Pupil engagement
- a revisit.
Thoughts and musings
In a few weeks, I will be leading a staff training day focusing on raising pupil participation and engagement. When approached by the school’s leader with the brief, I of course got incredibly excited. An opportunity to spend a number of focused hours exploring ideas and practical suggestions with teaching staff - the aim being to capture children’s interest, increase their feelings of belonging and consider means of motivation. Well, this is where the glimmers lie!
In preparation for the day, I have been reading back through some of my previous glimmers, exploring further research and relevant articles and spending some dedicated time thinking and considering. Of course, from this a ‘glimmer’ grew.
In today’s ‘ideas and practical suggestions’, I wanted to share some of the main focus points which have come from a deliberate revisit of the actions, conditions and considerations which can have a positive impact on increasing all pupils’ engagement and capturing the interest of not some - but many.
Ideas and practical suggestions
So, what might you want to consider (and explore further) when thinking about how to increase the engagement of your pupils. Below are two ideas which I hope can be actioned with minimal time spent preparing. Think of these as conversations starters with colleagues and small (but intentional) changes which you may make as we come to the end of this academic year (and when planning for the next).
1. Curriculum and lesson design
It perhaps sounds so obvious. Ensuring that a curriculum (and the lessons within it) is in place which is engaging to pupils and in turn increases their interest and motivation. Yet, particularly in recent conversations I have been having with teachers, leaders and education thinkers, it is perhaps the curriculum and the delivery (rather than teaching) of lessons which can be creating barriers to participation.
It is perhaps not a surprise to find that within two key documents released in England within the last few months, curriculum (and its relevance) is centrally positioned. The updated Ofsted inspection toolkit1 cites the importance of curriculum being rich and broad alongside it connecting to pupils’ real-life experiences. Similarly, the SEND whitepaper ‘Every child achieving and thriving’2 advocates for a relevant curriculum with high expectations for all.
Yet there feels like there can be a feeling of friction which can lie between the demands of curriculum objectives and a want to make this creative, meaningful and…engaging! Feedback that the current British National Curriculum is content heavy was reported on the recent Curriculum and Assessment Review Final Report3 . Within this an abundance of teachers shared that they feel under pressure to ensure that the statutory objectives are taught (often at pace) particularly when associated assessment procedures are tightly aligned.
Alongside my steadfast belief in ‘The joy of lesson planning’, I of course understand that restrictions (such as those on time and also any central decisions made as part of trust-wide curriculum choices) can make a complete overhaul of the curriculum challenging. Today’s glimmer is more of an offering of shifts and tweaks. Small changes that ensure that, as educators, we are fulfilling our professional duty and responsibility to protect our young learners from this feeling of ‘going through the motions’ and ‘ticking boxes’.
So, what small shifts and considerations can be undertaken to consider if current curriculum and lesson design is engaging for all pupils?
Review when lessons take place and how links between lessons (and the feelings of anticipation within these) are presented to the children. I write about this further in my glimmer on ‘Attendance’. Inspired by action research projects at The University of Birmingham, Dubai4 which uncovered positive findings around consulting the pupils about what they liked to learn and when - definitely worth an explore!
Evaluate how lessons are taught to the children and the resources used to facilitate this. In a recent glimmer, ‘Instead of a slide deck’, I explore how planning and delivering content on screens may in fact be increasing passivity and depriving teachers of professional autonomy and creativity. For ways to make a change - take a look!
Examine how active children are at different points within the lesson (and also at points of transition). All children are different. Of course. It is what makes them special and what makes them matter. Participation for one will not look like participation for all. How can different strategies be developed which ensure that all children have the chance to share their ideas and responses, across the school day? My glimmer on ‘Participation’ shares some helpful tips!
2. Belonging and mattering
Of course, we may have curated the most relevant curriculum with our particular cohorts of children in mind with lessons which think way beyond a slide deck and encourage all children to get involved. However, if children are not feeling seen or heard (or are desperately trying not to be either) volitional involvement will be difficult to nurture.
What we are talking about here is attending to pupils’ SEMH needs. Understanding the unique lives of each child who enters our classrooms. It is the feeling we curate in our classrooms and how we uncover the needs, motivations and requirements of each individual.
So, how can we exercise an emotionally intelligent and sensitive approach to increasing engagement in our classrooms and schools?
Make sure every child knows that they matter. Again, a statement which can sound so obvious but taking some intentional time to really assess what this looks like in our classrooms and schools (and the forms which it takes) can be incredibly beneficial - and powerful. My glimmer on ‘Mattering’ is inspired by the book of the same name by Jennifer Breheny Wallace. Its messages resonated deeply within me and connections to the classroom quickly emerged.
Consider how choice, voice and responsibility can seek to motivate pupils. Three words which can be used as an evaluation tool when reflecting on representation and belonging. Do pupils have these? Daily? I am always rooted in the reality of busy school environments and timetables, so of course these need to be manageable. Just checking in on how often these are exercised is a good place to start, as may be revisiting my glimmer on ‘Pupil voice’.
Understand that the physical classroom environment, and the culture within this, impacts pupils’ ability to develop confidence and independence. As the weeks wind down to towards the summer break, you may take some time to think about what has worked well in your learning environments this year - and why. You may also be thinking about your next cohort of learners, a potential classroom or year group move or maybe you’re just ready for a refresh. Taking a pause to think about ‘Walking the talk’ can support with the ways you bring your ethos into reality.
I am now taking bookings for the next academic year. If you feel you that exploring practical ideas (with lots of actionable takeaways) for raising pupil engagement and participation would be of interest to your school -
do get in touch!
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Another thoughtful and engaging article, and particularly relevant at this time of year where we are looking back at the year and looking at changes to schemes. I really like the Belonging and Mattering ethos and the comments about a content heavy curriculum resonated deeply! Great work as always Laura