Category: Be the change

achievement, advice, assumptions, authentic learning, Be the change, being a student, being a teacher, reflection, Student-centered, students

Some Ideas for Re-Engaging Students

Pernille Ripp

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For the past few days student engagement has been at the forefront of my mind.  Well, who am I kidding, it is always on my mind.  As I gave a workshop on student engagement, I was asked for quick tips on how to re-engage in class.  While these aren’t just simple ideas, I hope they can help you work through engagement lulls in your own classroom.

You can have an honest conversation with students.  If the same class is off-task or the same group, please pull the whole class or group together to discuss.  Do not judge, simply ask what is going on and then ask them to help you solve it.  Often students will blame being bored so then ask them how they can make it more exciting.  Part of creating classrooms where students are engaged is that students are expected to take control of their learning journey meaning you should not be trying to solve everything.

You can change it up.  Too often we fall in love with a routine like the workshop model and then forget that too much predictability can be a bore.  While I am not advocating for a zany show, I think it is important to be tuned into whether the routine is working at its optimal level or not, then tweak and change as needed.

You can turn on some music.  I have found that using music that has the opposite tempo of my students’ mood is great for refocusing them.  So if they are slow and lethargic, I play upbeat music while they work, if they are very energetic, I bring out the mellow tunes.

You can practice mindfulness.  I started using some short breathing or yoga videos after assemblies with my students because there was no way they would settle in on their own.  Once my 7th graders get past their giggles, they also benefit from 3 minutes of focused breathing.

You can stop a train-wreck.  When a lesson was going poorly, I used to ride it out to the end hoping that by then they would get it.  Now I know to stop, ask why they are not understanding, and then fix.  I also have the luxury of completely revamping it throughout the day since I teach the same class five times in a row (one of the only positive things about that).

You can move location or just move.  Sometimes my students have simply been sitting too long.  Past elementary level we sometimes do not realize how much time students spend sitting since we only see our slice of the day.  A natural restlessness is therefore bound to occur.  So we move around in the classroom either by sharing with peers, doing short book recommendations, or showing off our work, or we pick up and move altogether.  We can head to the library, outside, or into our team area.

You can affirm and replace.  This is a technique I adapted from the awesome book Awakened by Angela Watson.  When my students seems bogged down as a class, we spend a few minutes speaking about what is going on and then I try to help them replace those thoughts by shifting the focus to something else. It is important for students to feel validated in their thinking but then also for them to move beyond it.

You can find a different way for them to show off their knowledge.  We use turn-and-talk quite a bit, but I also ask students to act answers out, draw things out without speaking and any other way that will get different areas of their brains to light up.  This is not something I do the entire class period, but it is vital that we have students show knowledge in a variety of ways, rather than just one way.

You can make it personal.  Yes, personalized learning is a major buzzword right now, but I am talking about the personal connections that students can have to the learning and how we can tap into that.  A lot of disengagement comes from students being bored with the content, so we do need to re-evaluate the content we are focusing on, as well as what the students are doing with it.  Students may want to engage with the content in different ways but we won’t know that without knowing our students.

You can use technology.  We integrate technology throughout the year but sometimes introducing a new tool like Kahoot does fire students up in a new way.  However, with any new ideas, moderation is key because this does not address the problem in the long-term but simply changes the pace at that moment.

In the end, student engagement is just about the quick fixes we can make, but about the instrumental changes we need to have in our teaching philosophy.  It is too easy to just blame the students, although they do carry responsibility in all of this, so we must reevaluate whether what we are doing in our classrooms is truly worth being engaged in.  The bottom line is; we have to believe in what we are doing and show that passion every single day, because if we don’t, we have no right asking students to.

PS:  This is part of a three part series on student engagement.  The first post discussed the truths my students shared with me on why they are disengaged, the second post discussed the three areas we must re-evaluate.

If you like what you read here, consider reading my book Passionate Learners – How to Engage and Empower Your Students.  The 2nd edition and actual book-book (not just e-book!) comes out September 22nd from Routledge, but rumor has it that it is out on Kindle already!

advice, aha moment, Be the change, being a teacher, being me, student choice, student voice

Why Are They Disengaged? My Students Told Me Why

Pernille Ripp

I used to think that when students were disengaged it was their own fault, and while sometimes that is still true, I have found in my years of teaching that a lot of the fault lies with me as the teacher.  Yet, realizing that I may be the cause of my students disengagement is hard to swallow.  It certainly has not done wonders to my self-esteem, and yet, there is something liberating about realizing that while I am a part of the problem, that also means that I can fix it.  Or at the very least fix the things I control.  Student disengagement is something I can do something about.

