When I was studying in High School, I thought if I would become a teacher my aim will be to create an easy and meaningful environment in the classroom. Looking back to the days when I was in High School, there was the time when I did not like few subjects and always though them to be boring. But as I grew up and engaged myself into the teaching profession, I decided to find an answer to my question and realized the fact that those subjects were not boring but the way they were being taught was boring.
While doing this survey, I felt I had an opportunity to understand the preferences of students for learning methods in high school in India. The study gathers the data and concluded that students learn best when they are involved and has the hands on learning experiences.
Presenter: Rashmeet Kaur
Hi Rashmeet. I enjoyed hearing about your topic and I think that it is a very important topic to investigate. I totally agree with your findings. I definitely learn best when there are hands-on, real-life learning situations where I can collaborate and practice with others. I am also way more engaged when the teacher is excited about the topic they are teaching. There is a wonderful book, called “Leaders of Their Own Learning” by Ron Berger that may be useful to your topic. It outlines some fantastic teaching strategies and assessment suggestions for getting students engaged in their learning. One example from this book can be seen in this video called Austin’s Butterfly at https://vimeo.com/38247060. In the video, he teaches students to positively critique themselves and others, which helps to create engagement in the topic. Another thing that your topic made me think of is the importance of using Universal Design for Learning principles to create engagement in the classroom. I think that if we give students lots of options for how they learn the information and how they show their learning, they will be more engaged because it will personalize the topic and match their own learning style. Best wishes in your studies!
Hi, Melissa. Thank you for your comment. Even I experienced this when I was a student that I enjoy the topics when my teacher used to organize any activity in which I could involve myself. Thank you for letting me know about the book by Ron Berger. I will check this book. I am always searching for the examples how to make the classroom learning interactive. And yes, I completely agree with you it is important to give students a lot of options to learn as every classroom has diversity in terms of their learning choices so that they can learn or enjoy accordingly.
Hi Rashmeet, I love very much about your topic. In my opinion, and because I am a trainer too, engagement learning is interconnected with Inquiry-based Learning, almost similar to how they do it at the Pacific School of Innovation and Inquiry (PSII), Victoria, that Dr. Nadine brought us (you, me, and all of our classmates) to visit last year.
I am hoping that your research would be able to signal all the educators and trainers alike that students and trainees are the centers and the reasons why they need us there and not Google. So, thinking differently and teaching differently, not like how we were taught, but more like what is needed now along with how the world is changing, maybe can benefit them to learn what they need to know.
So, awesome job Rashmeet!
Hi, thank you for your comment. Yes, I remember the visit we had to Victoria with Nadine and Joe. And I tried to quote few examples from our visit in my thesis. Indeed, thinking, teaching and learning differently is needed with respect to the changes and advancement in the world.
Nice! keep up the great work Rashmeet! Well done!
Thank you, Chris.
Hi Reshmeet! I really like that you are focused on student-centric teaching. It seems that no matter how much teachers try to put their students first, there are always outside bureaucratic mechanisms that get in the way. So providing a focus on classroom practice is an effective way to address this. I was interested to see the distribution of teaching/learning activities preferred by learners. I would be interested to see how this juxtaposes what is actually happening in classrooms and how that can be addressed. I have found that, while the perception by students is that direct teaching can be dry and boring, it is necessary and can be effective. I’m really curious to learn more! Thank-you Rashmeet!
Hi Colin, thank you for your comment. I have a recently started my teaching career and while observing already practiced norms, I found is teachers try to keep in mind what students find interesting and how can he/she make it interactive. While collecting the data, students preferred the activity based learning followed by inquiry based learning and they have the least interest in direct instruction learning. I could compare this type of teaching happening in India as well. With just explaining the academic topic to students might not have the lifelong result but if a child has a hands on learning experience, it lasts for a while.
Thanks!
You have intrigued me about this topic, I would love to learn more ways to engage learners, especially when the topic is not as relatable to the student or the student finds it difficult. I prefer teaching in elementary school settings and really see the benefits of successful collaborative learning, but struggle with the students who are not engaged and when working collaboratively, do not contribute or even participate.
Thank you
Hi Bre, thank you for your comment. As per my teaching experience and observations, other than books or articles, students usually enjoy learning with the help of practical experiences. For instance, I can share my experience with you, I taught social studies to grade 5 about how voting and polling system works. So I gave them to think about their party name and how their party can contribute in upliftment of society on first day and then I had ballot boxes with voting cards and officers and they did it in classroom. So, it is just an example, there are many ways with which we can help teaching to the students who are not even engaged in classroom. I would say contribution should not be only in the discussion form as some students feel hesitant so we being teachers must try how we can physically involve them in activities.
Hi Rashmeet, thanks for sharing your important work, we don’t have enough research that examines student engagement from a student perspective. I was curious how you and/or your participants distinguished between activity-based and inquiry based learning? I see overlap between the categories so was just curious.
