Re-engaging the Disengaged Learner

Jenning Prevatte, M.Ed.

During a recent presentation on the Power of Scaffolding in Higher Education, I was asked how to re-engage disengaged learners. This is a tricky question! My first thought is, why are they disengaged? The reality is that it happens. Students become disengaged for a variety of reasons. Our role as classroom leaders is to create engaging learning environments and lessen the opportunity for students to disengage.

So, how do we ensure student engagement? First, let's consider a common teaching strategy that disengages students. A definite engagement killer is to ask a question to the whole class, expecting them to raise their hands and answer. At that moment, some students become disengaged. They stop thinking, waiting for someone else to answer the question. This is not ideal for learning. In a way, teachers send a hidden message that says, "I know that everyone can't learn, so it is okay if only some of you know the answer to this question." Now, I know that most educators believe that everyone can learn. However, we choose techniques that send the opposite message of our beliefs.

I believe you can learn!

Believing everyone can learn and choosing teaching strategies that support that belief are foundational to keeping students engaged and re-engaging them when disengaged. We want to choose teaching techniques that convey, "I believe each of you can learn!"

In my experience, getting students to engage with the course content begins with creating a learning partnership with students. Being a learning partner with students is a different mindset than being the subject matter expert and dispensing all the knowledge. When teachers create learning partnerships with students, they learn alongside them and choose teaching techniques that actively engage everyone in the learning.

Active learning is a teaching strategy that aligns with the mindset that teachers are learning partners with students. There is a ton of positive research on active learning. If you are interested in the research, google "Active Learning Research" for peer-reviewed articles. The long and short of the research is it increases learning and creates a more effective learning environment for everyone. Some of my favorite active learning strategies are quick and easy and fit into any lesson.

Strategies like Think-Pair-Share, 4-Corners, and 3-2-1 are quick, easy, and great ways to engage students in learning.

Think-Pair-Share

Think-Pair-Share is a strategy that I consider an "oldy but goody" and a teaching technique every educator should use in their toolbox.

The essence of this strategy is that the teacher asks a question or provides the class with a prompt and allows each student to think. To facilitate, allow the students to take a moment (1 – 3 minutes) to think about the question and suggest writing down their ideas (if necessary). Then, after some thinking, move to step 2, 'Pair.' In this part of the strategy, students share their ideas with a neighbor. Then, the final step is to share it with the whole class. This can be done in a variety of ways. One way I like is to add one highlight or main idea discussed in pairs to the "wisdom wall." The "wisdom wall" is the whiteboard, either a digital or in-person version. This strategy allows teachers to facilitate an active discussion and guide students in deepening their knowledge and making connections.

Alternative versions of Think-Pair-Share exist, such as Write-Pair-Share or Draw-Pair-Share. Consider how you want students to engage with the material and augment this flexible strategy to meet your course content and student needs.

4-Corners

A second strategy to increase student engagement is 4-Corners. I use this cooperative learning strategy in various ways, but essentially, students move to 4 corners of the room and discuss a question, prompt, or thinking stem. This strategy can be facilitated with more teacher direction or less teacher direction. For example, a teacher can ask questions and have students move to the corner that matches the student's response, or a teacher can post questions in each corner and have students engage in a discussion. I like to have students move to each corner, discuss with their partner or small group, and add their ideas to the chart paper. Then, facilitate a debrief with the whole class to identify connections and main ideas around the topic.

3-2-1

Another technique that I find highly valuable is having my students reflect on their learning. This engages their metacognition, which is the awareness of one's thinking and engages students deeply in the learning process. I embedded reflective questions on course content throughout the lesson to stop, pause, and reflect on what has been learned. Reflective questions are simple thinking stems, i.e., "I learned…", "A question I still have…", "I will…" or "My a-ha was…", or "I used to think...now I think...". Another idea is having students complete a 3-2-1, this is where students identify three facts, two questions, and one main idea, or create your own 3-2-1 format and have students identify 3 of something, 2 of something, and 1 of something based on an article they read, a video they watched or other content they learned.

Embedding active learning strategies into lessons empowers students, provides them with the learning support structures they need to understand course content, and increases overall learning. In addition, having students engage in meaningful reflection and guiding them to make their thinking visible is a critical part of the learning process.

Are you interested in learning more? I recommend a fantastic book series, Making Thinking Visible, How to Promote Engagement, Understanding, and Independence for All Learners, and The Power of Making Thinking Visible Practices to Engage and Empower All Learners.

Also, please find my previous blog, Implementing the Power of Scaffolding in Higher Education, and don't forget the FREE resources in our Toolkit! In our Toolkit, you will find additional resources to support student engagement.