Question 2 Response

Stanchfield, J. (2012). More Ideas to Engage Learners From the Moment They Walk in the Door. WoodnBarns, Retrieved from http://woodnbarnes.com/uncategorized/more-ideas-to-engage-learners-from-the-moment-they-walk-in-the-door/

I found this article on a blog called “The Inspired Educator Blog”.  This article is a follow up from a previous article.  The main point of the article was to address the importance of engaging students in the first few minutes of your lesson.  Stanchfield discusses that students tend to remember what happened first and last in a lesson.  She calls this a bookend learning experience.  As soon as students walk through the door, they need to be engaged.   Most teachers start class with taking attendance or collecting homework.  However, these activities are not engaging and can impact student engagement.  A lesson beginning should set the tone for the rest of the lesson and may make a difference in whether students will be engaged and stay engaged throughout the lesson. 

This reading connects with our course content because I feel as though we have been trying to make math more engaging.  Teaching math in a traditional way is not very engaging for students.  When we talk about reform teaching, math becomes more authentic and students are more eager to participate.  Often, the beginning of a lesson is what I remember most.  Thinking about the group lessons we have been teaching I remember trying to fit people in a 1 meter by 1 meter box and pulling colored paper out of a bag.  When I think about these activities, I can remember what each group taught.  Without having these activities to remember these lessons by, I am not sure if I could tell someone what lessons my peers have taught these past few weeks.  The beginning of a lesson is very important.  When I start to make a lesson plan, I know what content I want to teach, but I always seem to spend a lot of time thinking of different ways I could excite my students enough to be engaged for the whole lesson.  The process of coming up with a good lesson opening can be challenging, but it is so worth it if I can create something that will engage the majority of my students.