Considering Both Academic and Social Domains: Increasing Student Engagement in At-Risk Classrooms

Abstract

This chapter describes the teaching practices that three mathematics teachers in at-risk contexts used to increase student engagement and enhance student learning. Qualitative data were collected in the form of teacher interviews, classroom observations and teacher journals. Findings show that these teachers considered aspects of both social (e.g., creating a classroom community and developing a teacher-student relationship) and academic (e.g., using technology, manipulatives, group work and student-centered activities) domains of student engagement in their teaching, but to varying degrees and with different emphases. All teachers noted that these strategies also appeal to their students’ characteristics as early adolescents.