Visible Learning practices are evident at Green Island, especially as teachers are taking the initiative to improve student outcomes by allowing students to drive their own learning.
School districts are always trying to find ways to increase student engagement. Green Island UFSD, as a Visible Learning Certified school district, has succeeded in leveling aspects of student engagement, from disrupting to driving, in what the Visible Learning program calls “the engagement continuum.”
There are six subsections of the engagement continuum, three columns in “Disengagement”, and three columns in “Engagement”. Students name their place of engagement, and work with their teacher to bring themselves to the “Driving” column of Engagement.
Disengagement
Disrupting
- Distracting others
- Disrupting the learning environment
- Engaging in problematic behavior
- Destruction of materials
- Persistent talking about something other than the topic of the lesson
- Speaking with unkind words
Avoiding
- Looking for ways to avoid work
- Off-task behaviors
- Packing backpack before class ends
- Using various excuses to leave the classroom
- Returning to class late from a break
Withdrawing
- Being distracted
- Physically separating from group
- Daydreaming
- Sleeping in class
- Acting or imitating participation
- Hyper-focusing on a task other than the one at hand
Engagement
Participating
- Doing work
- Paying attention
- Responding to questions
- Observe teachers doing work
- Following teacher instructions
- Complying with a new rule
Investing
- Asking questions
- Valuing the learning
- Recognizing that there are things worth learning
- Collaborating with peers
- Talking about their learning with others
- Thinking along with their teachers
Driving
- Setting goals for themselves based on what the class is learning
- Seeking feedback from others
- Self-assessing and monitoring progress
- Teaching others
- Being inspired to learn more about a topic or pursue an interest
Teachers at Heatly have taken the initiative to present opportunities for these levels of engagement in different, creative ways. Kari DeCrescenzo, an elementary school teacher at Heatly, noticed her students had a high interest in the crystals on her desk. So, she ran with the concept of “Crystal Critters”, where students have their own personal crystal with feet and eyes that move along the levels of engagement on each student’s desk. The students take accountability for their level of engagement, and move the Crystal Critter down or up the levels of engagement themselves based on actions they do during instruction. “I have seen so much improvement with the students’ engagement by using it and their understanding the concepts of each word within the levels of engagement,” Kari said.
This is just one example of teachers at Heatly taking initiative in the Visible Learning program and their students actively driving their learning.
For more information on Visible Learning at Green Island UFSD, watch the video below.