Over the course of my CEP 812 course, we have been discussing problems in education. Specifically, we have been discussing what are called wicked problems. These wicked problems are issues in our professional setting that are not easily solvable. Over the course of the semester, we needed to choose an issue that we saw in our setting and try to find possible solutions to that problem. For my wicked problem project, I decided to focus on addressing engagement in my classroom. Through research conducted through a survey, and reading assorted research on the topic, I came up with a few solutions that could potentially help me solve this issue of increasing engagement in my classroom.
The videos included in this blog are my final presentation for this project. I decided to screencast the project to provide my insights on this very difficult issue. What makes it so difficult to address is that I, on average, have around 30 students in each class. Finding something that can keep the majority of students engaged for an entire 55 minute class period can be difficult and often feel like a losing battle. My goal was to use my research to find solutions that allow me to reach as many students as possible. Through my research, I discovered that one of the biggest things that can help students engage is by giving them a voice (Parsons & Taylor, 2011). When students are provided an opportunity to express themselves, they are more likely to engage in class. That is what I want to do. I also looked more into providing a more scaffolded structure of class time for students. This allows them to focus more on a specific task. I am planning on taking these ideas that I learned and use them to strengthen my classroom engagement. I supplemented this research with a survey that I had teachers take to provide their insights on engagement in their classrooms. Though I only had 8 respondents, I believe that there are still a number of inferences that support the research I have conducted. Overall, the respondents agreed with the idea of including student voice and structuring time in a way that better supported students.
I plan on implementing this research in two manners, I want to use student surveys to engage more with the interests of my students. If I use this, I will have more ways of interacting with my students and designing activities around their interests. I also plan on structuring my classroom time differently to help students focus better in the classroom (Low, 2022). I will be using the Pomodoro Method that involves breaking focus periods into 25 minute sessions followed by a five minute break for the brain. This will hopefully help my students be more engaged due to a smaller amount of time required for focusing. In the videos below, you will get a bit more insight into the research I conducted as well as how I am looking at implementing all of this in my classroom.
References:
Eichstaedt, M. (2024, August 11). WPP Pt. 1 [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/nOgRpG53wx0
Eichstaedt, M. (2024, August 11). WPP Pt. 2 [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/uMbp9zwDNjw
Low, K. (2022, September 12). Tips to help adults with ADHD stay focused at work. Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/work-tips-from-adults-with-add-20396
Parsons, J., & Taylor, L. (2011). Improving Student Engagement. Current Issues in Education, 14(1). Retrieved from https://cie.asu.edu/ojs/index.php/cieatasu/article/view/745
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