Student Engagement

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Student Engagement

• Amy Reschly, Ph.D. James Appleton, Ph.D.

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• A meta-construct
• Brings together many separate lines of research
  (e.g., belonging, behavioral participation,
  motivation)
• Fredericks, Blumenfeld Paris, 2004
• Antidote to conditions noted by many educators
• Students are characterized as bored, unmotivated,
  and uninvolved

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Student Engagement

• Engagement is the primary theoretical model for
  understanding dropout and is, quite frankly, the
  bottom line in interventions to promote school
  completion.
• Student engagement has emerged as the cornerstone
  of high school reform initiatives.
• Both academic and social aspects of school life
  are integral for student success engagement at
  school and with learning are essential
  intervention considerations.

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Engagement is the primary theoretical model for
understanding dropout and is, quite frankly, the
bottom line in interventions to promote school
completion.

• Finn (1989)
• Participation-Identification Model
• Indicators of withdrawal and engagement over
  several years
• Belonging, Identification, Relationships

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Finns Participation Identification Model

• Participation in Successful Identification
• School Activities Performance with
  school

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Engagement is the primary theoretical model for
understanding dropout and is, quite frankly, the
bottom line in interventions to promote school
completion.

• Finn (1989)
• Participation-Identification Model
• Indicators of withdrawal and engagement over
  several years
• Belonging, Identification, Relationships

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• Dynarski Gleason (2002)
• Provided extra personal support for students
• Created smaller and more personal settings
• McPartland (1994)
• Provide opportunities for success in schoolwork
• Communicate the relevance of education to future
  endeavors
• Create a caring and supportive environment
• Help students with personal problems

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Student engagement has emerged as the cornerstone
of high school reform initiatives.

• National Research Council publication, Engaging
  schools Fostering high school students
  motivation to learn
• I can, I want to, I belong
• Competence, Autonomy, Belonging
• The other ABCs
• URL http//www.nap.edu/catalog/10421.html

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• A common theme among effective practices is that
  they have a positive effect on the motivation of
  individual students because they address
  underlying psychological variables such as
  competence, control, beliefs about the value of
  education, and a sense of belonging. In brief,
  effective schools and teachers promote students
  understanding of what it takes to learn and
  confidence in their capacity to succeed in school
  by providing challenging instruction and support
  for meeting high standards, and by conveying high
  expectations for their students success. They
  provide choices and they make the curriculum and
  instruction relevant to adolescents experiences,
  cultures, and long-term goals, so that students
  see some value in what they are doing in school.
  Finally, they promote a sense of belonging by
  personalizing instruction, showing an interest in
  students lives, and creating a supportive,
  caring social context.
• National Research Council, 2004, p. 212

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Both academic and social aspects of school life
are integral for student success engagement at
school and with learning are essential
intervention considerations.

• McPartland (1994) Dynarski Gleason (2002)
• More than.
• Academic performance, behavior

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Engagement Theory

• 4 subtypes

• Antidote to students characterized as bored,
  unmotivated, and uninvolved
• the students psychological investment in and
  effort directed toward learning, understanding,
  or mastering the knowledge, skills, or crafts
  that academic work is intended to promote
• Energy in action, the connection between person
  and activity

Dropping out is the most extreme form of
disengagement
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Student Engagement Model
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(No Transcript)
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Academic EngagementUniversal Strategies

• Ensure the instructional match is appropriate for
  the students and clear directions of what is
  expected are provided
• Use mastery learning principles to guide
  instructional planning and delivery
• Use principles of effective instruction (e.g.,
  direct instruction, scaffolding, guided practice
  informed feedback pacing of lessons)
• Ensure that there is both academic press (high
  expectations, well structures learning
  environment) and support for learning (caring
  environment)

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Academic EngagementUniversal Strategies

• Maximize instructional relevance (e.g., clearly
  stated purpose, graph progress toward goals)
• Attend to the effect of the organization/structure
  of the school on learning (e.g., smaller
  learning communities, Academies)
• Allow students to have choices within course
  selection and assignments (Skinner et al., 2005).

