Engagement
When educators speak of "engagement" the idea is not just to have all the students paying attention but to truly capture the imagination of the students. Project Based Instruction starts with a Driving Question that is introduced in the form of the scenario that is the underlying theme for the duration of the lesson.
An example of this is the Lost Time Traveler scenario I created for a lesson on plate tectonics. The TEKS for this lesson specify that the student be able to describe the historical development of evidence that supports plate tectonic theory as well as relate plate tectonics to the formation of crustal features. My time traveler character lands in the early 1900s where he bumps into Alfred Wegener who is suffering from amnesia. The rest of the scenario has the students creating the deliverable of a presentation or model for the stranded time traveler so he can fix the time line. To do this properly the time traveler must understand plate tectonics and how much Alfred Wegener knew so he gives only the correct amount of information to Alfred Wegener. This engagement uses the idea that most students will have seen some form of entertainment that features an adventurer type hero, similar to an Indiana Jones or Lara Croft. Human memories that include a emotional component are retained the longest, so the sympathy they feel to the stranded time traveler, as well as the adventure aspect, help to engage and hold the students' interest. Add to that that the students go on a field trip that emulates the type of research (adventure) that Alfred Wegener may have pursued and they can easily see themselves as the hero of their own story.
When educators speak of "engagement" the idea is not just to have all the students paying attention but to truly capture the imagination of the students. Project Based Instruction starts with a Driving Question that is introduced in the form of the scenario that is the underlying theme for the duration of the lesson.
An example of this is the Lost Time Traveler scenario I created for a lesson on plate tectonics. The TEKS for this lesson specify that the student be able to describe the historical development of evidence that supports plate tectonic theory as well as relate plate tectonics to the formation of crustal features. My time traveler character lands in the early 1900s where he bumps into Alfred Wegener who is suffering from amnesia. The rest of the scenario has the students creating the deliverable of a presentation or model for the stranded time traveler so he can fix the time line. To do this properly the time traveler must understand plate tectonics and how much Alfred Wegener knew so he gives only the correct amount of information to Alfred Wegener. This engagement uses the idea that most students will have seen some form of entertainment that features an adventurer type hero, similar to an Indiana Jones or Lara Croft. Human memories that include a emotional component are retained the longest, so the sympathy they feel to the stranded time traveler, as well as the adventure aspect, help to engage and hold the students' interest. Add to that that the students go on a field trip that emulates the type of research (adventure) that Alfred Wegener may have pursued and they can easily see themselves as the hero of their own story.
