Big Return - Little Effort

Have you ever been frustrated with student engagement? How about with getting class started? Did you know there is research that suggests that 1 simple change can increase student engagement by nearly 30%? Some of the smallest changes can make the biggest difference. This blog will use research from Allday and Pakurar (2007). When looking at on-task behavior they noted that teachers that greeted their students at the door saw an average increase in on-task behavior of 30%! Wow! Allday and Pakurar (2007) suggested, "using the student's name along with a positive statement." Imagine the impact of something so simple.


I have been working with a couple of teachers that have been struggling with getting all students to move directly to on-task behavior, so we took this research to heart. However, we also added our own twist. We worked with students to envision what a "learning environment" looked like. Once we had a vision we could agree on, we agreed that if you were in the classroom, we would treat it as a learning environment. All students were asked to leave the classroom and enter the learning environment when they were ready to learn. It took about 3 minutes to do the reset. Students entered the room and followed expectations of being seated and ready to learn.


The following day, the teacher of the classroom greeted students at the door and reminded them that if they were in the room, the expectation was in their seat and ready to learn. If they were not ready, they were encouraged to wait in the hall until passing time was over and then enter the room appropriately. It has been a couple weeks now and the classroom is turning around. High expectations and creating the learning environment you desire is key.


My challenge to you is to think about how your students enter the room. Is there an area that you could try to change things for the better? Maybe it is to simply start greeting your students, or perhaps, creating the idea of a learning environment for your students. Remember that whenever you make changes to routine, expectations must be taught, re-taught, and enforced.


References


Allday, R. A., & Pakurar, K. (2007). EFFECTS OF TEACHER GREETINGS ON STUDENT ON-
        TASK BEHAVIOR. Journal Of Applied Behavior Analysis, 40(2), 317-320.