The Highly Engaged Classroom Reflection – Tina Miller, 10124529

How do my beliefs and history shape my perceptions of learning and teaching?

The article by Marzano highlights strategies to elicit and maintain student engagement. The portion that
resonated with me was the focus on emotional engagement, “(1) students’ energy levels, (2) a teacher’s
positive demeanor, and (3) students’ perceptions of acceptance” (Marzano, 2011). My entire life, I have
been a dancer, and I express my emotions through movement. Additionally, I retain information and the
concepts that I learn by experiencing them. Therefore, this experience shapes my perception that learning
needs to be experiential, that the material I am communicating must be coupled with movement. Marzano
states that students are much more engaged following physical activity, as their energy levels are
increased, and they have higher cognitive functioning.

Secondly, I have a strong belief in inclusivity in the classroom that comes from my personal experiences
of not belonging. I could relate to the section of the paper that discussed the importance of students
needing to feel accepted by their teacher and their peers in order to engage with material. I believe that
true learning can be a very vulnerable experience, as supported in the article when utilizing competition
as a learning tool. Competitive games can be a great tool if students perceive low risk of being penalized
for their mistakes. “Team members may scapegoat individuals they believe are responsible for the team
loss” (Marzano, 2011). Therefore, in learning environments that I have influence over, I want to try and
provide a safe space where students feel they can take risks without fear of judgement.

All of the teachers that I remember from my time as a student appeared bubbly, and enthusiastic, as if
what they were teaching was the most interesting topic in the world. I agree with the article in that the
teacher truly shapes the culture of the classroom and the capacity for student success. However, I think it
is an important lesson that educators “cannot be so intense all the time” (Marzano, 2011) because often I
can get carried away with trying to overemphasize when I am communicating.

Lastly, I find my education classes to be much more engaging than my previous science classes because
they align with my future goals. “The error that some educators make is to assume that the academic
goals offered by the district, school, or individual teacher overlap with students’ personal goals”
(Marzano, 2011). This connects back to needing to contextualize what you are teaching to
students, and to enable them to take ownership over their own learning experiences.

References:

Marzano, R., & Pickering, D. (2011). Chapter 1: Research and Theory. The highly engaged classroom, 3-
20.