Student Engagement with Jacob Clifford

Summary

The speaker emphasizes the importance of student engagement in the classroom by discussing factors that lead to disengagement, such as external issues, fear of mistakes, perceived difficulty, unfairness, apathy, and lack of community. Strategies to combat these include getting to know students, reducing fear through experiential learning, connecting lessons to real-life skills, and selling the value of education. The talk encourages educators to be salespeople for their subjects, focusing on the first day's lesson to excite students and keep them engaged throughout the year.

Takeaways

• 🧩 Engaging students starts by understanding when they disengage, such as facing personal issues, fear of mistakes, or feeling the subject is too hard.
• 👨‍👧‍👦 Knowing students on a personal level helps teachers identify and address the issues that lead to disengagement outside of school.
• 🤸‍♂️ Reducing the fear of making mistakes is crucial; teachers should create a supportive environment that encourages learning from errors.
• 🤲 The concept of 'experiential learning' is introduced as a strategy to help students understand that learning is a process that involves overcoming difficulties.
• 🏋️‍♀️ Practice is emphasized as a key component of learning, with the idea that students should not expect immediate mastery but rather persistent effort.
• 🏆 The importance of connecting learning to real-life applications and long-term benefits is highlighted to motivate students to see the value in their education.
• 🎯 Teachers are encouraged to develop a 'sales pitch' for their subject to explain its relevance and importance to students' futures.
• 🗣️ Translating students' negative statements about subjects into positive skills they are actually learning helps reframe their perspective on education.
• 📚 The script suggests that the first day of school should not be focused on syllabus and rules but on an engaging lesson that excites students about learning.
• 🌟 A memorable anecdote about 'Diamond Shreddies' is used to illustrate the power of making a subject appealing and engaging to students.

Q & A

What is the main focus of the speaker's discussion?

The main focus of the speaker's discussion is on strategies to engage students in the classroom and prevent disengagement by addressing various reasons why students might give up or lose interest in school.

What are the key reasons students disengage according to the speaker?

The key reasons students disengage include facing other issues, fear of making mistakes, perceiving school as too hard, not seeing the benefits of school, teacher being unfair, being apathetic, and not having a sense of community.

What strategy does the speaker suggest for when students are facing other issues outside of school?

The strategy suggested is to 'Know Thy Students', which involves learning their names quickly, connecting with them, and understanding what's going on in their lives to recognize when something outside of school is affecting them.

How does the speaker address the fear of making mistakes in students?

The speaker suggests reducing the fear of making mistakes by reassuring students that difficulty and challenges are part of the learning process, and by using experiential learning activities to demonstrate that practice and persistence lead to mastery.

What example does the speaker use to illustrate the concept of practice and persistence?

The speaker uses the example of Jerry Rice, the all-time leader in NFL receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns, to show that greatness comes from getting up and starting over after making mistakes.

Why does the speaker emphasize the importance of connecting lessons to real-life skills?

The speaker emphasizes connecting lessons to real-life skills because students often don't see the immediate relevance of what they're learning in school, and this connection helps them understand the value of education in their future.

What is the 'sales pitch' strategy mentioned by the speaker?

The 'sales pitch' strategy involves teachers having a concise explanation of why their subject matter is important and relevant to students' lives, which they should communicate to motivate and engage students in the learning process.

How does the speaker suggest teachers should start the school year?

The speaker suggests that teachers should start the school year by teaching their best, most engaging lesson first to excite and interest students, rather than focusing on classroom management or the syllabus on the first day.

What is the significance of the 'Shreddies' cereal example in the script?

The 'Shreddies' cereal example is used to illustrate the importance of marketing and 'selling' the value of education to students, just as a product is marketed to consumers.

What activity does the speaker use to demonstrate the concept of experiential learning?

The speaker uses an activity where participants are asked to extend their thumbs and pinky fingers in a specific pattern, first with one hand and then with both, to demonstrate the process of learning through doing and the importance of practice.

Outlines

00:00

🎓 Strategies to Engage Students

The speaker begins by inquiring about strategies to engage students and reverses the question to understand when students disengage. Through student feedback, they identify key reasons for disengagement: external issues, fear of mistakes, perceived difficulty, lack of perceived benefits, teacher unfairness, apathy, and lack of community. The speaker then proposes strategies to address each issue, starting with 'Know Thy Students' to connect with them on a personal level and understand their lives outside of school.

