Presented by:
Madeline Grimes
Key Statement:
There is a student-engagement crisis in our schools. By utilizing student voice in our classroom policies and instruction we can re-engage our most vulnerable students.
Keywords:
Student Voice, Engagement, Urban Education
Abstract:
Recently, feelings of disconnection from school have increased, and students from traditionally marginalized communities are at the greatest risk. This disconnection can manifest in disengagement from classwork and the school community. Through a review of the literature, we see that eliciting student voice increases feelings of belonging, allows us to hear and utilize what will interest students, and provides opportunities for choice; all of which have been linked to improved engagement. This presentation will demonstrate the RAFT strategy as an example of how to make small changes in your classroom policies and instruction in order to increase student voice.
Learning Outcomes:
1. Describe the current crisis around student engagement.
2. Understand the power and importance of utilizing student voice.
3. Utilize the RAFT strategy to immediately start implementing more student voice and choice in their classroom.
Hear it from the author:
TRANSCRIPT:
Hello, today I am excited to share with you about cultivating a community of student voice in your classroom in order to improve student engagement.
Since the 2020 pandemic, students are feeling more disconnected. We are seeing this both in their self-reported feelings of disconnection, and in their behaviors (like chronic absenteeism). I have a couple of graphics on my poster that show these trends in more detail. Given this information, university faculty should consider employing engagement strategies that they may not have previously found necessary at the undergraduate level.
From current research, it is well established that belonging and engagement are highly linked to one another (Goss & Sonnerman, 2017; Kiefer, Alley, & Ellerbrock, 2015; Keyes & Heath, 2023; Pendergast et al., 2018). This link is especially important for students who are part of vulnerable or marginalized populations as highlighted in Gillen-O’Neel (2019).
Also, the work of Schnitzler, Holzberger, & Seidel (2020) and Bailey (2020) shows that the experiences students have with engagement in secondary school shapes their academic identities and can continue to affect them in undergrad. Again, a lot of this goes back to cultivating belonging and whether students feel a sense of respect from those who teach them.
This is where student voice comes into play. According to Posner & Nsowaa (2022) when students feel their voices are heard they rate engagement and teacher care higher. Furthermore, when they are given autonomy in the curriculum (Jang, Reeve, & Deci, 2010) and when the curriculum feels relevant to them (Fredricks et al., 2019) engagement is higher.
So with all of that said, I want to showcase the RAFT strategy (Santa, 1988) as a way that you can begin implementing more student voice in your classroom now. RAFT stands for (Role, Audience, Format, and Topic) and it is essentially a structure that you can use to give students more autonomy in their assignments. In my poster, I go into more detail about the value of this strategy and present some examples both from my time as a teacher and as an undergraduate student.
REFERENCES:
Conner, J., Posner, M. & Nsowaa, B. (2022). The relationship between student voice and student engagement in urban high schools. The Urban Review 54, 755–774. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11256-022-00637-2
Goss, P. & Sonnerman, J. (2017). Engaging students: Creating classrooms that improve learning. Carlton, Victoria: Grattan Institute. https://apo.org.au/sites/default/files/resource-files/2017-02/apo-nid72749.pdf
Kiefer, S.; Alley, K. M.; & Ellerbrock, C. R. (2015) Teacher and Peer Support for Young Adolescents’ Motivation, Engagement, and School Belonging, RMLE Online, 38:8, 1-18, https://doi.org/10.1080/19404476.2015.11641184
Silver, H. F., Strong, R. W., & Perini, M. J. (2009). The strategic teacher: Selecting the right research-based strategy for every lesson. Merrill.