Elizabeth Carter

Grand Canyon University-EDU 450

November 14, 2015

Student Engagement
Strategies

Why Use structures?

In

order for students to be fully engaged, it is

important for teachers to be familiar with
different strategies, not only activities, to use in
the classroom (Kagan, 1989).
According to Powell, Cleveland, Thompson, &
Forde (2012), active learning has to incorporate
communication, collaboration, and reflection.
Without these three aspects, students will be less
engaged and interested in the learning process.
With this in mind, there are many different
structures that teachers can use to increase
student engagement.

Think-Pair-Share
Students

are asked a question.

They are given a predetermined
amount of time to think about their
response.
Next, students pair up with another
student and they take turns sharing
their answers.
This structure would work best with a
group of four. Students can either be
paired with a face partner or a

Think-Write-Pair-Share
Students

are given a question.

Similar to Think-Pair-Share, students
have a set amount of time to think,
and then write down their response.
Finally, they pair with their partner
and share the answers
Again, this structure requires face or
shoulder partners, and would work
best in groups of four.

Three-Step Interview
Students

are asked a question.

Students are paired, and student A gives their
response to student B. Then they switch and
Student B gives their response to Student A.
Next, each student shares, their opinion and
what they have learned with the rest of the
group.
This works best with groups of four, since the
pairs join together for step three. For steps
one and two, shoulder partners would be
best.

Jigsaw
Each

group is assigned a specific topic that they

research and learn about.
Next, each person from the group goes to another
group and presents information about their topic.
Each consecutive group does the same thing.
When finished, each student in the class will have
learned about every topic, and each student will also
have been able to teach others about their topics.
This has to be set up according to however many
students are in the groups. If there are six people in
each group, then the class should be set up in six
table groups.

Numbered Heads
Together
The

group is set up with four students each.

Each student is assigned a number, 1-4.
The teacher asks a question and gives the
students a moment to discuss the answer.
The teacher then calls out a number between
1 and 4, and that student can raise their
hand to answer the question.
Every student must participate because they
do not know which number will be called.
This can also be done with a deck of cards,
and suits instead of numbers.

Corners
Teachers

assign different categories to different

corners of the room.
Based on the students answers, they will walk
to the corner that corresponds with their answer.
The teacher will then ask each section to justify
their reasoning of moving to that particular
corner.
This does not have a specific grouping strategy,
but it is important to have a wide range of
answers for the students to pick so that they do
not all go to the same corner.

Pairs Check
Students

are paired.
Each pair receives a worksheet. Partner A does the
odd problems and partner B does the even
problems.
Students work one problem at a time, and the
partner who is not working is coaching and
encouraging the other student.
If the teacher would like, two pairs can compare
their answers part-way through the exercise.
Shoulder partners would work best for this
structure, and groups of four are needed if the
teacher wishes to have the pairs compare answers.

I Do, We Do, You Do

The

teacher models the problem and solution.

The teacher can either have the class do a similar
problem with him or her, or they can have the
class break into small groups.
Finally, the students complete a similar problem
on their own.
This begins with a whole group structure. It can
then go to a group of four, and finally to an
independent structure. Or, the teacher can
choose to skip the group of four structure and
stay in an interactive whole group before allowing
students to try on their own.

References
Kagan, S. (1989). The structural approach
to cooperative learning. Educational
Leadership; ProQuest Central 47,4
Powell, N. W., Cleveland, R., Thompson, S.,
& Forde, T. (2012). Using MultiInstructional Teaching and TechnologySupported Active Learning Strategies to
Enhance Student Engagement. Journal Of
Technology Integration In The Classroom,
4(2), 41-50