Incorporating Student Life to Boost Classroom Engagement

According to Kearsley and Shneiderman (1998), students who are involved and connected academically, socially, and behaviorally are more invested in their learning, and therefore, learn more effectively. In this self-study, I stress the importance of, specifically, ensuring that students’ lives are reflected in the classroom. Moreover, exploring what teachers can do to facilitate an inviting environment conducive to learning. To do this, I searched for studies from various scholars and analyzed classroom data from my experience student teaching during the 2023 fall semester. I collected classroom observations, student surveys, lesson plans, audiovisual materials, and student work from over sixty high school students. Furthermore, this research aimed to explore whether I can incorporate students’ lives in an English Language Arts (ELA) classroom in a way that truly benefits the students and what are some effective ways to do so. Results from this self-study will benefit both students and teachers because it emphasizes the importance of student engagement and offers data and examples to bolster it.