments and
practical applications in life.

4. Findings related to
Student Engagement
Literature
review
Finding #1:
Engaged people are driven by 4 goals -
Success (the need for mastery)
Curiosity (the need for understanding)
Originality (the need for self-expression)
Relationships (the need for involvement
with others)

5. Findings related to
Student Engagement
Literature
review
Finding #2: Based on Educational
Leadership
Questions to consider in your
classroom -
1. Do I provide a safe, caring, and
energetic environment?
2. Do I make things interesting?
3. Do I demonstrate why the content
is important?

6. Findings related to
Student Engagement
Literature
review
Finding #3:
Contemporary Ideas about Learning -
New knowledge must build on prior
knowledge; increases understanding
and creativity
Connect subject matter to students’
background; make it relatable and
interesting

7. Findings related to
Student Engagement
Literature
review
Finding #4:
In relation to the Arts (my subject
area) -
Give students a theme to focus on and
clear criteria to include. This gives
students a useful structure while also
allowing imagination.
Encourage students to explore their
own interpretations of works and the
expressive qualities of those works.
Allows student autonomy and the
ability to compare and contrast
various works of art.

8. purposestatement:
The purpose of this study is to increase overall classroom
success with particularly addressing student engagement. I
will implement student driven topics that are relatable and
relevant. Students will be encouraged towards autonomy and
critical thinking skills. They will self-evaluate their
projects and get feedback from the teacher as a way of
triangulating what motivates them to learn and succeed.

9. datamatrix Student Engagement:
Is my classroom set up in
such a way that motivates
students to learn?
Are students clear on what
the guidelines and
responsibilities are?
Am I making topics
relatable to student
interests and skill
levels?
research
questions

10. datacollection
tools
Direct Observation/Journaling -
Note a current issue you wish to
address in your classroom.
Watch how students interact and
jot down “actions observed.”

11. Anonymous Student Surveys:
Are topics interesting and
understandable?
How successful do you feel
in this class?
Comments, concerns, or
questions?
datacollection
tools

12. PotentialResearchTeamMembers:
a student teacher
the principal
another art teacher

13. closingstatement
By doing this particular study, I hope to learn…
- What topics are relevant and relatable to students
- How to keep students motivated to learn
- How to teach for success, curiosity, critical thinking,
and autonomy

14. references
1.Student engagement definition - https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-
instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=definition%20of%20student%20engagement
2.Colorado Study (engaged learners are better learners) -
http://www.colorado.edu/ptsp/about/initiatives/measure.html
3.(Yellow picture square) http://staging.thelearningbar.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/SFC-
Characteristics-Chart-EN.jpg
4. (Finding #1) www.ascd.org/publications/educational-
leadership/sept95/vol53/num01/Strengthening-Student-Engagement@-What-Do-Students-Want.aspx
5. (Finding #2) www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/mar13/vol70/num06/Ask-
Yourself@-Are-Students-Engaged.aspx

15. ReferencesContinued
6. (Finding#3)http://www.nea.org/assets/docs/HE/mf_ltbrief.pdf
7. (Finding#4) http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/pubs/strategies/p1sept2.aspx
8. (Behavior Diary) http://k12engagement.unl.edu/databasic1#Q1