Good Teaching: Academic Engagement

Years ago, I walked into my son’s first grade class and found all the little first graders sitting passively on the rug staring up at the TV.  They were totally mesmerized by Bert and Ernie. The morning schedule was 9:00 a.m. Sesame Street, 10:00 a.m. Electric Company. (It is true. This really happened! This is NOT academic engagement.) I guess, the most startling realization for me was that parents were not indignant that 2 hours of precious learning time was devoted to the Big Bird.  And I’m not against Sesame Street or the Electric Company. I just feel that children can be engaged in more productive activities when at school, especially on a regular basis. Please note that this was only one school and one class in my entire career as a parent and a teacher. But it brings up questions of what are the hallmarks of  ‘good teaching.’ One of the things I look for is academic engagement. 

Simply put, academic engagement means kids are actively involved in doing something productive that is directed towards an objective. Here’s an example, 20 little guys cross-legged on a rug, eyes on the teacher while the teacher poses questions related to a story. Here’s an example of not academic engagement, 5 little guys sitting cross-legged on the rug whispering to each other, 5 little guys doing summersaults on the outskirts of the rug, 5 little guys gazing at the ceiling, and 5 little guys answering questions posed by the teacher. So, in this case only 5 little guys are academically engaged. I’ve seen many examples of both scenarios. Academic engagement is measured by what the teacher is doing and what the children are doing in relation to what the teacher is doing. The objective may be important, the teacher may be doing something important, but some or most of the children are not actively engaged in a meaningful learning activity.  So, one of the characteristics of good teaching is academic engagement. And as every teacher knows, this is not as easy as it sounds.