Curriculum Unit Project (2)

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Curriculum Unit Project Increasing Student Engagement and Involvement In A Learning Environment Tasha M. Robinson Arkansas State University ELCI 6523 Secondary School Curriculum Dr. Lee-Anne Oros December 8, 2023

Introduction The education system is plagued with many challenges and has shaped the way many educators envision how they can impact the lives of students more productively. However, it appears to be a major concern on how students lack a general understanding of their purpose to receive a quality education (Deatrick, M.A., 2021). Students, at times, begin to disengage from what is expected of them and what they deem important because they lack focus and full awareness of their goals. The mere idea that there could potentially be a major divide in how educators have become affected by students' lack of interest is indeed a concern (Zepke, 2021). One may say that there is possibly a lack of motivation from the students while others may view there may be an issue in the way the teacher conducts themselves. Nonetheless, all of these can be attributed to why students are not as engaged and willing to learn as they are expected to (Aydogmus & Senturk, 2019). Studies have shown that when students are motivated and have something to look forward to, their level of comfort and self-esteem increases (Bernstein, 2022). There is a clear correlation between the teacher-student relationship and how it takes the two entities to change the dynamics of the learning environment (Bond, M., Bunting, K., Bedenlier, S., et al). The focus of this curriculum unit project is to identify the major problems that students may have and find preventive ways to get students on the right path to success and keep them progressing. There are so many reasons why student engagement is important. Although it can become difficult at times to find ways to reach students, it truly matters that they gain knowledge from their teacher (Giang, Andre, & Lan, 2022). A lot of students fail to comprehend the lesson and it is the teacher’s responsibility to work towards incorporating strategies that students may

recognize. Research has shown that student engagement is a process that teachers should implement from the beginning. It is a way in which the students and the teacher can learn the elements of learning (Bernstein, 2022). The impact of student engagement can also help students focus on their social and behavioral skills and how they may view the classroom along with their peers. Students can learn a lot about each other’s strengths and weaknesses as they share work and experiences that they can grow from and how they connect with their teacher (Finch, 2023). It is highly encouraged that teachers identify those students as they prepare lessons moving forward. This can also shift the focus of student engagement to learning engagement. The Problem With Student Engagement The problem that most educators have in the classroom is the lack of student engagement and the inability to commit. COVID-19 was a devastating time for students. Because many schools were closed and forced to begin virtual learning, a large percentage of students suffered because there was little to minimal interaction with teachers. In Mississippi alone, research stated that because of COVID-19 in the wake of 2020-2021, the achievement gap significantly increased by 15-20 percent. It was also reported that because of the pandemic, many students will continue to have learning loss due to the amount of time that was missed (Scafidi, 2021). Mississippi schools are in the process of rebuilding student test scores to be successful school districts. According to the Mississippi Department of Education in 2021 , students who took the Mississippi standardized test suffered a major hit due to the pandemic. Solution (Find What Works) Not all students learn at the same pace so to accommodate them, the teacher has to find strategies to make modifications to cater to all students. Students will not engage or be attentive in activities they do not find interesting or may appear to be difficult to do (Sharratt, 2019).

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Teachers can begin devising plans to differentiate different activities that can center around each student’s needs. Once this has been done, the teacher can begin grouping students and begin working with them to increase their proficiency. The strategies that are most effectively used by teachers are giving students open-ended questions. This allows the teacher to assess if the students have retained and understood the material. It also displays the level of engagement one may have to draw from previous work to answer questions. This strategy also strengthens the knowledge of students to go more in-depth into the lesson. The goal for each student is to use what they have learned, apply it, and write about it thoroughly. Another strategy that works well is having group discussions (Think-Pair-Share) about the lesson. It has been shown that in future studies, students who are engaged more typically do better on tests or in class in general. The teacher can visibly monitor these students and also track their progress to reflect testing. The SNA (Student Needs Assessment) appeared to be helpful because it tracked student’s progress and gave the teacher relevant feedback on how to address each student individually. It also allows the student to share with the teacher their concerns and how they can become better learners (Winstead, 2022). Student Population and Attendance Rates Statistics have shown that the amount of students who attend school regularly has a higher percentage of doing better in their classes. They are also more likely to graduate school and transcend to higher levels of education. The more students are in class the higher probability of receiving content to meet their educational needs. These numbers are also contingent and based on the amount of days a student misses. It determines the amount of resources and funding that a school may receive. For example, CSD is a school in the Mississippi Delta and must comply with the Mississippi Adequate Education Program absences are reported accurately.