But why are students so disengaged?  What lies behind the restlessness, the misbehavior, the bored stares?  Every year I survey my students throughout the year, and particularly on those days where nothing seems to be working.  I ask them simply to explain what is going on and they share their truths with me.  So here are their truths on student disengagement.

Students become disengaged, because..

They feel no connection to you.  I often notice that students are much more off task in the beginning of the year when we don’t know each other, right after the honeymoon is over.  This is when we seem to be in limbo and so I spend a lot of time having a lot of conversations with my students, I share stories from my life, and I speak to them in the hallways.  Students will work for you if they like you, so I try to be likable.  It may seem simple but it is repeated so often by my students.

They feel no urgency.  I have 45 minutes per class so the urgency is always there.  It is not the threat of a deadline that makes my students work at a faster pace, it is the promise of the next adventure that lies ahead.  My students and I make a deal that if they work hard and stay focused then I do not give them homework.  They know that they are given as much time in class as I can give them so they know to use that time well.  The students that don’t; they have to do the work outside of school.

They feel there is no purpose.  I use to assume that students knew what the greater purpose of something was, but they don’t.  So now we spend time deconstructing our standards and we speak about the connections between things.  We speak of why we are learning something and how it fits into our lives, not just how it is preparing us for the next year or for college.  We speak about how the learning we do right now allows us to become better human beings.

They feel they have no power.  When students feel powerless in our rooms, most become disengaged.  Particularly those kids who have often had behavior issues in the past.  Those are the kids, in particular, that need to feel like they have more control over their day.  This is why I proselytize about student choice.  Give them choice, even if just in a minor way like telling them they can sit wherever they want.  Give them power over their day so that they feel like who they are matters.

When the teacher talks too much.  We do.  We need to stop.  We need to set a timer or whatever will stop us from going on and on.  Give them knowledge then let them work with it.  Give them a chance to speak as well, after all, they are the ones that should be doing the learning.

When the teacher does not personalize.  How often do we know whether a child already knows something?  How often do we plan to find out so that we can create new learning experiences for them?  If a child has already mastered something, then let them work on something else, something more challenging.  But to do that, you have to find out what your students know.  Ask them whether through a survey, an informal pre-test, or a conversation.  Not everyone comes to us as a blank canvas.

When they do mostly worksheets.  I have moved far away from worksheets over the past few years, but that does not mean all worksheets are bad.  If a worksheet gives foundational knowledge that will be used for further learning then it can be ok.  However, if using a worksheet is part of the routine every day, or is not used for anything more, then there seems to be no deeper learning purpose behind it.  Students have told me they feel like when most teachers give them a worksheet it is because we are too lazy to teach them.

When the learning becomes something to just get through.  I have done this, said that we just need to get through this to get to fun thing.  Yikes.  When we say this, students automatically disengage from the task, after all, if teachers see no value in it, why should they?  Yes, there are things that we don’t love to teach as much so then make it better.  If it is boring or a struggle for us, then think of how it feels for the students.  We are in charge of bringing the passion into our rooms.  Not just the students.

While there are still days in our classroom where I know that students were not as engaged as I hoped, there are more great days than bad.  There are more days where students stay on-task, where they get involved, and where meaningful learning occurs.  Every year, I start over with my students and how to best engage them.  Every year I learn a new way to keep them on-task.  Yet I have learned that the biggest thing for me is to keep the above list in mind at all times.  Even if I feel like I have planned the very best lesson.  Even if the day before went really well.  I do not take my students’ engagement for granted, instead it is something I work for.  Do you?

PS:  For ideas on how to evaluate why students are becoming disengaged tune in tomorrow.

If you like what you read here, consider reading my book Passionate Learners – How to Engage and Empower Your Students.  The 2nd edition and actual book-book (not just e-book!) comes out September 22nd from Routledge, but rumor has it that it is out on Kindle already!

Be the change, being a teacher, being me, books, Passion

It Soon Becomes A Reality

Pernille Ripp

Yesterday was the 22nd of August, to us a rather milestone moment, but to the rest of the world probably not so much.  You see yesterday marked the 1 month countdown to the publication of the  2nd edition of my first book Passionate Learners – How to Engage and Empower Your Students.  And while I tend to not use this blog for self promotion, I am so proud of this book and what it might offer for others, that I am breaking my own rule today.