05:01

🤸‍♂️ Overcoming Fear of Failure in Learning

The speaker shares a personal anecdote about their sons at a skate park to illustrate the fear of looking stupid, which can lead to disengagement. They suggest reducing fear as a strategy, emphasizing that while fear might motivate in the short term, it doesn't foster long-term motivation. The speaker introduces experiential learning activities to demonstrate to students that difficulty is a natural part of the learning process. They use the example of practicing an easy hand exercise and then increasing its difficulty to show that learning is a journey from struggle to mastery.

10:04

🏫 The Importance of Seeing the Value in Education

The speaker discusses the third reason students disengage: not seeing the benefits of school. They argue that strong teachers don't just teach content but connect learning to inspire students. The speaker challenges the audience to create a compelling sales pitch for their subject, emphasizing the importance of connecting every lesson to a broader, meaningful goal that students can understand and relate to. They also provide a translation for common student complaints about hating school subjects, reframing these complaints as issues with problem-solving, communication, or other skills that education aims to develop.

Keywords

💡Engagement

Engagement in the context of the video refers to the active involvement and interest of students in their learning process. The video emphasizes the importance of understanding how to keep students engaged in educational activities. It suggests that educators should focus on strategies to prevent disengagement, such as addressing students' fears and connecting with them on a personal level.

💡Disengagement

Disengagement is the state where students lose interest or become uninterested in their education. The video discusses various reasons for student disengagement, such as facing personal issues, fear of making mistakes, perceiving school as irrelevant, experiencing teacher unfairness, feeling apathetic, and lacking a sense of community. Understanding these reasons is crucial for educators to develop strategies to re-engage students.

💡Fear of Making Mistakes

The fear of making mistakes is identified as a significant factor leading to student disengagement. The video suggests that students may avoid challenging tasks or disengage from learning if they are afraid of failure or looking incompetent. To address this, educators are encouraged to create a supportive environment where mistakes are seen as opportunities for learning rather than reasons for embarrassment.

💡Perceiving Difficulty

Perceiving difficulty refers to students' belief that a subject or task is too hard for them to handle. The video mentions this as a reason for disengagement, where students might give up because they feel overwhelmed or believe they lack the capability to succeed. Educators are advised to help students understand that challenges are part of the learning process and that persistence is key to overcoming them.

💡Benefits of School

The benefits of school are the perceived value and relevance of education to students' lives. The video points out that when students do not see the benefits of what they are learning, they are more likely to disengage. Educators are encouraged to connect the curriculum to real-world applications and students' future goals to demonstrate the value of education.

💡Teacher Unfairness

Teacher unfairness is mentioned as a reason for disengagement, where students feel that they are being treated unjustly by their teachers. This can lead to a loss of trust and motivation. The video suggests that teachers should strive for fairness in their interactions and assessments to maintain a positive learning environment.

💡Apathy

Apathy is a lack of interest, enthusiasm, or concern. In the video, it is discussed as a state where students are so disengaged that they do not care about their education. The speaker suggests that educators need to find ways to reignite students' passion and make learning meaningful again.

💡Sense of Community

A sense of community refers to students feeling connected and belonging within the school environment. The video highlights that a lack of community can lead to disengagement, as students who do not feel part of the school community are less likely to be invested in their education. Building a strong sense of community can help students feel valued and supported.

💡Experiential Learning

Experiential learning is a teaching method where students learn through experience by doing or experiencing things themselves. The video uses an activity where participants move their fingers in a specific pattern to illustrate how experiential learning can help students understand the process of learning and the importance of practice. This approach can make learning more meaningful and engaging.

💡Sales Pitch

A sales pitch in the context of the video refers to the way educators present their subject matter to students to make it appealing and relevant. The video suggests that teachers should have a compelling pitch to explain why their subject is important and how it can benefit students' lives. This can help motivate students to engage with the material and see the value in what they are learning.

💡Content vs. Skills

The video discusses the difference between teaching content, which is the factual information in a subject, and teaching skills, which are the abilities and processes that students can apply in various aspects of their lives. It argues that while content may become outdated or forgotten, skills like problem-solving, critical thinking, and effective communication are more enduring and valuable.

Highlights

The speaker aims to engage students by understanding how to prevent disengagement.

Students disengage when facing external issues like poverty or divorce.

Fear of making mistakes is a common reason for student disengagement.

Perception of difficulty can lead students to disengage from school.

Unfair treatment by teachers can cause students to lose interest in school.

Apathy is identified as a significant factor in student disengagement.

Lack of a sense of community or connection to school can lead to disengagement.

The importance of knowing students on a personal level to address their issues.

Learning names quickly is crucial for connecting with students.

The strategy to reduce fear of failure includes reassurance and emphasizing the learning process.