Because the school’s resources are allotted yearly to student attendance, it is suggested that parents are made aware to bring their children to school every day so that these benefits are not cut. According to Mississippi Daily during COVID-19 at one local school district, the average student missed at least 3-4 days a week because of the pandemic, causing the percentage to decrease from 29% to a wavering average of 95%. Chronic absenteeism was a concern for the district because although students and their families were affected, the schools would potentially have to ask the state to waive the policy due to these unforeseen circumstances. When the schools reopened, the task for students and teachers was considered to be immeasurable because there was no face-to-face contact and now students had to relearn everything that was taught. The students who were already struggling pre-COVID got worse and teachers had to figure out a way to help them and transition. Students who may have “lost” things along the way, needed help to regain it. It can be theoretically proven that a lot of students became disinterested during this time. Many students appear to still have no consequences for their lack of effort which invites unwarranted discontent from teachers. But there can simply be no solution to the problem if it is not first identified. The issue is to determine why students are becoming so comfortable with not performing well and how to build their confidence. It is the hope and goal that they can become self-assured in doing great work and feel good about it. The connection between the students and the teacher should be a shared responsibility in that both parties can depend on one another to meet each other's expectations. According to research, students are more likely to become engaged and adapt to the possibility of learning when their surroundings are positive and conducive to their learning environment (Frommett, 2023). There may also be a learning deficit in which the teacher may have not been able to identify to help the students. An effective teacher will begin to assess student performance to help determine what strategies and techniques can be

used to get students engaged in learning. It is also suggested that teachers provide immediate feedback to students so that they can understand the content of the lesson for growth and proficiency (Ertel, 2022). There also needs to be consistency and structure to allow students to work together and help one another with their learning outcomes. This process can help to rebuild motivation and build trust between the students. They can also begin to express and set goals for themselves to work towards autonomy which can lead to more student engagement through adversity and hardships. Student Test Scores Currently, the majority of Mississippi schools have shown significant growth and are steadily improving (2023). Student attendance has improved by 21 percent, leading schools that are in the revitalization phase with great hope for success. The swift reinforcement of teachers working towards assisting students with love and compassion also played a great impact. Test scores have been a debilitating factor in today’s education system. The focus has become more on students passing tests than on teachers being able to teach. In a poll given to teachers, over half of the staff stated they would like to see state tests replaced because of the accountability measures. The other half of teachers are experiencing burnout and are threatening to switch careers. The controversy and dissatisfaction of teachers’ worrying about test scores have taken over their teaching. A lot of the older teachers are considering retiring early. Mississippi, like other states, is feeling the pressure for students to perform. Just this past September, more than 934 state tests were found to be irregular and inconsistent. This prompted the Mississippi Department of Education to discard the test scores because of possible cheating irregularities. Teachers are becoming discouraged and have more questions than answers and it does not appear to change anytime soon.

