“I’m All Fired Up Now”: The Role of Interest in Student Engagement and Classroom Success
My teacher training program always emphasized the role of making learning meaningful through the use of intentional unit and lesson designs. Recommendations often focused on instructional lessons that drew connections between student interest and classroom content. I bought into the idea, but I never imagined how truly powerful getting to know your students could be, until I started teaching.
According to Doubet and Hockett (2015), teachers that “ignore the affective needs of teenagers, [will] be less able to meet students’ cognitive needs” (p. 9). Students perform an ongoing balancing act between their academic, extracurricular, family, and greater social lives. We, as teachers, cannot expect them to focus on school and by extension our classes. In fact, Doubet and Hockett (2015) write that “[a]dolescents often devote more time and energy to worrying about whether they are safe and accepted than to caring about whether they are learning” (p. 9). This desire for acceptance is powerful and can be an incredible source for driving student engagement.
At the heart of interest in the classroom, there is an incredible force that drives engagement, community building, trust, and respect. I spend a great deal of time getting to know my students. For example, I provide each student with an interest survey (Image 1) to catalog the basic interests they have. I do this for two reasons: (1) I want to be able to connect my lessons to their lives and interests, and (2) I am searching for common interests that we share.
When you directly show an interest in the hobbies and likes of your students, you are more likely to have a well-functioning classroom focused on respect and understanding.
The most powerful example of this I encountered in my teaching was an instance where I shared an interest in Japanese animation with some of my students. We would often talk about our favorite shows, characters, and story lines. This small, shared interest facilitated a classroom community, because my students realized that I was more than just a teacher of history. I, too, had interests outside of the classroom. In their eyes, I became a person who was authentically interested in some of the same things that they enjoyed. One student, in particular, demonstrated this particularly well. When my student found out that I would be leaving the position at the end of the year, she gave me a wonderful gift (Image 2). I was taken aback, and felt that I had truly reached her.
The image is from a Japanese animation called Fairy Tail (spelling intentional), and the depicted character is Natsu (Japanese for summer). Below Natsu is the Fairy Tail Farewell — an inspirational goodbye shared between friends that will part. It reads, “Though out paths may have diverged, you must continue to live our your life with all your might. You must never consider your own life to be something insignificant, and you must never forget the friends who loved you. You are a Fairy Tail member now and forever.” This was a touching sentiment from a seventh grader, and something I never expected. I treasure this drawing and all of the cards and farewells I received from my students. From that moment forward, I committed myself to creating communities just like that classroom. You could say, “I’m all fired up now” about my teaching — or at least even more so than I was before.
Since, students are not always going to focus on academics, especially when the content in question seems so far removed from their lives, it is essential that teachers purposefully plan their instructional units with connections that are relevant to students’ lives. According to Lent (2012), “[I]nterest is the precursor to curiosity.” I could not agree more. When classrooms work to create an inclusive and welcoming community, teachers can spend more time getting to know their students, and use that knowledge to plan powerful, student-centered lessons. Any examination of education pedagogy shows the power of the differentiated classroom — intentionally designed, student-centered classrooms, where the teacher plans instruction according and in response to student needs (Doubet & Hockett, 2015; and Wormeli, 2007). Teachers can plan more effective and engaging lessons when they know the interests and abilities of their students.
I once designed an interest-based unit on the Industrial Revolution based on a pre-assessment (Image 3) that allowed students to demonstrate their knowledge and interests. I collected the assessment, organized the data, and used the results to plan each unit component.
Figure 1 illustrates the major focuses I stressed during the unit. Each focus related to a concept, theme, or idea that resonated with my students and enabled them to draw concrete connections between their prior knowledge, experiences and their new learning. For example, I used a tiered assignment to differentiate by learning profile.
In other cases, I provided active learning components that could engage the students in ways they were probably unaccustomed too. For example, I implemented an assembly line simulation (Image 4), where students had to construct cars in an efficient and rapid manner to beat their competition. My students were excited to work with their hands and were engaged in the process. After the simulation, we conducted a debriefing discussion, where students shared how it felt to be working on an assembly line. Then we examined sources to fill in any knowledge gaps (e.g. the dangers of factory work). My kinesthetic learners were really interested in this assignment (as was the entire class), and their interest did not wane after the initial exercise because we intentionally drew connections between each lesson component.
McDonald (2012) believes that getting to know your students, showing interest in them, and providing clear expectations can be an incredible method of deterring problem behaviors in the classroom. This is true. When students feel respected they are more willing to engage in the process. This “buy-in” fosters more engagement, which, in turn helps students learn. Showing a genuine interest in their feelings and likes is only one part of the process. In my own classroom, for example, I facilitate the development of communities by engaging students in the construction process. We work together to create classroom rules and policies. I consider this process essential for social studies classrooms. Alleman and Brophy (2004) refer to this as democracy in the classroom:
[T]he classroom learning community is a place for helping students practice democratic life, in addition to addressing the academic subjects (Figure 2). Social studies content developed around the topic of childhood offers an opportunity to bridge the formal and informal, to enrich and deepen personal connections within the community, and at the same time, to develop networks of connected ideas associated with geography, history, economics, culture, and citizenship — with the child at the center (p. 18).
The democratic classroom, however, is not exclusive to social studies courses. It can be incorporated into any content area, and it presents an opportunity for students to feel respected as part of the learning process. Furthermore, democratic components in the classroom provide for additional dimensions of learning (e.g. civic participation — a major component of formal education).
Starting out the year with a strong message of respect and interest allows teachers and students to focus on learning. Rather than reacting to problem behaviors and forcing students to learn content that seems so far removed from their lives, teachers and students can work together to connect content to the present and to their interests-an essential component in the learning process. As is said in the Fairy Tail farewell, “[Y]ou must never consider your own life to be insignificant…,” and in the classroom the significance of your students’ lives is the most powerful drive in learning.
Editor’s Note:
In a compilation of stories about teachers and teaching, John Dashiell mentioned the three impacts a teacher can have on students:
(1) developing in them the dignity of study
(2) developing a delight of free inquiry
(3) working in them the value for ethusiam
Differentiated instruction and getting to know our students is a great way to have all three impacts.
I have written about the theoretical aspects of differentiated instruction and this article is a wonderful supplement to it, showcasing not only the ways a teacher can get to know his students but also how he can use this information for implementing instruction that the students will relate to. We learn by reflecting and relating what we are experiencing to past experiences and what we find meaningful in our lives. By recognizing the thoughts and knowledge our students bring to our classroom, we can create environments where they look forward to learning and, of course, where they want to be.
References:
Alleman, J. & Brophy, J. (2004). “Building a Learning Community and Studying Childhood.” Social Studies and the Young Learner 17 no. 2. Accessed April 14, 2018 https://www.socialstudies.org/publications/ssyl/november-december2004/childhood_as_a_topic_of_social_studies
Doubet, K. & Hockett, J. (2015). Differentiation in middle and high school: Strategies to engage all learners. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
Lent, R. (2012). Overcoming textbook fatigue: 21st century tools to revitalize teaching and learning. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
McDonald, E. (2012). “The Secret Weapon: Getting to Know Your Students.” Education World. Accessed April 14, 2018 http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/columnists/mcdonald/mcdonald013.shtml
Wormeli, R. (2007). Differentiation: From planning to practice. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