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Academic EngagementUniversal Strategies

• Increase time on task and substantive interaction
  through cooperative learning, whole class or
  group instruction (Greenwood et al., 2002) and
  peer assisted learning strategies (Boudah,
  Schumacher, Deshler, 1997 Lee Smith, 1993)
• Provide home support for learning strategies to
  fit content area
• Enhance critical thinking through project work
  and ungraded writing assignments

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Academic EngagementUniversal Strategies

• Use supplemental program within school, i.e.,
  Academic Coaching Team (Hansen, Cumming,
  Christenson, 2006)
• Increase opportunities for success in schoolwork
• Encourage parents to volunteer in the classroom
  (Lee Smith, 1993)
• Enhance teacher-student relationships and/or
  teacher-student support (Hughes Kwok, 2006)

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Academic EngagementUniversal Strategies

• Reinforce students frequently and base it on the
  amount of work completed (Skinner et al., 2005).
• Utilize a variety of interesting texts and
  resources (Asselin, 2004 Guthrie Wigfield,
  2000)
• Incorporate projects that take place in the
  community (Lewis, 2004)

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Academic EngagementIndividualized Strategies

• Utilize after school programs (tutoring, homework
  help)
• Increase home support for learning such as
  home-school notes, assignment notebooks, and
  academic enrichment activities
• Implement self-monitoring interventions
• Ensure adequacy of educational resources in the
  home
• Help parents to understand and set expectations
  (Klem Connell, 2004)

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Academic EngagementIndividualized Strategies

• Help parents to understand and set expectations
  (Klem Connell, 2004)
• Foster positive teacher-student relationship for
  marginalized students
• Utilize Behavior Education Programs Have
  students check in with the teacher each hour to
  ensure they have pens, notebooks, etc. Check in
  with teacher each hour, check-out at the end of
  the school day (Hawken Horner, 2003).
• Seek out and utilize college outreach programs
  and tutors for students (Rodriquez et al., 2004)

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Behavioral Engagement Universal

• Examine suspension policies strive to eliminate
  out-of-school suspension
• Examine discipline policies ensure they are
  considered fair, nonpunitive and understood by
  students. End reliance on negative consequences
  as a means of managing student behavior.
• Encourage social interactions and planning for
  the future though smaller learning communities
  that target vocational interests (e.g., Academies)

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Behavioral Engagement Universal

• Offer developmentally appropriate social skills
  training to all students as part of the
  curriculum
• Implement school-wide positive behavioral support
  systems that include positive reinforcement and
  group contingencies
• Use coordinated, collaborative home-school
  interventions to address attendance
• Involve students in hands-on-learning that is
  directly related to future career paths or
  interests

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Behavioral Engagement Universal

• Create an orderly routine environment that
  promotes consistency
• Offer professional development on classroom
  management strategies
• Gather student input about classroom rules,
  school climate and evaluation of
  coursework/assignments use feedback to make
  appropriate changes
• Encourage participation in and provide
  extracurricular activities actively seek to
  involve uninvolved students

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Behavioral Engagement Universal

• Consider ways of having multi-level sports teams
• Ensure that the school climate, school culture is
  respectful to all students
• Systematically monitor student population on key
  variables (attendance, academics, behavior) for
  signs of disengagement from school and follow up
  with students showing signs of withdrawal.

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Behavioral Engagement Individualized

• Provide additional, supplemental supports for
  students not responding to positive behavioral
  support systems implemented school-wide
• Devise an individualized approach to addressing
  attendance or participation issues at school
  strive to understand student perspective and
  unique family circumstances
• Implement programs that work to build specific
  skills such as problem solving, anger management
  or interpersonal communication

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Behavioral Engagement Individualized

• Provide an adult mentor who works with students
  and families on a long term basis to foster
  engagement in school and deliver the message that
  school is important (i.e., Check Connect)
• Develop specific behavior plans or contracts to
  address individual needs
• Provide intensive wrap-around services
• Provide alternative programs for students who
  have not completed school

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Behavioral Engagement Individualized

• Encourage parents to monitor and supervise
  student behavior
• Implement student advisory programs that monitor
  academic and social development of secondary
  students (middle or high)
• Implement school-to-work programs that foster
  success in school and relevant educational
  opportunities

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Cognitive Engagement Universal

