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Why are Engagement

Strategies important?
Engagement strategies are important because they help
keep the students engaged in the lesson
Get students pumped up about learning
Mixes up learning not the same thing each and every day
There are so many strategies that can be used to fulfill all
students individual needs
There are so many strategies because each strategy may have
a different structure or domain of usefulness (Kagan,1989,
p.13)

Three-Step Interview
Description:
Students will pair up and will interview each other (two interviews)
The class will come together and the students will discuss what they
learn from their interviews

Classroom Arrangement:
Students will be assigned their partners (pair up based on your style)
Students can sit throughout the classroom to conduct their interviews
Set a time limit for interviews (3-5 minutes each depending on topic)
Once the interviews have been completed students will return to their
sets to discuss with the class what they learned in the interview

Hand Up and Stand Up

Description:
Students will put their hand up and then stand up
Once the teacher says stop the students will high five whoever they are
closest to and that will be their partner
Students will discuss topic together

Classroom Arrangement:
No specific arrangement is needed for the hand up and stand up
engagement strategy
Students will walk around the classroom wherever there is space and will be
partnered up with whoever they are closest to when the teacher say stop or
the music stops
Teacher should walk around to make sure students are staying on topic

Four Corners
Description:
Each corner of the classroom with represent strongly agree, agree,
disagree, and strongly disagree
Within the corners students can discuss why they chose that corner
Class comes together and select students will share their point of view
Classroom Arrangement:
Each corner of the classroom will represent strongly agree, agree,
disagree and strongly disagree
You can place signs in the corners for the students
Students will walk to the corner of their choice
Students will stay standing in their corner and the someone from each
group will share why they chose the corner they did

Numbered Heads Together

Description:
First, the teacher will ask a question
The students in the class will then discuss to ensure everyone knows the
answer
Then the teacher will call upon a student to answer the question
Classroom Arrangement:
The arrangement of the classroom depends on the size of the classroom and
how long you want to spend on this strategy
Some examples:
Students will create a circle on the floor and discuss while being seated on the floor
Students can stay at their tables and discuss with their table partners (Small Number
Heads Together)
Break the class up into two groups and have Group 1 sit on one side of the classroom
and have Group 2 sit on the other side

Think-Pair Share
Description:
Students will THINK to themselves about a topic given to them by the teacher
The two students will be PAIRED together and discuss the topic together
Then after the students discuss together they will SHARE what they discuss to small
groups or the class

Classroom Arrangement:
Students can think to themselves at their desks
Then the teacher can pair them up with a partner, or they can pair up with their
shoulder partner
Turn and Talk Approach (Kagan,2014, p.126)

The class will come together as a whole or separate into small groups and discuss
what they talked about with their partners

Roundtable /
Simultaneous Roundtable
Description:
Students will be divided into groups and will take turns writing one
answer down on the paper that is being passed around the table
Multiple papers are going around in Simultaneous Roundtable

Classroom Arrangement:
The teacher can divide the class into groups
Be careful and do not make the groups too large (the more students per group
the more time students must sit and wait for the paper to come to them)

The groups will need to sit at a table or somewhere comfortable to write

Then the students will take turn writing

Inside-Outside Circle
Description:
Students stand in two concentric circles (one student will be standing in front of
the other)
The small inside circle will face outward and the larger outside circle will face
inward
Students will discuss an assigned topic with their partner or the teacher can read
off questions as the circle rotates

Classroom Arrangement:
The desk will most likely need to be pushed of to the side to allow room for a
large circle to be created
Be aware that this can potentially be time consuming

Students will then form one small circle (face outward) and then a large circle
(face inward) will form around the smaller circle

Jigsaw
Description:
Each student in the group will become an expert on a topic
that corresponds with the overall group topic
Each topic expert will teach the group what information they
have found throughout the research process

Classroom Arrangement:
The classroom arrangement depends on the size of the class
Typically groups will be 4-5 students at a table
Topic 1 experts go first, then topic 2, then topic 3.

Classroom Engagement Example

1st Grade Student Engagement Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZQFErJn- Eg
Video Discussion:
What different strategies were prevalent in the video?
What will you plan on using in your future classroom?
Are there any strategies you feel may not work? Why?

Summary
Keeping students captivated and ready to
learn is no small task (Edutopia, 2011)
that is why us teachers must utilize
engagement strategies. Not only will it
keep students engaged and motivated to
learn it will keep students on task.
Meaning there will be less behavior issues.
That means more time for LEARNING!

References
Kagan, S. (2014). Kagan structures, processing, and
excellence in college teaching. Journal on Excellence in
College Teaching, 119-138.
Kagan, S. (1989). The Structural Approach to Cooperative
Learning, 12-15.
Student Engagement Resource Roundup. (2011). Retrieved
from http://www.edutopic.org/student-engagement-resources