It seems weird to think that a book is a 2nd edition, but there is a very simple reason for it.  The book is no longer owned by its original publishing company due to differing visions and Routledge purchased the rights.  They saw something in the book that made them want to print it as an actual book, release it on Amazon, and market it to the world.  Humbling…

But I didn’t want to just re-package it.  I saw this as a chance to re-write it, to add my students voices even more, and to add what I had learned now being a middle school teacher.  So it is not the same book any more, it is so much better.

This book is for those who need inspiration to change the way they teach.  This book is for those who wonder whether you can really limit homework, limit grades, and get rid of punishment and rewards within our school system.  This book is for those that feel they are doing pretty good as teachers but really need a boost, really need to bring the classroom back to the students again.  This book is for those who like me were just fine teachers but knew there had to be a better way.

So in 1 month, I will get to hold my own book in my hands.  I will get to give it to the world and hope the world responds.  My greatest hope is that one person will read it and it will help them, that my words can make someone else’s life better.  After all, isn’t that what we hope for in our classrooms every day?

PS:  If you would like to preorder the book, please use this link.

aha moment, Be the change, being a teacher, new year, students

The Small Changes I Can Make

Pernille Ripp

Sometimes our students come to us with stories that we could never imagine.  Sometimes we are their refuge.  Sometimes, we don’t even know what part we play until years later, and sometimes we will never know.  The barriers that sometimes surround our students can be brutal, and yet, the students show up.  They try to learn.  They try to do their very best.  And we need to be the ones that welcome them.

So this will be the year that I try not to create more barriers for my students.  This will be the year where I try to make it as easy as possible for them to access the learning .  While I cannot control everything, particularly what goes on outside of our classroom, there are so many small things I can control that will make their day easier.

I can hand them pencils.  I used to be a tentative pencil-hander-outer.  There was usually a lecture involved, a smirk, and some sort of thinly veiled threat as to what would happen if they didn’t get more pencils by the very next day.  And I get it.  Pencils cost money and we don’t have a lot of that in education.  But still, a pencil is the most basic tool that our students need.  And yes, they need to bring their supplies.  Yes, they need to be responsible.  Yes, they need to come prepared.  But we all have days where we need a pencil.  Not a lecture, not a glare.  Just a pencil so we can get to work.  If you want it back, write your name on a piece of paper and tape it to it.

I can withhold judgment.  Yes, I know better than most of my students.  I better, after all, I am more than 20 years older than them.  So when they make “stupid” mistakes, when they make a poor decision, I can withhold my own judgment.  I can help them find a solution, help them find the light, or even find the humor in a situation.  Most students face enough judgment in day, they don’t need more from me.

I can let them leave.  There are days when all we need is a walk.  A quick two minutes to resettle, to find room to breathe, to calm down even if we seem very calm on the outside.  Teaching students to recognize when they need a break is something we should all be doing.  If we teach younger students then finding a way for them to take a break safely is also important, even if they cannot leave the classroom on their own.

I can make it easy for them.  I can write the date, I can write out homework, I can post my email address on the wall.  I can make as many visual reminders as I can fit onto a board so that they can access it without asking.  I can also create a website with all of the handouts, resources, and information they need to stay organized outside of school.  That doesn’t mean they won’t pay attention in class.

I can welcome them.  Even when it is inconvenient, even when I am busy.  Just because a child seeks us out does not mean they need us to speak with them.  On our team we often have students ask if they can simply work in our room.  Yes!  Please do, let me know if you need anything.  Sometimes all a child needs to be successful is a safe place to work.  If we cannot offer up our rooms, we often find another place.

I can ask a follow up question.  On our team, we teach more than 120 students.  Every day, we stand outside our doors and ask students how they are, how their evening was, how they are feeling.  When a child answers, we ask a follow up question because it’s the second question that matters.  That’s the one that shows we care, that’s the one that shows we are paying attention.  Anyone can ask “How are you?,” but it takes time to say more.

The barriers we create in our rooms are often ones that we don’t even notice, yet it is within the smallest details of our days that students learn the most about us as people.  It is when we take time to do the little things that we can make a huge difference.  What are the small changes you will make?

If you like what you read here, consider reading my book Passionate Learners – How to Engage and Empower Your Students.  The 2nd edition and actual book-book (not just e-book!) comes out September 22nd from Routledge.

Be the change, being me, choices

We May Not Be Perfect

Pernille Ripp

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For years it seems the headlines have been yelling at us in education.  The videos have been posted telling us that school is broken, that we have lost creativity, that students hate school and we, the educators, are to blame.  For years, we have heard the rallying cry to save education and we have tried.   We have pushed ourselves, we have dreamed, we have created, we have failed, and we have gotten back up.  Every day we are trying to change education.

