Latest / New Teacher Talk / Ep 130: Keeping Students in the Game Throughout the Year

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Ep 130: Keeping Students in the Game Throughout the Year · New Teacher Talk

• 0:02
  Welcome to New Teacher Talk,
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  the podcast that's all about empowering early career and
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  aspiring educators like you.
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  Whether your classroom is in a rural area,
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  the suburbs or the city,
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  we're here to provide guidance and inspiration for your
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  teaching practice.
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  Glad you've joined us today.
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  I'm Dr.
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  Anna.
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  And I'm Dr.
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  Beth.
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  Today, we are talking about something every teacher faces,
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  keeping our students engaged when motivation starts to
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  wane.
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  You know, Beth,
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  I was just telling a first year teacher yesterday that the
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  spring slump is real.
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  What are you seeing with the teachers you mentor?
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  That's an excellent question, Anna.
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  So many of them are worried that it's something that they
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  are doing wrong.
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  I always try and reassure them that motivation naturally
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  ebbs and flows.
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  The key is having strategies ready when they see those
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  early warning signs.
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  Exactly.
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  Those blank stares, the heads on the desks.
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  What are your go-to strategies when you notice engagement
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  dropping?
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  I'm a big believer Anna,
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  in simply changing the state of the room.
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  If we've been sitting too long, which can happen, we stand.
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  If we've been working independently, we switch to pairs.
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  Sometimes that physical reset is all the students need.
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  Beth, I love that.
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  I also when I'm teaching try to build in what I call small
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  wins when I see motivation dipping.
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  I try to bring in something that students can master
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  quickly before tackling harder stuff.
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  That is a brilliant suggestion.
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  Students really do need to feel successful in what you've
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  recommended makes good sense,
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  especially when their confidence is lagging.
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  I always keep what I call a "Motivation Emergency Kit" at
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  the ready.
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  Beth, tell me more about that.
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  Well,
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  that emergency kit has a few high engagement activities
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  that require minimal prep,
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  but they get everybody in the classroom involved.
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  My favorite is Expert Challenge Cards.
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  Those are really cool.
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  The students pick a card with a concept that we've covered.
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  They get to spend three minutes becoming the expert using
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  the notes that they have,
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  and then they teach another student.
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  It gets everybody moving and talking in the classroom.
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  I'm stealing that idea.
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  I have a trove of 3x5 cards.
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  For me, it always comes back to relationships, though.
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  Students work harder for teachers they feel connected to.
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  I make sure to greet everyone at the door, use their names,
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  and check in personally when I notice engagement dropping.
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  Well, as teachers, that is so true.
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  That connection is everything.
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  And speaking of connection,
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  I'd like to talk about those crucial one-on-one
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  conversations with consistently disengaged students.
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  We all have students like that.
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  So what's your approach, Anna?
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  Setting matters so much.
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  So I really make an effort, Beth,
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  never to have these conversations in front of peers or when
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  either of us is frustrated.
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  I invite students to have lunch in my classroom.
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  I like to create that relaxed atmosphere where we can
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  really talk.
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  I'm really in support of that approach.
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  I've done the same thing.
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  You want to start with curiosity, not judgment, right?
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  And something like,
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  I've noticed you've seemed less interested lately.
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  I'm wondering what's going on for you.
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  Questions like that are really good conversation starters.
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  Exactly, and then this is crucial.
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  Listen more than you talk.
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  To understand anyone else's perspective, that's critical.
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  I've had students share everything from,
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  I'm bored because I already know this material,
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  to serious issues happening at home,
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  and different causes need different approaches.
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  I agree.
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  One tool that has been surprisingly effective for me that
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  another teacher told me about is to use a quick interest
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  inventory.
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  When I notice that a student is checking out,
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  I'll have them complete a survey about their interests and
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  learning preferences.
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  Then we explicitly discuss how to connect those to the
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  coursework that we're working on.
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  That transformation from disinterest to enthusiasm,
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  it's why we teach, isn't it?
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  What about when it's not just one student,
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  but the whole class losing steam?
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  We've all seen that.
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  We've all experienced that.
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  So for me, that's an indication for a class meeting time.
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  I'll openly acknowledge what I'm seeing.
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  I'm very communicative with the students.
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  Our energy seems low lately.
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  Let's do some problem solving together.
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  Then a simple protocol such as...
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  what's working well? What's challenging right now? What's
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  one change that would help you stay engaged?
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  And do your students really give you helpful feedback on
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  this?
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  Yes, almost always.
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  I find that being real and honest with them is a great way
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  to open up that conversation.
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  It's a trust thing.
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  Students do appreciate being treated as partners in
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  creating their learning environment.
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  But these conversations also need to include clear
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  expectations.
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  For instance, I've used things such as, I've noticed,
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  I'm concerned, let's try framework.
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  I've noticed that you haven't been completing work during
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  class.
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  I'm concerned because these skills build upon each other.
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  Let's try setting some small daily goals and checking in at
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  the end of each class.
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  Using a framework like that strikes a perfect balance of
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  support without enabling the student to just continue on.
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  It shows that you have their best interests at heart,
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  that you're noticing something about them,
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  and that you care.
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  And another way is to change the classroom setting.
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  And this brings us to one of my favorite things to do in
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  the spring, field trips.
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  It is one of the best engagement tools in our arsenal,
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  but it's also often underutilized.
