Written Reflection on The Icing or the Cake? By Kristina J. Doubet & Jessica A. Hockett

The Icing or the Cake? is a journal article written by Kristina Doubet and Jessica Hockett, which addresses the need to treat student engagement as the most significant part of teaching. Often student engagement is seen as a bonus to the educator attempting to create lessons, homework, and assessments to convey curriculum requirements to students. The quote, "planning with student engagement in mind helps teachers meet students' real, human needs, without sacrificing their academic growth", stresses the many gains engagement has for students. I agree with this statement, as a student who is not engaged will not have value for learning or interacting in a situation which meets their everyday needs, like socializing. Teachers who participate in their learning through feedback from colleagues or seeking out new teaching methods can improve students' engagement, as they are expanding learning opportunities. Students' benefit from diversity as it keeps them committed to learning, as well as developing new life skills, such as teamwork, organization, or public speaking.

Doubet and Hockett's four methods to stop disengagement from students prompts learning, engagement, and meeting children's basic needs. Firstly, stemming teacher-student or student-student relationships causes individuals to learn about each other, such as likes, dislikes, or personal goals. These relationships develop trust, making students feel secure in their learning environment, which can promote higher levels of participation and confidence to ask questions or for help. Teachers have the responsibility of fostering a safe environment for students to build new relationships, creating security in students by investing time, and collecting data on students' interests to incorporate into lessons. All these elements contribute to student engagement as they become more active in learning when children feel secure, supported, and included in the classroom. Education and students' needs are met by teachers taking the time to build connections with students and help students build relationships with other children.

Secondly, building student's interest through concepts and essential questions causes both parties to engage in consideration and thinking. Students must respond to thought-provoking questions, and teachers must aid in formulating questions, anticipating the discussion, and updating preconceptions once a discussion occurs. For teachers to create these learning opportunities, they have to capture the students' interests. If a student can relate themselves to the lesson, then they are more likely to be interested and display effort. For example, during my elementary years, all the students in my class were excited about the winter Olympics, which influenced our teacher to structure the upcoming lessons around the Olympics. This tactic will engage students as it touches on group interest, allows for connections between life and learning to form, and most importantly, students will have fun. Finding interesting, thought-provoking subjects to explore concepts and essential questions make students feel important in their learning and creates engagement for teachers to build on.

Thirdly, actively engaging in students' progress, either through anticipation or responding to it, is the act of taking responsibility for the child's learning. Monitoring progress highlights to educators which students may need extra assistance or who may be grasping the information well enough to help others. Tracking this information is crucial to prevent students from floundering for too long, which can stem self-doubt in their academic ability. Students' feel supported if they are aware that teachers are looking out for their best interest. Doubet and Hockett also mention showcasing multiple pieces of work from students progressing at different levels to demonstrate diversity in learning. This tactic opens up class discussion, displaying that different opinions or ideas are acceptable to explore. It shows students that learning does not have to be linear. Students can feel accepted for where they are at in their learning journey, encouraging continued engagement. When students know it is okay to be different, they are more accepting of themselves and others who may be different too. Teachers support the development of human needs and academic growth through fostering engagement by providing students with support, feedback, and showcasing diverse learning ability or thought processing.

Lastly, offering choice to students furthers learning as students feel incorporated in decision-making and their learning, which spikes their interest. Choice provides the chance for teachers to cater to student's interests, such as their likes or hobbies, in lessons. Also, selection in a task may create situational interest by allowing a variety in learning for students. This strategy is effective as students feel in control of their learning and allows them the possibility to select a option that complements their educational ability. Having a choice provides some freedom from the constraints some students feel that school places on them. I recently viewed this strategy in my placement, as the teacher provided children with different choices of numbers to count up by during math. Choice got the grade two students excited for the worksheet, as it gave the opportunity to use decision-making skills and select the option best suited for them.

Overall, Doubet and Hockett's strategies for preventing disengagement promote students' learning due to addressing human needs, such as comfort, support, or acceptance. I believe that if a student feels that their basic needs are met, then they are more likely to further engage in the learning material, benefiting their academic growth. The educational environment promotes emotional, behavioural, and academic learning for students; Therefore, it is significant to capture student's engagement to support the many areas of development.

Citation:

Te Icing or the cake? By: Doubet, Kristina J.; Hockett, Jessica A. Educational Leadership. Oct 2016, Vol. 74 Issue 2, p16-20. 5p