Experiential learning activities can help students understand the value of practice and persistence.

The analogy of Jerry Rice's sportsmanship to emphasize the importance of getting back up after failure.

Students need to understand the relevance and benefits of what they learn in school.

Teachers should have a concise sales pitch explaining the value of their subject to students.

Connecting lessons to real-life skills and applications is essential for student engagement.

The speaker encourages teachers to sell the importance of their subject matter effectively.

The first day of school should start with an engaging lesson rather than focusing on the syllabus.

The story of 'diamond shreddy' cereal illustrates the power of marketing and selling ideas.

Transcripts

what are we doing today we're going to

figure out how do we get students

engaged and the way we're going to

figure that out is by reversing that and

asking how do you prevent students from

becoming disengaged so what I did is I

went to my students and I asked the

second question when do students give up

in school and I was trying to get at is

when do you become disengaged like when

do you just go ah I've had it the first

one they said when they're facing other

issues another one is when they're

afraid of making mistakes they disengage

because it's it's just too hard or

there's a perceiving like it's too hard

and they don't want to like jump into it

no one they don't sit benefits of school

like they don't they why do I need to be

in biology what's the point of third

grade for when they think the teacher

being unfair I didn't think of that one

that's what they gave me they like well

my teacher is being unfair that's when

I'm like all right I'm not going to

listen to you number five when they're

apathetic which is a huge idea and then

last one when they don't have a sense of

community when they're not connected to

school they don't have friends um they

don't they don't they just don't feel

like anyone's there for them this

morning I'm going to go through each one

of these you know systematically I'm

going to give you strategies for each

one of them strategies you can use in

the class room that you can apply next

week when they're facing other issues we

have no control over those issues

poverty divorce there's all sorts of

things happening in students lives and

we have no control so the strategy is

simple right the only strategy we can

use is the great commandment which is

Know Thy students so and obviously

there's some things that go with that

you know the first day learn names as

fast as possible if you teach High

School you have 200 students you learn

those names as quick as possible and you

purposely think okay the students that

are hiding from me are are the ones I

need to go seek connecting to students

is what matters here then you know

what's going on like in their life and

then when something happens you're more

likely to recognize it and realize hey

that kid has nothing to do with class in

school it has everything to do with

something else at home all right let's

move on to the next one when they're

afraid of making

mistakes take a look at this my sons uh

David and James they're uh seven and

nine and one time this is last year we

went to the local skate park and they're

like Daddy we they drive the scooters

you know Razor scooters

and they're like let's go do the

skatepark I'm like okay sure and I I

used to skateboard when I was you know

in the ' 80s I was pretty good on the

street and I was like I'm going to go

skate with you guys awesome I grab my

skateboard and I get there and there's

all these kids little kids doing jumps

and jumping over stuff and they're all

doing this awesome things there's guys

on bites going around and I really

wanted to I really wanted to get in

there at least try at least drop in

right and I wasn't necessarily afraid of

getting hurt I was afraid of looking

stupid and I I actually I mean I

completely disengaged myself I said the

kids like oh come on dad jump in try it

try it I'm like no no I I don't really

want to and I held back not because I

didn't want to because I was too afraid

so here's your strategy that goes along

with it reduce the fear fear doesn't

motivate students it motivate the short

run but it doesn't motivate them in the

long run so we have to tell listen I'm

here for you this is going to be hard

you're going to get pushed this is going

to be difficult but that's okay that's

part of the process so it'll make more

sense maybe with an example so let me

give you an example take your right hand

if you could right hand then do this

don't don't look up here just look look

at me hey like this thumb out put it

away pinky out thumb out pinky out thumb

out pinky out thumb out pinky out

perfect awesome now two hands same thing

over again thumbs out pinkies out thumbs

out pinkies

out beep you you show your partner look

what I can do great awesome now here's

what I want you to do just watch me

thumb out pinky out thumb out pinky out

looks like this from out pinky out from

out pinky looks like this

[Music]

