The goal of fully engaging learners in classroom instruction became a deeper challenge as the goal shifted to engaging learners in a remote learning environment.

At this point, the participation of your learners may have decreased. Where are they going? Why are they losing interest? What will it take to maintain their interest and attention? 

We have long operated under the belief that it is the teacher’s job to engage their learners. However, no one can force an individual to engage. Students choose whether or not to engage in their learning. The job of an educator is to create conditions that increase the likelihood for choosing engagement. 

In her book, Engaging Children, Igniting a Drive for Deeper Learning, K-8, Ellin Keene identifies four levels of student involvement in their learning: compliance, participation, motivation, and engagement.

INFOGRAPHIC- How to Engage Students in Remote Learning

Compliance

What does compliance look like? Learners are following the rules and behavioral expectations set forth for them. Compliance is necessary in any productive group setting. In a remote learning setting consider the minimum basic standards needed for a group to be compliant and productive. 

How do you maintain, model, and practice the same expectations or norms you implement in the classroom in a remote learning setting?  

• Does everyone need to have their video on? How will learners signal when they have something to say? Directly address these questions with your learners. 
• Keep meeting tasks clear and simple, providing guides as needed. 
• Give learners a schedule, so they know what to expect and when. 
• Create a PBIS Behavior Teaching Matrix for Remote Instruction
• Try the CHAMPS Virtual Classroom Activity Worksheet

Participation

What does participation look like? Learners are completing assignments, answering questions, and/or completing other designated tasks.  They may be engaged in the task at hand, but often they are not. When asking learners to participate, the goal is to have all learners doing the thinking.

How do you encourage participation in a remote learning setting?

Collaboration: Provide opportunities for learners to collaborate. Collaboration can be difficult online, so here are some ideas you can use in your remote learning classroom.

• • Turn and talk (via the chat room, breakout rooms, etc.)
  • Small group conversations (breakout rooms)
  • Scheduled separate times for learners to work together (including by phone for those without digital access) 

Prompts: Provide prompts for learners to respond to, use the chat room or discussion board to encourage all learners to respond. 

Surveys and Polls: Use online tools, such as forms in Google Classroom, Padlet, Kahoot, to create a survey or poll (there is also a poll feature in Zoom).

Movement: Provide opportunities where learners can participate in physical activities. Check out these platforms for more activities: Go Noodle, Class Kahoot, Class Pictionary, or Scavenger Hunt.

Motivation

What does motivation look like?  Internal motivation is a learner’s inspiration. It’s what propels a learner to begin a task, take action, etc. External motivation, such as rewards, should be avoided! Motivation is grounded in relationships and inspiration comes from those we have some connection to.

How do you inspire internal motivation in a remote learning setting?

Build Relationships: Focus on relationships first. Take time to connect with each learner individually, more often at first, and then with some regularity. Connect with students through one-on-one meetings, providing feedback on student work, emails, phone calls, etc.

Opportunities for Collaboration: Create frequent opportunities for learners to collaborate. Yes, we mentioned collaboration earlier, but it is really that important. We’re often motivated to dig deeper and do more when working with peers.

Connect with Families: Provide opportunities for connection with learners’ families. Host virtual office hours, post regular announcements, and have a consistent platform for communicating with parents. 

Honor Diversity: Take the following steps to make learners from all cultural backgrounds feel welcomed, accepted, and valued. 

• • • Intentionally modify lessons to integrate the history, literature, arts, and perspectives of the ethnicities and nationalities represented in your class.
    • Have students, families, or local cultural leaders speak about their experiences. 

Engagement

What does engagement look like? Engagement is happening when learners are completely absorbed in the task at hand. There will be an absence of a sense of time, and the world around them seems to vanish. 

How do you establish engagement in a remote learning setting?

Next week’s blog post will provide more information and action steps to help you create the conditions for engagement in your remote learning environment.

Reflecting

Knowing that we want to increase the likelihood that our learners will choose to engage at high levels, now is a good time to reflect on where your learners are currently at in your remote learning environment. 

Considering the four levels above, are you able to determine the current level of engagement of each of your learners?

This Student Engagement in Remote Learning Tracker may help you in making this determination.

Click here to read How to Engage Students in Remote Learning, Part 2

For more remote learning resources, visit Kent ISD’s Remote Learning web page.

#RemoteLearning #WeLeadLearning #KentISDpd

This blog post was written in collaboration by Mark Raffler, ELA Consultant, Craig Steenstra, Ed Tech Consultant, Diane Titche, Early Literacy Coach, and Stephanie Villalta, School Improvement Consultant. It was edited by Sara Sefcik, PD Hub Intern and Amanda Walma, Professional Development Coordinator. The infographic was designed by Amanda Walma.

Resources:

1. Great Schools Partnership. “Student Engagement,” The Glossary of Education Reform, 18 Feb 2016.
2. Keene, Ellin Oliver. “Engaging Children, Igniting a Drive for Deeper Learning,” Heinemann, 2018.
3. Rice, K and Kipp, K. “How Can Educators Tap Into Research to Increase Engagement During Remote Learning?” EdSurge, 6 May 2020.
4. “Student Agency & Engagement,” XQ Knowledge, 2020.