• Guide students in setting personal goals in
  courses and monitoring their progress
• Provide student with choices when completing
  assignments
• Enhance or explicitly identify relevance of
  schoolwork to future goals (see six year plan for
  St. Paul Public schools ninth graders at
  http//studentresources.spps.org.)
• Focus on necessary steps to reach/pursue personal
  goals and career aspirations

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Cognitive Engagement Universal

• Set learning/mastery goals over performance goals
  ensure mastery goals permeate the philosophy of
  the classroom/school culture
• Provide students with challenging and motivating
  assignments that relate to life outside of school
• Model learning strategies when teaching specific
  concepts
• Provide feedback that emphasizes self control and
  the link between effort/practice and improvement

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Cognitive Engagement Universal

• Provide professional development training to
  teachers (e.g., goal setting and self-regulation
  combined with informed feedback that focuses on
  improvement and enhancing intrinsic motivation)
• Encourage students who are on the cusp to put
  forth effort to earn credits by calculating a
  graduation achievement rate (e.g., number of
  credits earned divided by number of credits
  possible, compared with needed to graduate)
  (Hansen et al., 2006)
• Encourage parents to deliver messages related to
  motivational support for learning (high
  expectations, talk to students about school and
  schoolwork)

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Cognitive Engagement Individualized

• Enhance students personal belief in self through
  repeated contacts, goal setting, problem solving
  and relationship (e.g., Check Connect)
• Implement self monitoring interventions (e.g.,
  graph progress toward goals)
• Explicitly teach cognitive and metacognitive
  strategies (e.g., mnemonic strategies) and teach
  effective note-taking and study skills
• Discuss the link between students effort and the
  outcome/behavior/success achieved to increase the
  students perceived self control, self-efficacy,
  and self-determination
• Design tasks that have the characteristics of
  open tasks (e.g., student interests, autonomy,
  collaboration with peers) (Turner, 1995).

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Affective Engagement Universal

• Systematically build relationships/connections
  for all students - Educators identify students
  who may not have a connection with a staff member
  (i.e., list all students names at grade levels
  and determine who knows the student) and match
  staff members and alienated students for future
  regular mentor like contact
• Address size through implementation of smaller
  learning communities
• Enhance peer connections through peer assisted
  learning strategies
• Implement a mentoring program (use of college age
  students)

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Affective Engagement Universal

• Increase participation in extracurricular
  activities
• Combine social support for students (from
  teachers, peers, parents, and community) with
  high levels of academic press (i.e., teacher
  belief that they are challenging students and
  student perception that they are being challenged
  (Lee Smith, 1999).
• Create a caring and supportive environment
  (ethos) (Baker, 2001)

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Affective Engagement Universal

• Intervene early, persistently, and across the
  contexts of school peers, school adults, and the
  home and community to change student
  developmental trajectories.
• When evaluating results, be sure to check for
  delayed outcomes associated with early
  interventions

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Affective Engagement Individualized

• Build personal relationship with marginalized
  students enhance relationship with one caring
  adult
• Personalize education (e.g., alter assignments to
  match personal interests and goals)
• Assist students with personal problems
• Provide extra support for students in a timely
  fashion
• To improve generalizabilty, intervene across
  peer, family, and community contexts when possible

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Intensive Intervention ExampleCheck Connect

• A model designed to promote student engagement at
  school and with learning
• Approach is based on enhancing strengths and
  connections between home, school, and community
  through relationship building, problem solving,
  and persistence
• Drawn from the literature on resiliency,
  cognitive-behavioral interventions, systems
  theory to address complex social problem,
  person-environment fit, motivation

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The Why of Check Connect

• Drawn from the literature on resiliency,
  cognitive-behavioral interventions, systems
  theory to address complex social problem,
  person-environment fit, motivation
• Dropout literature
• Status vs. alterable variables
• Early signs of withdrawal engagement

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• A model designed to promote student engagement at
  school and with learning
• Approach is based on enhancing strengths and
  connections between home, school, and community
  through relationship building, problem solving,
  and persistence

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Check Connect Components

• Check.continuous assessment of student levels of
  engagement
• Monitored on a daily-to-weekly basis
• Alterable risk factors Attendance, Behavior,
  Academics
• Connect.basic and intensive levels
• Basic feedback, discussion, problem solving
• Intensive problem solving, academic support,
  community service/recreation

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Role of the Mentor/Monitor

• Person responsible for helping a student stay
  connected to school.
• Described as a mentor, case manager, advocate
• Relationship is built over time, based on trust
  and familiarity
• ongoing efforts (e.g., checking grades and
  attendance)
• informal connections (e.g., checking in with the
  student)
• Social Capital

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• Develop individualized intervention strategies.
• Promote access to services for students/families.
• Assist students and families in navigating
  secondary school system.