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Student Engagement Literature Review The concerns of student engagement have shown to continue to get worse as time goes on. Studies have shown previous discussions and determined that the pandemic had a lot to do with the transitions of students' lack of engagement. They also implied that the older students become, the less engaged they are (Parrish, 2022). The overall consensus is to create a pathway for students to become more focused in the awareness stage. A student survey at one local high school was submitted to give an account of student engagement. 50% of the students stated they were not engaged because they had no interest in the lesson. Teachers are now in a position where they can have more flexibility in the classroom. Historians have also expounded and expressed the urgency of how teacher involvement can lead to increasing student engagement (Fisher, Frey, Ortega, & Hattie, 2023). Parents of these students continued to be alarmingly shocked by their children’s lack of engagement and also began to attribute it to COVID-19 but what should be the ultimate solution to this crisis is to find strategies that work best for students and develop a plan of action. Once this occurs, teachers must demonstrate daily and remain consistent (Fester, 2023). Fester determined and explicitly explained how well students were able to transform and begin to engage more using the PBL (Project-Based Learning) method. PBL is an elaborate teaching method that allows students to use hands-on projects and interact with others through learning (Valenzuela, 2023). It has been recommended that this strategy be used with middle and high school students because it helps them to become more able to grasp the concept (Mcdowell, 2023). The new teachers in the building quickly discovered that other strategies were not

working so they decided to give Project Based Learning a try. They soon realized that the students appeared engaged, but the trick was to continue to keep them motivated so they focused more on working in small groups to measure each student’s outcome. The teachers were able to decide that students worked better in these groups and incorporated more of these into their lessons. The impact of using the PBL led to the student's overall growth and achievement according to data reports. Let’s Talk About A New Curriculum There are so many factors that can be considered on why it is important to make accommodations to create a new curriculum for high school social studies teachers. The new curriculum can enhance what is already in place to provide more opportunities to reach all students. The area of social studies ranges from a variety of things from African American Studies, Liberal Arts, World History, and Western Civilization, just to name a few. The new curriculum can continue to build student engagement and learning throughout high school. Although the state department of education decides what each school district should teach their students, the curriculum at CSD lacks the choices of history dating back to middle school. The new curriculum in the district, according to select teachers, is outdated and students are “completely lost” because it is not taught. According to a group of high school teachers, the standards of teaching are on par except for all teachers not having textbooks. The new curriculum is needed in the CSD because many students are not prepared for state testing by the time they become juniors and seniors. The implementation of a new curriculum is necessary and could make a difference in test scores and how students perform in the classroom.

State Standards and Problem State standards are an essential element to help students develop the necessary skills that are needed to understand concepts. The standards require that all teachers provide students with the tools and information to readily be aware of teacher feedback should not be looked upon as criticizing students, however, it should be an indicator to allow students the opportunity to make changes as necessary. Ultimately, when students do not get relevant information from the teacher, they can not gain strength or become productive students. This can also hinder students' overall growth because if the standards are not covered entirely, the students may not be fully prepared to test. Teachers must have conversations with their students and receive feedback from them. This can help students become more knowledgeable about how learning instruction can proceed and what other methods they can use to increase student performance (Drew, 2022). A teacher in the classroom provided students with a survey to discuss concerns about testing and standards in their classroom. After receiving feedback from all of the students, the first block of US History class appeared to receive more out of the classes than the other two blocks. Based on the responses from the surveys, the students stated they were more engaged in this class because it is a state-tested class and did not want to miss out on content that was coming up in the upcoming weeks. The goal of the students is to stay focused and continue to work hard. However, the other two remaining classes (World History) that took the survey stated that although they like their teacher and learn a lot in this class, they appear to lack focus and motivation because of lecture-based instruction. The teacher was able to analyze the surveys submitted by the students and began implementing more activities that appealed to the students. After about 2 weeks of restructuring the lessons, the teacher introduced more interactive learning activities such as Blooklet, Gimkit, and Kahoot. The teacher soon realized that the classes lacked