you okay okay this is called

experimential learning I love doing

these activities in the classroom um

let's let's debrief this let's talk

about how this is like classroom because

it's exactly the same as school when I

first had you do one-handed a lot of you

guys like this is so easy like I can do

this all day long right and I had two

hands you're like duh I can do this H

what happened in the third

round hold on a second you know what I'm

saying now what was your attit when you

couldn't do

it did you give

up stupid I should never have become a

teacher and like ran off school is

exactly the same way now who in this

room is really good at

it who fingers or school

this who's really good at this you I am

and who am I I'm the teacher I am so

good at economics I am so good I can do

all the calculations and all the Gras

and I require no thought and no energy

whatsoever it is so easy for me but not

because I'm brilliant it's not because

I'm a genius why is it PR cuz I

practiced it I practiced economics and

there's been times in my life it was

really hard and it took time for me to

learn and now it's so easy so your

students walk in the room they see you

doing things but the kids go ah I can't

do it I don't know how to do this that's

okay it takes time I'm there for you it

it doesn't motivate you and make you do

this any better by me yelling at you or

screaming at you or being like well it's

your great if you don't do this right or

there's going be huge test on Friday

it's all about listen you got to

practice and if you're not getting it

you got to practice now here's the

really here's the biggest problem in

education students feel like they need

to get it there's nothing to get there's

no place to be you will always be at The

Fringe of your capabilities I'll say it

again you'll always be at The Fringe of

your capabilities you might have

mastered one thing but the next thing

comes up so next time once you get this

down how about now rotate your wrists do

the same thing hopping on one foot

because that's all education is it's the

process of learning and figuring okay I

can't do this okay but now I get it and

now I can move on now what's great about

this activity is you use this to explain

to students that mastering skills

requires practice and you don't give up

right it's going to be hard reduce the

fear tell them I'm there for you I'm

going to help you practice but

eventually you're going to get it but

you got to practice if you say this

sentence to students it won't sink in if

you say hey guys make sure you practice

it doesn't sink in when you do

activities like this experiential

learning activities students go oh yeah

so in my class I'll do this the

beginning of the year and when we get to

things in my class like you know you

know two months into school I'll be like

all right guys today's one of those days

you know what I'm saying it's going to

start off easy we're going to start off

with consumer surplus then we'll talk

about producer Surplus and we'll put it

all together and talk about total

Surplus and that's when it gets hard so

stay with me the whole time does make

sense and I guarantee there's areas in

your curriculum where students like oh

this is so easy I can do this all the

time and all a sudden when they get when

it gets hard they go ah I can't do it

and they become disengaged they ask to

go the bathroom every two minutes and

they try to get out of it right as

opposed to realize it is always going to

be hard education is always hard right

the process of learning takes time let

me give you an example from Sports I bet

there's some sports nuts out there so

let's talk about Jerry

Rice young second down and N plenty of

time goes for Rice who drops the ball

[Music]

[Music]

[Music]

