Written by: Kelli Campbell Brockway, Director of T&L at Kent ISD

Teachers, have you ever felt like more of an entertainer than an instructor?  

If you struggle with how to get kids consistently excited and responsible for their own learning, I highly recommend the book Engaging Children:  Igniting a Drive for Deeper Learning K-8 by Ellin Oliver Keene.  The focus of this book is exploring how we can promote authentic, student-driven engagement.

In the first chapter, Keene explicitly distinguishes between student compliance, participation, motivation, and engagement.  Engagement, the author argues, is characterized by feeling…lost in a state that causes us to forget the world around us, to become fully engrossed.

 Think of the last time you were truly engaged. What did it look like? What did it feel like? Have your students felt like this in your classroom? How do you know?  

Compliant vs. Engagement

Participating in class and being compliant are often mistaken for engagement.  That’s because we often identify engaged students as those that are paying attention, raising their hands, and/or doing the assigned task. However, are these students truly engaged?

We can’t tell by looking, and that’s not a mistake we want to make. Especially when the Essential Instructional Practices for Early Literacy (K-3) identify the first essential instructional practice as motivation and engagement!

Why this book?  

In all of my reading and research, I have yet to find a resource that not only focused on improved teacher practice, but also highlighted the importance of student ownership.  

The end goal in this book is for students to recognize when they are engaged, when they are not engaged, and subsequently have strategies to re-engage themselves. This places the instructor as a true facilitator in the learning process versus the traditional entertainer.

Want to engage in this work?  

There will be three different opportunities to learn more about and engage in this work during the 2019-2020 school year.

1. Attend the full day workshop hosted by Kent ISD with Ellin Oliver Keene on Nov 6 at Thousand Oaks Golf Club (register here). This event is open to all teachers, coaches, administrators, and anyone else with a vested interest in elevating student engagement.
2. Join the Literacy Leaders and Coaches Network (register here) where there will be an intentional year-long book study complete with testimonials and networking from teachers right in Kent county who are changing their practices!
3. Bring a team from your school to one of two Essentials in Action days next spring focused on Motivation and Engagement. Watch for more information on this opportunity next winter.

You won’t want to miss these opportunities to learn more about this innovative approach to student engagement!

For questions contact Diane Titche, Early Literacy Coach, Kent ISD dianetitche@kentisd.org 

This blog post was written by Kelli Campbell Brockway, Director of Teaching and Learning at Kent ISD, and edited by Diane Titche, Early Literacy Coach and Amanda Walma, Professional Development Coordinator at Kent ISD.