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a lot of structure and took into consideration that these students were not mature enough and the learning span was not centered on lectures but on interactive learning and group activities. Sometimes it takes figuring everything out to be able to master the art of keeping students objective and engaged long enough to gain something from the lesson. The outcome for this teacher was positive because they were able to accept constructive criticism from the students. Students have a voice and teachers should welcome the chance to determine what works best for them and improve teaching methods. What Matters The Most (State Standards and Solution) All of the strategies and skills that students acquire within the school are expected to follow throughout their entire lives. The connection that educators can have with students to prepare them for life after high school determines their level of engagement in the classroom. The level of support for student engagement also places students in situations where they can become productive citizens in the world (Finch, 2023). As educators, the specified standards that are taught to students must benefit them long-term and affect what type of individuals they can potentially be. Mississippi Common Core Standards are updated regularly so teachers can prepare students with the right content. The solution to the growing problems in the classroom is to ensure that standards are updated and relayed to the students by their teacher. Students can gain a more authentic perspective of their lives by adapting and identifying what they learned throughout their time in school once it is taught. The experience learned in class can propel them to become more knowledgeable to focus on what they want to do moving forward in their academic or professional realm. Student engagement is the key to connecting to the world and all the possibilities that life can bring. Teachers help mold students through these experiences to

become the best version they can be and challenge them to use what they have been taught to better themselves. Implementation of A New Curriculum To Support Students Some schools are making plans to implement workshops and add a new curriculum to help aid students in the US History Department, enlist the help of consultants, and other mentors to assist schools who may need additional support. In the Cleveland School District every year, the administrator is given a fiscal budget which includes spending for his or her building. The administrator put in several requisitions to start the process by submitting items that were needed to the district’s business office. The administrator also included items listed and prices and quotes to be approved. According to the Mississippi Department of Education (2023) Budget and Planning Department, more than 3 billion dollars was used to help receive funding from the state and federal government. These efforts are to continue to support schools and provide resources they may need to assist students’ learning. All of which is used to bring in consultants and other educational resources. During the first quarter of the school year, the principal went to stakeholders and board members to solicit the help of an educational consultant who lived in the area, Dr. D. The purpose of the consultant was to assist the history department. Because of the recent US History data, the principal felt the need to use the money to hire a consultant to conduct workshops and boot camps. The stakeholders and the principal agreed this would be best for the students and moved forward with the decision. The boot camps were helpful and students were engaged and encouraged because the consultant had been highly recommended with a 95% passing rate in US History. The students are excited about learning and have taken two learning benchmarks in which they have made significant progress. The data reflects that students can pass and show proficiency on their state test in a few weeks. The commitment that the district

had played a tremendous role in making students the priority in education. The principal made a great decision to use the allocated monies to continue to help students flourish. Once students have been properly assessed and the teachers have researched strategies and techniques, it is now time to ensure that all of the practices and work into student engagement remain intact. Students' characteristics can also play a significant role in how teachers can identify challenges that they may have. The goal of every effective teacher is to not only give students the right tools to become more forward-minded individuals but also to maintain the level of commitment to reach the goal of academic success (Wolpert-Gawron). For students to continue to stay on task, the teacher remains consistent with their teacher's practices. Learning must continue and the only way that can happen is to keep moving forward by providing students the will to want to engage in their classroom every day. Students must also feel confident that they can fulfill their duties and should receive praise for their efforts (Ertel, 2022). Once students know they can learn and have teachers that believe in them, most of the time they will work towards doing their best. Planning (Implementation Timeline) Every plan has a starting point and it is no different than creating an idea that is going to affect the lives of so many people. One of the steps educators take in implementing a plan is to decide what the plan is to establish for others. The plan has to focus on taking the right steps to seek a desired goal. The vision for implementing a new curriculum is to help shed light on student engagement and find ways for students to want to learn more. The model or rubric can be introduced to share solutions to how a new curriculum can also draw the interest of students who may require additional rigor. If the plan is well executed, the administrators and other members can discuss among themselves whether to review the implementation plan or use it as a plan at a

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later date. Nonetheless, it is something that they can decide on when the time is feasible to move forward. The timeline will determine the goals and roles that each individual will make for students and how they can grow from one phase to the next. The timeline should not interfere with the current state of the school and is only considered as another tool to use if the plan is to be implemented. Accountability Matters (Stakeholders and Community Leaders) The school accountability model is extremely important because it helps educators and leaders gain the knowledge to move students in a positive direction. The schools are expected to use these measures in testing school improvement (Jimenez, 2021). The benchmarks that students take in various subjects have been a great indicator of how the school will perform moving forward. Stakeholders and community members have become more involved because what affects the community can also cause reasons for speculation about their performance. The data that students receive based on their test scores can ultimately improve their level of performance for the upcoming school year. The school district, along with the stakeholders, must continue to work together to ensure that all schools continue to be thriving or successful (Pandolpho, 2023). The tactics that administrators and teachers must also inform students how important it is to perform well on these assessments. Research has shown that most administrators and teachers lack adequate or efficient instruction to the students so the expectation of students' growth is highly impossible (Bernstein, 2021).

