High levels of engagement-it's not an impossible dream. But to attain it we need to focus on what galvanizes learning, and ensure we are offering the tools and mindsets with which students can lean in. In this playbook, an ace team of educators give us the goods to guide self-starting learners.
Nine modules show us how to:
Cohere standards, success criteria, tasks, and goals so students can travel clear pathways
Offer tools that allow learners to recognize the gap between their current performance and the expected performance, and select strategies to close that gap
Talk with students about engagement as a continuum, and that there are actions they can take to heighten their buy-in to any endeavor
Stress-test our lesson plans to ensure students can discuss, debate, create and problem-solve around highly relevant content
Use lots of low-stakes assessment and feedback routines to develop effective collaboration that doesn't depend on us.
Our job as teachers is to guide learning experiences that build knowledge and self-efficacy. But from there, we need to stay on the sidelines and let students play. Only then will they develop the muscle to persevere, the strategic actions to excel, and the confidence to make our curriculum the springboard of their own dreams and goals.
Author Biography:
Douglas Fisher is professor and chair of educational leadership at San Diego State University and a leader at Health Sciences High and Middle College. Previously, Doug was an early intervention teacher and elementary school educator. He is a credentialed teacher and leader in California. In 2022, he was inducted into the Reading Hall of Fame by the Literacy Research Association. He has published widely on literacy, quality instruction, and assessment, as well as books such as Welcome to Teaching, PLC+, Teaching Students to Drive their Learning, and Student Assessment: Better Evidence, Better Decisions, Better Learning.
Nancy Frey is professor of educational leadership at San Diego State University and a leader at Health Sciences High and Middle College. Previously, Nancy was a teacher, academic coach, and central office resource coordinator in Florida. She is a credentialed special educator, reading specialist, and administrator in California. She is a member of the International Literacy Association’s Literacy Research Panel. She has published widely on literacy, quality instruction, and assessment, as well as books such as The Artificial Intelligences Playbook, How Scaffolding Works, How Teams Work, and The Vocabulary Playbook.
Sarah Ortega is a coordinator for instruction and supports for English Language learners at Health Sciences High & Middle College and served as a classroom educator for 19 years. She was recognized as the 2023 Chula Vista Elementary School District Teacher of the Year and her teaching videos have been featured in professional development training and educator magazines. She is also a professional learning consultant and works with schools and districts to design and implement learning solutions that support the emotional, behavioral, and instructional needs of students. John Hattie, PhD, is an award-winning education researcher and best-selling author with nearly thirty years of experience examining what works best in student learning and achievement. His research, better known as Visible Learning, is a culmination of nearly thirty years synthesizing more than 2,100 meta-analyses comprising more than one hundred thousand studies involving over 300 million students around the world. He has presented and keynoted in over three hundred international conferences and has received numerous recognitions for his contributions to education. His notable publications include Visible Learning, Visible Learning for Teachers, Visible Learning and the Science of How We Learn; Visible Learning for Mathematics, Grades K-12; and 10 Mindframes for Visible Learning.