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Monitoring is essential for students at-risk of
dropping out for two reasons . . .

• Provides a systematic and efficient way to
  connect students with immediate interventions
• Provides an essential link to students
  educational performance

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Check.. Student Levels of Engagement

• Risk factors monitored regularly
• Increased risk leads to interventions to
  reconnect.

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Connect Basic and Intensive Interventions

• General information about monitoring system.
• Monthly problem solving around different topics
  related to the importance of staying in school
  (e.g., economics of staying in school, how to ask
  for help).
• Regular feedback.
• Problem solving around risk factors.

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We have hypothesized that

• The unique feature of the Check Connect
  procedure is not the specific interventions per
  se, but the fact that interventions are
  facilitated by a person, the mentor, who is
  trusted and known by the student and who has
  demonstrated his or her concern for the school
  performance of the youth persistently and
  consistently over time.

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Check Connect Secondary Level

• Pilot Study Quasi-experimental design, students
  with Emotional or Behavior Disorders.
• CC students were significantly more likely to..
• be currently enrolled in school
• Never have dropped out
• Be on track to graduate
• Sinclair, Christenson, Evelo, Hurley, 1998
• Quasi-experimental study High school students
  with EBD were significantly
• less likely to dropout,
• more likely to persist in school,
• and more likely to access educational services
  (alternative programs, transition planning).
• They were more likely to be on track to complete
  school in four years and more likely to have
  completed school at the end of five years.
• Sinclair et al., 2005

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• Chronically truant students in grades 6-12 with
  and without disabilities in suburban schools on
  the School Success truancy prevention initiative
  (N363) have shown improvement in attendance,
  skipped classes, out-of-school suspensions, and
  academic performance.
• About 65 of Check Connect students (N91) are
  successfully engaged (equivalent of 0-1 day
  absent per month), with no incidences of class
  failures.
• More effective if students are referred before
  absences exceed 25 of the school year.

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Check Connect Elementary Level

• Pre-post intervention results for elementary
  students with and without disabilities (N 147
  with 2 years of intervention) in suburban
  settings reveals that tardies to and absences
  from school have declined, and overall attendance
  has improved.
• 86 of students who received intervention for at
  least two years (N 147) showed increased levels
  of student engagement as evidenced by significant
  increases in the percentage of students who were
  absent or tardy less than 5 of the time, an
  improvement of 104 over baseline behavior.
• Also, over 90 of the school staff (N 123)
  perceived students were showing improvement in
  homework completion, attendance, and interest in
  school.
• 87 of school staff reported parents were more
  supportive of their childs education
• (Lehr, Sinclair, Christenson, 2002).

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Other Applications

• Early Risers I Implemented with students in Kdg
  and 1st grade who were highly aggressive.
  Students in CC displayed significantly fewer
  problem behaviors during the 2-years of
  intervention
• Early Risers II 1st and 2nd graders who were
  highly aggressive and poor readers living in
  poverty
• Combined with Reading Interventions. Significant
  differences in phonological awareness no
  differences in ratings of aggressive behavior

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• Project ELSE (Early-Literacy School Engagement
  Project) 2000-2004
• Implemented Check Connect with Kindergarteners
  at-risk for learning to read. 6 Schools randomly
  assigned to treatment and control
• Statistically significant differences in early
  literacy skills and engagement (attendance and
  tardies) for students in CC with EL as compared
  to control
• Positive changes in teachers perceptions of
  childrens behavior and academic competence
• OShaughnessy, Draper, Christenson, Militch,
  Waldbart, Gabriel (2004)

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• www.ici.umn.edu/checkandconnect/
• whatworks.ed.gov/PDF/Intervention/techappendix06_3
  12.html

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• STUDENT ENGAGEMENT INSTRUMENT (SEI)

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Instrument Blueprint
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Urban Midwest Instrument Validation Study

• 8th graders (Think Aloud)
• 2,577 of 3,104 diverse, urban 9th graders
• 1,931 (75) in analyses
• 51 female, 40 Afr Amer, 35 White, 11 Asian,
  10 Hispanic, 4 Amer Ind
• 61 FRL 8 Sped Services

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Conclusions

• Based on actual student responses, the six survey
  Themes and the overall instrument were valid and
  reliable.
• When checked against students academic and
  behavioral records, the SEI themes aligned as
  expected.

