James Sturtevant Hacking Engagement

You stroll into class and you're stoked! You have an awesome lesson and you can't wait to lay it on your young disciples. Alas! Your students are more interested in who's zoomin' who. You have to compete with contemporary school and youth culture...which is a tall order. You get discouraged because you know that if they gave this lesson their full attention, it would enrich their lives.

So...that's the problem and this episode will help you grab them by the virtual lapels and pull them into an amazing learning experience! I brought back some original sources we all love so much...the students! For this episode, I'm joined by Campbell Allen and Emma Neeper ...two wonderful young adults. They took time out of their busy existence to talk about how to prime the pump for tomorrow's lesson.

Put your hand on a hot stove for a minute, and it will seem like an hour. Sit with a pretty girl, and an hour seems like a minute. That’s relativity. Albert Einstein

This wonderful quote is the embodiment of engagement. As teachers...we need to be more like the engaging companion (obviously not in terms of physical attraction) and less like the stove.

And that's why I'm simply thrilled to bring you my interview with Norman Eng. We'll discuss the fabulous "You...Y'all...We" template. You simply must apply it to tomorrow's lesson!

Today, I'm celebrating the release of the 50th episode of the Hacking Engagement Podcast! So, I thought I'd do something special. I interviewed an expert on the future of this noble profession. What will schools look like in 2027? How about 2037? Today's episode will not sound like my other programs. This episode is longer than most...almost 40 minutes. This episode does not have the tight little list at the end explaining what you can do tomorrow. You're certainly encouraged to implement ideas from this conversation into tomorrow's lesson, but I was more focussed on what your lessons and your school will be like 10 and 20 years down the road!

My problem with retirement is simple...schools are becoming too fascinating to leave! The way I instruct has changed fundamentally over the past decade. I'm a markedly different teacher than I was last year. I'm closing in on the end of this school year, but I keep thinking about tools, tactics, and strategies I can't wait to try next fall. In short, I'm nowhere near ready to call it quits!

Then...I go and interview April Domine and I really get stoked!

I teach 18-year-olds how to write research papers. I totally get the struggle of students not embracing advice on how to evolve as writers. I was frustrated because I knew my students needed help, but they weren't reading my comments. And then...I met a lovely little app called Kaizena. It detonated my paradigm on providing students with feedback. It transformed grading papers into a collaborative process!

I'll bet you've gazed out at your students and thought:

I wonder if some kids aren't being challenged.
If I personalize instruction...my your room will be unmanageable.
Last spring, I had a student teacher. He was doing well, but one aspect of his instruction...and mine for that matter, that needed work was personalization. While he was busy teaching, I had some downtime and a chance to observe my kids and think. I came up with a method to personalize by combining 2 powerful tech tools...Google Classroom and Edublogs. We employed these 2 tools to offer enrichment to any student who wanted to go deeper in a particular unit.

When it comes to the classroom, some students love incentives and competition and some kids hate them. It's been my experience, that incentives motivate many students, but not all. Hence, it's important to offer the right kind of incentives. It's been my mission to include the incentives that are:

Fun
Low-risk
Simple
Social in nature
Non-academic
Engaging
Relationship-inducing

In this episode, I'll promote 6 such incentives.

As I read through the 20 page assignment on the Industrial Revolution, I kept thinking to myself..."Wow, this is boring!" If I was feeling that burn, imagine what my students were going to feel. I decided it was time to break out of the box. In this case, literally break out of the box of the four walls of my classroom. I sent my students on a school-wide scavenger hunt utilizing QR-codes, a hint sheet, and provocative prompts from the reading. This episode will detail this EPIC lesson plan from the vantage point of two of my awesome students. I will also offer advice on how you can create a scavenger hunt at your school.

Just because I've authored a couple of books and host a podcast on engagement, does not mean that I don't have challenging days in the classroom. Last Friday was one of those days! The first 3 periods went great. My students were animated and participatory. The last 3 periods were miserable. My kids were lethargic and crabby. They were not the least bit impressed with my lesson. I left home on Friday defeated!

Now...I've been teaching a long time. I've learned what to do when I have a miserable day like Friday. I've had plenty such days in my career. In this episode, I'll tell you about my miserable Friday and about 5 coping mechanisms I employ whenever I have a bad day. The good news is that I bounced back on Monday and thoroughly engaged ALL my classes.

This episode will help you bounce back too!

A few years ago, my students matriculated through 2 days of student presentations. IT WAS PAINFUL! I was bored! They were bored! The novelty wore off after about 3 presentations. It wasn't that there weren't some good ones...there were, but many were low energy, filled with endless bullet points, and were rehashing tired topics. Once a student gave their presentation or grasped a concept, they had little incentive to listen to the next gabfest. I vowed I wasn't going to do this to my kids again!

February represents the Dog Days in education. All the freshness of the school year are gone. Spring break is still a long way off and the weather...at least in the great state of Ohio...is nothing to write home about! Sometimes, as you watch your kids march in at the beginning of the period, you feel like you're observing a church congregation full of middle-aged parishioners. Everyone sits in the same pew, shakes hands with the same people, and says pretty much the same things. It's time to shake things up!

In today's program, I'm going to give you 3 totally original icebreakers with which you can randomly sort your students. Perhaps, a new seating chart is needed. Or, it's time get kids working with different peers on the next project. These icebreakers will help you rearrange your students socially...BUT THE REAL DRAW...is your students and you will have a blast working through these easy prompts.