Hi Wendy, thank you for your comment. Yes, I agree with you that activity based learning and inquiry based learning are so much related to each other. But while doing literature review for my thesis, I read a number of articles by scholars and concluded that inquiry based learning helps students to question, analyze and investigate. On the other hand, activity based learning is the one which helps students to understand the concept of any particular topic being taught. Once a child understands the concept, and then only they get the inquiry in their minds to question about it.
Hi Rashmeet,
Thanks for presenting your work here! I thought your motivations and your results were very clear. I’ve never been a teacher or a student in India– how do parents and families feel about the shift towards active learning to promote engagement and critical thinking? Do they feel that the change is positive or negative (perhaps because it is no longer based on rote memorization of knowledge)?
Thank you!
Ana
Hi Ana. Thank you for your comment. I believe parents has mixed response. There are many parents whom I saw as excited as the students to learn about the new way of teaching. Their opinion is that their child is learning in a productive way rather than just confining to the textbooks. On the other hand, there are few parents as well who are still supporting the way they were taught but they feel satisfied when they see their child is still learning with the help of activities.
Hello Rashmeet,
Thank-You for sharing your research. As a Physical Education teacher I know that students love activity based learning. Often times, I will give a quick explanation of the rules and get the kids participating so they can discover new strategies on their own, as they are so creative! I am interested in the research surrounding pre-service teacher programs, in having the knowledge that student entered teacher optimizes engagement, are pre-service programs changing the way they educate the future teachers?
Thank-You,
Monique
Hi Monique. Thank you for your comment. Your comment really made me think and I would say yes, pre-service teacher programs or teacher training courses are changing keeping in mind the need of students and the way the curriculum is being developed for schools. These programs tries to teach novice teachers what is the need in the current education system. I learnt about activity based learning during my teacher education program that this is how you can make your classroom learning interactive even for the kids who are distracted.
Love the topic! As many teachers are taught the value of student-centred teaching, I would love to hear any insights you may have to why many teachers resort to teacher-centered instructional approaches?
Hi Jeff. Thank you for your comment. With the changing passage of time and advancement, teaching nowadays has started revolving around the needs of children. Being a teacher, I always think I am into this profession for betterment of students, so why should not I address the needs of children, and make my teaching student centric. And I believe, in order to enhance engagement, choices of the students should also be considered (depending upon situation).
Great topic! I am wondering how to get student engagement for those that won’t even engage with hands on and inquiry based? I have found that these students are afraid too make mistakes in all parts of the class so they won’t engage in anything, unless they have full support beside them.
Hello Bert. Thank you for your comment. I like the question which you asked. So for children who are afraid of making mistakes, all I can say is first their confidence is needed to be developed. And that can only be done by giving them infinite attempts to engage in any activity, also examples can be shown to them that ‘if other child can do, why can’t you’. To conclude, positive reinforcement to the students must be given. I understand that in a classroom, it is not possible to give full support to a student all the time, but I think stories or positive reinforcement examples can help them.
Great topic Rashmeet! I was wondering if you looked at if some direct instruction is important before the inquiry/activity based learning to give the students some background information? And if so if there was an optimal ratio? And like Bert mentioned do you have any suggestions for students who are reluctant to engage even in activity/inquiry based learning?
Hi Owen. Thank you for your comment. Yes, direct instruction is usually helpful only in delivering the information but I am quiet unsure if any learning happens or not with this pedagogy. Students may get the information and they may forget it too. But when they get involved themselves or practically learn about any topic, it retains in their mind.
Thank you for sharing, Rashmeet.
This is such an important topic at all school levels, and in high school in particular. From my experience, in high school we begin to default more to the pressure of content delivery which often leads to an increase in teacher directed delivery of learning and less student ownership/ autonomy in learning. I second Melissa’s recommendation of Ron Berger. He has some great ideas to structure learning that involves student ownership. Well structured inquiry and design based learning methods seem to allow great opportunities for high school students to engage in learning. I have also experiences in high school, that the more authentic we can make learning experiences, the more engaged they become.
Great topic, thank you again for sharing your findings.
Hi Hayley. Thank you for your comment.
Such a huge issue. Trying to get student engagement is a challenge throughout the education system. As an intermediate classroom teacher I am always searching for ways I can get students to make decisions to take responsibility and interest in their own learning. Trying to provide them with as much choice as I can while linking it to the curriculum is always on the forefront on the mind.
Great work, Rashmeet!
I really like you topic and video! I agree that providing student-centred learning opportunities where our students learn by doing is critical to establishing an engaging classroom where students develop excitement about learning and explore their passions. This will help to support students to have ownership of their learning and support student engagement.
Hi Rashmeet,
I absolutely agree with you as I have witnessed your findings in my school. I am a learning assistance teacher in a high school. Most of the time I spend helping students with high school math. I am often asked, “Why do I need to learn this?” I love being able to apply their new knowledge to the “real world.” For example, taking the students down to the culinary room and showing them that the measuring cups/spoons may require them to do math with fractions if they are baking and need to double the recipe. Or taking the students to the Woodshop to show them how knowing how to figure out the slope of something may come in handy if they are building stairs. Creating real life opportunities helps to provide motivation and connect what they are learning in school to their futures.
Cheers,
Vanessa