Provide Voice & Choice
“When students feel supported and have a sense of belonging, they are more likely to actively engage.” (Baker & Will, 2024) It is important for adults to remember that all behavior is communication – ours and our students’. Equally important is that we do not take student behavior personally, but rather respond (not react) to student behavior with a spirit of curiosity and genuine interest in connecting and understanding. This can be especially important when students appear apathetic, disengaged from instruction, or unmotivated to learn. Rather than seeing this as a discipline issue related to willful behavior, what if we considered that many other factors may be at play in the student’s life? Perhaps the family is dealing with housing insecurity or a significant medical issue. Perhaps skill deficits are so great that students don’t even know where to begin to ask for help. This Infographic provides a great visualization for what apathy may look like in the classroom, along with some of those possible underlying factors. Further, it also provides several strategies that can be used to increase the likelihood that students will be more engaged in class, such as providing voice and choice whenever possible. An excellent example of welcoming student voice is having students participate in the development of classroom expectations at the beginning of each year. This increases the likelihood that they will buy into and demonstrate those mutually agreed upon expectations. Providing choice can be done in a variety of ways, such as choosing which books to read or even choosing how to complete an assignment via a voice recording, a narrative, or using an interview style. Providing opportunities for voice and choice help students feel a part of their learning environment.
References
Baker, L., & Will, M. (2024, May 7). How to spot and combat student apathy: A teacher resource. Education Week. https://www.edweek.org/leadership/how-to-spot-and-combat-student-apathy-a-teacher-resource/2024/05