I don't know if you know much about

Jerry Rice alltime leader in receptions

receiving yards and receiving touchdowns

voted greatest NFL football player of

all time not like a good one the

greatest one by NFL films what can you

say about the video though

though mistakes he made mistakes great

people aren't great cuz they don't make

mistakes they are great cuz they get up

and start over again right it's so hard

to learn that though I mean it's so hard

it's hard for me to learn that when I'm

trying to skateboard at a skate park

right but we got to teach our students

I'm here for you it's going to be hard

it's going to take time you got to

reduce that fear reason number three is

when students don't see the benefits of

school right they just they go I don't

know why I'm here this is a waste of my

time right it's hard for them to stay

engaged they don't know why they're

there so I found this quote on Twitter

this is great strong teachers don't

teach content Google has content strong

teaching connects learning in ways that

Inspire kids to learn more and strive

for greatness so most you and I'd say

all of you were like me when it came to

school right when you had a book report

on Peru what' you

do and when you were in school

education's changed but when you were a

kid what

happened you went to the library and you

open up an encyclopedia and and that

like 10 pages on Peru if there wasn't

information in there about Peru

information didn't exist there was no

more information about Peru except it

was in the encyclopedia right but our

kids our students have grown up in a

completely different world all the Rope

memorization stuff is right there and

they're thinking like why do I need to

learn any of this from you if it's right

here why are you testing me on things

that is really just a Google search from

my phone away right and the answer is

you're not it's all about the skills if

very few of our students will use the

content we teach every day I'm talking

about the Rope memorization content

stuff like the the things l times that

you just do a quick quiz on then what do

we really want them to walk away with

remember when you in high school though

you had a math teacher that told you

you'll be using this for the rest of

your life you remember that right when

was the last time you used the quadratic

formula um High School probably high

school now who used it just on

Friday so who used it probably all last

week and we'll use it all next week that

math teacher they weren't lying they use

it every single day but I don't now I'm

not making fun of math I use the idea

and the skills of math every day every

single day I'm using math but it's not

the quadratic formula so here's the

question right what do we want them to

walk away when it comes to math or

social science or English or P or

foreign language or art or whatever you

teach or just third grade like you teach

third grade what do we want them really

to walk away with so here's my point and

here's the big strategy you got to get a

sales pitch right you got to get a sales

pitch no more than two sentences so

we're going to do it right now what I

want you to do is you're going to go

back to that partner from before I want

you to tell them really quickly what

what do you teach you high school

teacher or you Elementary School Middle

School teacher and then give them no

more than two sent sales pitch on why in

Earth kids should be in your

class ask yourself and be honest when

was the last time you said that sentence

to students it should have been Friday

it should have been all it should some

point last week the reality is and I'm

the same way I forget I'm so focused on

the content we're doing today and this

week and you're not getting the content

we're doing this week that I'm not

thinking there's something bigger here

and I got to focus on that so the

strategy here is you got to connect

every single lesson to what students

really need to understand right I mean

obviously there's the content there's

the minutia you got to get done but

every single day it's should be like hey

here's why you're here again this is

going to help you achieve that goal

students all the time say I hate math or

I hate English or I hate PE and what

I've done is I've done a translation for

those students by the way you're going

to get this PowerPoint so some people

are writing things down you're going to

be fine you're going to get this so a

kid who says I hate math is really

trying to say I hate problem solving and

learning from my mistakes I'm never

going to use that in life a kid goes I

hate math but I love working on cars

it's the same thing where did you make a

mistake where did you mess up what's the

algorithm all right we're not getting

spark we're not getting uh gas we're and

that's the same process that you're

using kid says I hate English any

English teachers we're all English

teachers by the way right so I hate

English I hate reading and effectively

communicating with other people I'm not

going to do that when am I ever going to

communicate with other people I hate

science I hate thinking objectively and

figuring out how things work right

that's that's a waste of my time K says

I hate history a lot of kids say that

right I hate history basically saying I

hate knowing who I am and how I got here

right kid who says I hate foreign

language I hate other cultures and

developing a skill that'll get me a

better job job someday right because

that's it'll do that right I hate PE I

think this is interesting kids go maybe

not in Elementary Middle School my kids

love PE in elementary school they love

gym but in high school a lot of kids go

I hate PE because they're trying to say

I hate being healthy right I really hate

it I hate being healthy I hate schools

trying to say I hate staying focused

working hard multitasking and applying

skills that'll decrease the likelihood

that my life will suck

right so I want you to ask yourself when

you hear kids say I hate school right

picture that kid in your mind which kids

are the ones who usually say I hate

school it's ones who need School the

ones who need School the most to get out

of poverty to get out of situations that

are beyond their control and their life

is going to be really difficult then

they're the ones oh they want to be

disengaged they want to step back I hate

school man do you need to be engaged

right and so when a kid says I hate

school we that's us that's not them it's

us we're not selling it properly we're

not explaining what the point is of

biology or third grade right and if we

do that obviously you're still have some

kids I hate this but really they realize

well I hate this but man this is

actually going to improve my life is

there any Canadians in the room I know

that's a weird question my wife is

Canadian and shreddy is a cereal that's

only offered in Canada the UK and South

Africa that's it in 2007 they were

trying to get people to buy more shreddy

they thought so how should we get people

to buy shreddy should we have a funny

commercial should we have like a new

cartoon character and they came with an

idea and it has everything to do with

teaching you'll see it's right here eyes

up here take a look here's their idea

diamond shreddy

first of all you're thinking man

consumers are stupid yes maybe a little

bit their sales didn't go up they

skyrocketed yes now you're thinking

you're thinking like oh it's dumb but

people be walking down the aisle and

they'd see this diamond TR back that's

so dumb we should buy a couple of those

you're not just an educator you're a

Salesman your job is to sell I sell

economics to a bunch of students who

aren't particularly interested in buying

economics you sell third grade or

kindergarten or biology what a most

teacher do in high school and middle

school first

day management classroom management and

the syllabus right here's the book

here's what you're supposed to do here's

you're not supposed to do here's a

syllabus right it is the worst day of

school it is so horribly boring by your

last class like okay here's a syllabus

here's what you're supposed to do here's

the strategy do it this year I promise

you if there's only one thing you can do

it'll make a huge difference it's right

here teach your best lesson the first

day so when kids come into your room

first thing you start off with is your

best possible lesson I'm not talking

content-wise I'm talking about get them

engaged get them excited about coming

the syllabus can wait like do the

syllabus later do classroom rules later

if you teach third grade do something

awesome third grade like this is what

the sort of things we're going to be

doing and learning that's going to get

them excited about wanting to come back

I got to finish the story by the way

some Canadians were actually really

upset that they did this that they're

like how dare you change our cereal so

take a look up here the post decided to

make everybody happy with this the combo

pack all in one

box e