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Replication Studies

• Urban Midwest, Rural South Carolina, and Rural
  Midwest studies
• Instrument measurement characteristics were
  supported
• Construct (Theme) validity evidence is strong

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• GCPS Data and Reports
• (For Advisors and Schools)

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Advisor ReportSide 1
Student Names
Theme Key
Subscale (Theme) Averages
Class Averages
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Advisor Report SampleSide 2
Interpretive Guide Reminders about how to read
and use the report
SEI Themes and Item Text
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Dynamic Data Views Who
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Dynamic Data Views What, When, Where
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References Resources

• Anderson, A. R., Christenson, S. L., Lehr, C.
  A. (2004). School completion and student
  engagement Information and strategies for
  educators. In A. S. Canter, L. Z. Paige, M. D.
  Roth, I. Romero, S. A. Carroll (Eds.), Helping
  children at home and at school II Handouts for
  families and educators (pp. S2-65S2-68).
  Bethesda, MD National Association of School
  Psychologists. Retrieved October 25, 2006 from
  http//www.naspcenter.org/principals/nasp_compledu
  cators.pdf
• Appleton, J., Christenson, S.L., Kim, D.,
  Reschly, A. (2006). Measuring cognitive and
  psychological engagement Validation of the
  Student Engagement Instrument. Journal of School
  Psychology, 44, 427-445.
• Christenson, S.L., Anderson, A. R. (2002).
  Commentary The centrality of the learning
  context for students academic enabler skills.
  School Psychology Review,31(3), 378-393
• Christenson Thurlow (2004). School dropouts
  Prevention, considerations, interventions, and
  challenges. Current Directions in Psychological
  Science, 13(1), 36-39.
• Christenson, S.L., Reschly, A.L., Appleton, J.J.,
  Berman, S., Spanjers, D., Varro, P. (2008).
  Best practices in fostering student engagement.
  In A. Thomas J. Grimes (Eds). Best Practices in
  School Psychology (5th Ed). National Association
  of School Psychologists.

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References Resources

• Finn, J.D. (1989). Withdrawing from school.
  Review of Educational Research, 59, 117-142.
• Fredericks, J.A., Blumenfeld, P.C., Paris, A.H.
  (2004). School engagement Potential of the
  concept, state of the evidence. Review of
  Educational Research, 74, 59-109.
• Lehr, Sinclair, Christenson (2004). Addressing
  student engagement and truancy prevention during
  the elementary school years A replication study
  of the Check Connect model. Journal of
  Education for Students Placed at Risk,
  9(3),279-301.
• National Research Council and the Institute of
  Medicine (2004). Engaging schools Fostering high
  school students motivation to learn. Washington,
  DC The National Academies Press
• Reschly, A. Christenson, S.L. (2007). Reading
  and School Completion Critical Linkages Among
  Reading Performance, Grade Retention, Special
  Education Placements and High School Dropout.
  Manuscript under review.
• Sinclair, Christenson, Evelo, Hurley. (1998).
  Dropout prevention for high risk youth with
  disabilities Efficacy of a sustained school
  engagement procedure. Exceptional Children,
  65(1), 7-21.
• Sinclair, Christenson, Thurlow (2005).
  Promoting School completion of urban secondary
  youth with emotional or behavioral disabilities.
  Exceptional Children, 71, 465-482.

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Contact Information

• James Appleton, PhD
• Department of Research Evaluation
• Gwinnett County Public Schools
• 437 Old Peachtree Road NW
• Suite 2.240
• Suwanee, GA 30024
• 678.301.7090
• Jim.Appleton_at_gwinnett.k12.ga.us
• Amy L. Reschly, PhD
• Department of Educational Psychology
  Instructional Technology
• 325N Aderhold Hall
• University of Georgia
• Athens, GA 30602
• 706.583.5503
• reschly_at_uga.edu