Using Technology to Engage Students

     In their 2013 book, Coaching Classroom Instruction, Robert Marzano and Julia Simms present Marzano's Model of Effective Teaching. "That model postulates forty-one elements (that is, forty-one categories of specific classroom strategies and behaviors) that describe classroom expertise," (p. 19). Three of these elements focus on the "Design Question: What will I do to engage students?" (p. 20) While all of the questions and elements are important for effective teaching, this one in particular stands out to me for encouraging the integration of technology into instruction.

(Magno, 2015)

     In order to assist a teacher to move a teacher into the beginning level a coach must assist them to research and learn about strategies, pick one to use, and then implement the strategy, (Marzano & Simms, 2013). As seen in the graphic above, Marzano lists nine elements that assist with student engagement and eight of those nine can be facilitated by integrating technology. I am going to focus on three of those: engagement, response time, and opportunities for students to talk about themselves, (Marzano, 2013).


Although it may seem like common sense to most educators, there are some who would fall at the low end of the spectrum recognizing when students are not engaged. This can be due to the teacher just being oblivious, or from just not caring. Integrating technology is a great way to help a teacher move from the bottom to the top of the spectrum for this element. Lee Brenner stated in an article for ISTE that "According to research, personalized, collaborative and connected learning experiences enhance student engagement, which in turn drives student success. By integrating technology in the classroom, educators can take learning experiences to the next level and significantly improve student performance," (Brenner, 2015). 

     Another element that can be improved with technology is increasing student response rate. There numerous options available to help teachers manage response time. This can be done easily in today's classroom with Chromebooks, IPads, laptops, or even the students' cellphones. Apps like Kahoot!, Quizlet, and Socrative turn the students' phones into personalized response systems. Programs like Google Classroom, Popplet, Seesaw can also be used to see student responses in real time. These items not only increase response time, but also increase engagement. 

    The final element I want to bring up is one that most teachers would rather avoid, allowing the students to talk about themselves. Many teachers only allow this in very structured way such as write an essay on what you did over summer break, or tell me about a time you _____. Technology opens up many new avenues for students to express themselves and relate what they are learning to their own lives. Teachers can use online interest surveys, blogs, or social media to bring a personal element to their instruction. Students love the internet and using social media, teachers who find a way to blend that with instruction will increase engagement and learning. 


     Many teachers are not comfortable enough using technology themselves to even consider integrating it into their instruction. Our job would be to coach them through a strategy until they are familiar with it enough to use it in a lesson. If we followed all of the steps Marzano recommends teachers would be able to move from "not using" to "innovating" with a little effort but great results. Teachers who see the results of their practice and research should have the desire to continue the learning. 

References

Brenner, Lee. (2015) 3 ways to increase student engagement in your classroom. Retrieved from: https://www.iste.org/explore/articleDetail?articleid=590&category=Innovator-solutions&article=

Magno, C. (2015) Developing a Teacher Performance Appraisal [Slideshare]. Retrieved from: https://www.slideshare.net/crlmgn/developing-a-teacher-performance-appraisal

Marzano, R. and Simms, J. (2013) Coaching Classroom Instruction. Marzano Research Laboratory, Bloomington, IN.