after the bell

The High School Survey of Student Engagement was conducted by researchers at Indiana University.

I found one excerpt from an interview especially interesting:

Yazzie-Mintz says the survey indicates students are just trying to get the diploma and leave:
“It’s as if the focus is so much on getting that degree, ending high
school, and going to college, that the focus on learning is actually
lost. If they’re not interacting with their learning, if they’re not
feeling that what they’re learning is relevant, if they’re not engaged
in it, there’s no seeds planted for that passion for learning or
exploration which is what would drive them to college and the next
stage. So I think a large part of this is ‘what is the purpose of
schooling?’ Is the purpose of schooling in high school to get kids out
with a degree and move them on to some level of postsecondary
education, or is the point of high school to involve them in some way
in learning and plant a seed for discovery in education that actually
carried into whatever they do next?”

I think this point is an important one for teachers because it illuminates an easy trap for teachers trying to motivate students in a particular subject: When students ask how why a topic important, arguing that learning A now will help them learn B, succeed as a C, or progress on career path D later might have unintended consequences. One of these consequences might be teaching that learning is all about jumping through an (endless) series of hoops in order to achieve some sort of credential, or career slot, and not about actually learning.

What do you think? What are some ways that you try to engage students in science teaching day-to-day? Are there some approaches that have worked better than others? How does the need to engage your students influence your lesson planning?

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