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  How do you use field trips to make the most of your
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  classroom experience?
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  What I've learned over the years and what advice I give to
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  early career teachers that I mentor and coach is it's
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  really in the preparation before and the reflection
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  afterward for the students.
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  Before a trip,
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  build anticipation by connecting it to the learning goals
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  that are happening. Also,
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  afterwards process together. Ask questions such as what
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  surprised you?
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  How does this connect to what we've been studying?
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  Oh, yes.
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  And you know, Beth,
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  I just read an interesting article about using the
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  Montessori method to engage students in the preparation for
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  a field trip, and we'll put that link into our show notes.
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  That's really cool.
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  And you know,
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  just last week we had put together something about
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  preparation for the day of your field trip,
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  so we'll put that in the show notes, too.
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  That sounds great.
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  Always good, helpful resources, and they're free.
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  Absolutely! Free is the best.
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  Which brings me to the question,
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  how do we manage field trips if we have limited classroom
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  budgets?
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  Oh, boy, we all have limited budgets.
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  It's just hard to go anywhere these days.
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  Sometimes it's just hard to even leave the building.
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  So I'm a huge fan or a big proponent of creating many field
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  trips.
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  I've taken students to the school garden to observe plant
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  adaptations,
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  to the cafeteria in our school to interview staff about
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  food waste,
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  even just going to the parking lot for a geometry lesson on
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  measuring angles and distances.
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  What have been your experiences, Anna?
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  Oh,
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  I've been out to the parking lot with chalk to draw geometric
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  figures.
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  Oh yeah,
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  kids love that far more than doing it on paper inside the
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  building.
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  I've also had a lot of experience with virtual experiences.
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  They can be really powerful.
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  You can have a Zoom interview with experts.
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  I've had Zooms with a lot of authors of children's
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  literature.
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  And these Zoom experiences provide a window to the wider
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  world when you can't physically go there.
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  Very cost effective, absolutely.
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  And however you do it,
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  make sure that there's a connection back to the classroom
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  learning, that's key.
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  After visiting a local watershed,
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  my students created public service announcements, or PSAs,
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  if you will, about water conservation.
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  The field trip wasn't just a one-off,
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  but it was a launching point for deeper investigation that
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  we wanted to do.
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  And any time that you can do that kind of experience that
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  just kicks off a unit is really exciting for students.
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  And I find that having students document their experiences
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  and then teach others is particularly effective.
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  Knowing they'll be the experts later heightens their
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  attention during the trip itself.
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  One day we had adult tourists following my third grade
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  class around the exhibit at the Field Museum because they
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  had been prepared and looked at pictures of the artifacts
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  we were going to see.
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  And so then they would stand in front of that artifact and
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  give all the background knowledge about it.
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  It was fascinating.
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  Oh my goodness. That engagement what you did,
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  that's really cool,
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  and the students really like the opportunity to interact
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  with their peers. Those relationships...
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  the relationships that are built during those shared
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  experiences, as in the case of your field museum example,
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  often translate just to better classroom dynamics. Field
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  trips obviously create natural opportunities for students
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  to see different sides of each other that extend beyond the
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  classroom. And for us as teachers to really see different
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  sides of our students.
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  That's so true, Beth.
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  Do you have any final advice for new teachers planning
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  their first field trips?
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  You know, start small and build from there.
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  My first field trip was just taking my students to the
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  football field to get a sense of how the band would look
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  out there to the people in the stands.
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  That's moving a lot of students to a larger space,
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  focusing on what the learning objectives were rather than
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  just trying to pack in too much.
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  So that would be my best advice.
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  Start small, build from there,
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  stay focused on the objectives and really streamline the
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  process.
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  And it's important to involve students in the planning
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  whenever possible.
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  When they help research options or prepare questions,
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  they're more invested in the experience.
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  I agree.
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  Anna, before we wrap up,
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  do you have any final thoughts on keeping students in the
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  game throughout the school year?
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  That's a good question, Beth.
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  We have to remember that our own enthusiasm is contagious.
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  When you are genuinely excited about what you're teaching,
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  students pick up on that energy that you give off.
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  Find ways to connect your curriculum to your own personal
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  interests, and don't be afraid to let your passion show.
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  And don't forget to build a community with other teachers
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  in your building.
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  Teachers you know in other school districts,
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  other teachers online through social media,
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  share what's working.
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  Some of my best motivation strategies came from casual
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  conversations in the staff room,
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  through coffee get-togethers with others from a different
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  district,
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  not those formal professional development opportunities.
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  T
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  That is so true, Beth.
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  And to all of our new teacher listeners,
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  keeping students engaged isn't about being perfect or
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  having elaborate plans every day.
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  It's about consistent care, authentic relationships,
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  and a willingness to adjust when something isn't working.
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  And, I would add to that great advice, Anna.
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  Be patient with yourself.
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  Celebrate the small wins and keep building your toolkit.
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  That's what we do as teachers.
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  We continue to grow and get better at what we do and add to
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  that toolkit.
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  Your students are lucky to have someone like you who really
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  cares enough to look for ways to keep them motivated.
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  Thanks for joining us for today's episode of New Teacher
• 13:53
  Talk.
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• 13:59
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• 14:04
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• 14:05
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  Until next time,
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  we are rooting for you every step of the way.