Student Engagement Resources Many researchers may argue that students’ attention span ranges from 10-15 minutes in a classroom, sometimes 30 which can cause general concern for educators. So how can teachers get students to engage and continue to stay focused? There is no right or wrong answer to this question but one of the things that has been identified is the tone of the classroom. The makeup of the classroom can set the mood for learning. It is important to display character and make the room more entertaining to be a part of. History can be considered boring to some, so it would help to add character and color to make it less boring. But not everything in history has to be; it depends on how the content is given to them. According to studies, most high school students are much more visual learners so the use of interactive activities, games, and videos is recommended. This allows students to become engaged in the learning process and to express themselves while working. There are many things teachers can also do to enhance learning and make it fun. Teachers can give students the autonomy to move around during group time and allow creativity whenever possible (Winstead, 2022). Students want to know that although they do not have full control to do as they please in the classroom, they want to feel included and allowed to make their own choices. The“Choice Board'' activity is a great activity that students can choose as an interactive activity while working in groups. Each group will expand on their activity and interact with one another. This shows that they are engaging, having fun, and learning at the same time. Peer teaching is a great way to make learning fun. Teachers can learn a lot from other teachers. Based on observations from one school, teachers who worked together with students produced great results. It can be implied that because they used co-teaching to help students remain engaged, they were able to get multi-faced learning styles from both teachers.

How to Evaluate A New Curriculum During the Implementation Phase The goal of every great school is to build strong relationships with its students and to give them the confidence that they need to succeed. Introducing a new curriculum into a school can become a lot of work but it takes a great deal of support and resources to get this done. According to the article, Education Trust (2021), it is a necessary tool to begin establishing trust among stakeholders to ensure that the students will benefit from the new curriculum. Building positive relationships can help determine the validity and why it is necessary to put a new curriculum in the school. The quote, “Students don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” In this case, students are more likely to work harder for teachers who are truly doing what is right for all students. The new curriculum can also help students become more knowledgeable and prepare them for other courses they may need in the following years. Student morale and working together can help the school build high competencies and learning growth. They tend to work harder and want to succeed. The evaluation will initially base its decision on data and how it can help the History department. But relationships are based on so many other things; it is how you continue to nurture these relationships moving forward. The foundation of building relationships must transcend into student performance because, in essence, the students must gain knowledge and information moving forward (Frommett, 2023). The fundamental structure of building these relationships is to establish an understanding that learning will be a top priority and to “trust the process” of the teacher getting them there. Students respond to positive environments and will adapt their energy to be conducive to the learning setting that can improve their academic growth (Ferlazzo, 2023

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Evaluation and Implementation Are Completed The most important thing when making an observation assessment is to weigh the pros and cons. The evaluation of whether to continue to build on existing programs can be very time- consuming and expensive. However, the amount of time and money should not be the final solution when the key components are implementing situations that will benefit children. The overall evaluation of implementation is to find experienced educators and administrators to enable the program. If this is to be considered, all available resources will be placed, and only those who are serious about making the lives of children better become magnified which are outlined in further detail. Many researchers argue that students’ attention span ranges from 10-15 minutes in a classroom, sometimes 30 minutes which can cause general concern for educators. So how can teachers get students to engage and continue to stay focused? There is no right or wrong answer to this question but one of the things that has been identified is the tone of the classroom. The makeup of the classroom can set the mood for learning. It is important to display character and make the room more entertaining to be a part of. History can be considered boring to some, so it would help to add character and color to make it less boring. But not everything in history has to be; it depends on how the content is given to them. According to studies, most high school students are much more visual learners so the use of interactive activities, games, and videos is recommended. This allows students to become engaged in the learning process and to express themselves while working. There are many things teachers can also do to enhance learning and make it fun. Teachers can give students the autonomy to move around during group time and allow creativity whenever possible (Winstead, 2022). Students want to know that although they do not have full control to do as they please in the classroom, they want to feel included and