So although we may not be perfect.  Although we may not be there yet; we are changing the narrative of education that  surrounds us.  We are changing the way students feel about school.  We are changing the way education is viewed.  We may not be perfect, but we are trying.

So before we focus on all of the negative, because we are all good at that, focus on all of the positive things that surround us.  Focus on the people that come to work every single day and give it their best.  Focus on the students who tell you their truth so we can make a change.  Focus on all of the people who are making a difference.  Scream those stories from the rooftops.  Share those stories on Facebook.  When people tell you that school is broken, speak up!  Because we are not all broken.  Not all students hate school.  Not all schools kill creativity  Some do, we are not perfect, but at least most of are trying to make a change.  So celebrate that.

If you like what you read here, consider reading my book Passionate Learners – How to Engage and Empower Your Students.  The 2nd edition and actual book-book (not just e-book!) comes out September 22nd from Routledge.  

Be the change, being a teacher, new year

As We Start Another Year

Pernille Ripp

There are journeys we start where that path is laid out, the route determined, the destination clear.  While hard at times, they follow a set course and we plod along, knowing where we will end up.  Knowing where our hearts will be once we finally get there.  Then there are those journeys that start when something ends, when something abruptly happens and we have a moment of clarity and we realize that now another direction is needed.  Sometimes these journeys start without us knowing and we don’t discover them until we are far on our path.  Confused we wonder how we get here, where we are going, and why we didn’t know we were traveling anew.  Those are the journeys that can change us the most.

We are travelers in education.  Always searching for a path, always searching for a way.  Tirelessly plodding along, sometimes pushing our students ahead of us, other times dragging them along.  Our journey changes often, seemingly from year to year is a guarantee by now.  We notice as the years pass, as summer inches closer and then ends.  We notice when a crop of new students show up and then leave us.  We notice seasons, months, and sometimes even weeks as we plan for our hopes and dreams.

Yet the daily journeys we take, the journey we begin and end within the span of 8 hours is often viewed as minor or insignificant, not worthy of our daily ponderings, not quite worthy of our dreams.  After all, a day is simply a step, not a destination by any means.  Yet, it is these journeys, the ones that happen every single day in our rooms that can matter the most to our students.  To those children that travel along with us.  A single day can change their course for many years to come.  A single decision made by a teacher can change their path forever.  We forget about that responsibility, probably a wise move in some ways, lest we drive ourselves crazy with the knowledge that even our small movements can cause oceans of change for others. Yet those journeys are the ones we should be watching.

Every day we have a choice to make; do I teach my students or do we learn together?  Do we explore or do we wait for knowledge to find us?  Do we stay on our path or do we change course?  Do we support or do we hinder?  Do we encourage or do we fault when missteps happen and our path gets rumpled?  Do we always take the lead or can students show us the way?  Do we listen to their voices when they tell us to change course or do we stubbornly stick to the path because we know best?

The day-to-day wrapped up in it mundanity offers us the perfect opportunity to make a change.  Change doesn’t seem scary when you think of it as trying something for just one day.  You can go one day without punishing.  You can go one day without homework.  You can try for one day to ask students what they want.  You can try for one day to stop talking so much.  One day does not seem like much, but it can be the seed to bigger change.

We have a choice of whether or not we notice the day-to-day or if we continue to plan as if we have unlimited time to reach every child.  We don’t.  We don’t know when the students we teach will no longer be ours.  We don’t know when a child has moved beyond our grasp.  So as we plan for the long, focus in on the short.  Yes, keep the destination in mind, but don’t forget about the journey.  What you do today has an incredible impact on what you will do tomorrow.  Make each step count, make each step worthy of your time, and don’t forget that it is ok to get lost once in a while, as long as you bring your students with you as you try to find your way.

I am a passionate teacher in Oregon, Wisconsin, USA but originally from Denmark,  who has taught 4th, 5th, and 7th grade.  Proud techy geek, and mass consumer of incredible books. Creator of the Global Read Aloud Project, Co-founder of EdCamp MadWI, and believer in all children.  The second edition of my first book “Passionate Learners – How to Engage and Empower Your Students” is available for pre-order now.   Second book“Empowered Schools, Empowered Students – Creating Connected and Invested Learners” is out now from Corwin Press.  Join our Passionate Learners community on Facebook and follow me on Twitter @PernilleRipp.