Assessing student engagement in learning: The shadow study

Abstract

The study examines the use of the shadow study technique in determining student engagement in learning. The students and teachers who comprise the subjects for this study were randomly chosen from a large metropolitan midwestern school district. The students were randomly selected from a list of sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students provided by the district. Teachers were also randomly selected from a list of tenured teachers provided by the district. The shadow study, a quasi ethnographic data collection technique, was used to gather data for this study. Observations were recorded every five to seven minutes over the course of a school day. Fifty-eight students and twenty-two teachers were shadowed. Fifty-eight volunteer observers shadowed the students, and twenty-two shadowed the teachers. Data were grouped by grade level, first impressions were recorded, and responses to lists of topics for student and teacher behavior were noted. These impressions and notes were then coded and tabulated. Teacher behavior included initial impressions, instructional techniques, teacher-teacher interactions, student engagement, and teacher student interactions. Student behavior included initial impressions, instructional techniques, teacher-student interactions, and student-student interactions. These data were compared to topics described in the literature as positively influencing student engagement in learning. Topics included: authentic instruction, small group instruction, the use of computers, project based learning, individualized instruction, hands-on learning, and small group and whole class discussions. The study found the predominant instructional techniques in these classrooms to be very traditional. Teacher lecturing and student note taking and the use of worksheets prevailed. Students in these schools were actively engaged in learning about thirty percent of the time. Conversely, students were passively engaged or disengaged about seventy percent of the time. The shadow study technique, while inefficient, is an effective method to examine student engagement in learning.