allowed to make their own choices. The“Choice Board'' activity is a great activity that students can choose as an interactive activity while working in groups. Each group will expand on their activity and interact with one another. This shows that they are engaging, having fun, and learning at the same time. Peer teaching is a great way to make learning fun. Teachers can learn a lot from other teachers. Based on observations from one school, teachers who worked together with students produced great results. It can be implied that because they used co-teaching to help students remain engaged, they were able to get multi-faced learning styles from both teachers. All of these components work together to achieve what educators want for their students: access to learning and enjoying everything that comes with it. The children are working on it and educators are too. Conclusion The overwhelming and daunting experience of teachers all across the world is affected by a lack of student engagement by the time a student is in the third grade. It escalates as time goes on and it does not seem to get any better. Parents and teachers can achieve so much by working together to continue keeping students focused and exceeding their expectations. The growing rate of student engagement is becoming the main issue in society as a whole. The number of students dropping out is on the rise because they are not interested in school and many lack supervision. The implementation of new curriculums may be the solution and just what many of the schools need. Collectively, all individuals including administrators, teachers, stakeholders, and parents can achieve so much more once everyone can rally to work for our kids and not against them. The resources that each school has access to can support the needs of teachers by giving them the items they need to successfully teach students. When everyone does their part, we all win. Education will become better when everyone contributes to the cause.

References Aydogmus, M., & Senturk, C. (2019). The effects of learning stations technique on academic achievement: a meta-analytic study . Research in Pedagogy. Bernstein, L. (2022). Student engagement: why it matters. Xelloworld. Bond, M., Buntins, K., Bedenlier, S. et al. Mapping research in student engagement and educational technology in higher education: a systematic evidence map . Int J Educ Technol High Educ 17, 2 (2020). Ertel, P.K., (2022). Creative ways to better engage your students. Harvard Business Publishing Education. Deatrick, M.A., 2021). Increasing student engagement and achievement using an incentive based program. Western Illinois University ProQuest Dissertation Publishing. Drew, C. (2022). Constructive feedback examples for students . Helpful Professor. Ferlazzo, L. (2023). Student engagement can be elusive. Here's how to help. EdWeek. Finch, M. (2023). Authentic learning: bringing real-world relevance to the classroom. Advanced Advanced Education. Fisher, D., Frey, N., Ortega, S., & Hattie, J. (2023). Teaching students to drive their learning: A playbook on engagement and self-regulation . Corwin. Giang,T.T.T., Andre, J., & Lan, H.H. (2022). Student engagement: validating a model to unify in-class and out-of-class contexts . SAGE Open, 12(4). Mississippi Department of Education. (2021). Mississippi Statewide Assessment System. Retrieved from https://www.mdek12.org . Pandolpho, B . (2023). How school leaders can help teachers flourish in the classroom. Edutopia. Sharratt, L. (2019). Clarity: What matters most in learning, teaching, and leading . Thousand Oaks, California: Corwin. The importance of early childhood education . (2021, March 17). https://edtrust.org/resource/the-importance-of-strong-relationships .

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Winstead, S. (2022). How to make learning fun for kids: 11 amazing ideas. MyeLearningWorld. Yang, D., Cai, Z., Tan, Y., Zhang, C., Li, M., Fei, C., & Huang, R. (2022). The light and dark sides of student Engagement: profiles and their association with perceived autonomy support . Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland), 12(11), 408. Zepke, Nick. (2021). Mapping student engagement using a theoretical lens. Teaching in Higher Education, 0:0, 15.

Curriculum Unit Project (2)

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