Ten examples of student engagement

Give students more choices

1. Several paths to immersion and presentation

Sixth-grade students were working with Christian IV in history. They were allowed to choose both their own area of focus within the king’s life and how they wanted to present what they had learned from the module.

Vester Mariendal Skole in Aalborg

2. Same assignment — optional working method

A sixth grade class was working with area in a mathematics lesson. After a shared practical exercise, the students were to practise the material individually. They could choose between three ways of continuing their work: 1) paper and pencil, 2) computer or 3) dialogue with a co-teacher in the class.

Vesterbro Ny Skole in Copenhagen

3. Choose a book — and a station

Graphic novels were the overall topic in Danish for students in fifth grade. First, they worked together on the typical characteristics of the genre. Afterwards, the students could choose one of three very different graphic novels, each with its own teaching station in the classroom.

Sønderbroskolen in Aalborg

Embrace students’ ideas

4. Building on students’ interests

Students in a third-grade reception class said that they liked colours, fuse beads and going on trips. The teacher therefore planned a module in which they explored colours and emotions at ARKEN, read a book about a little monster that changes colour depending on its feelings, and created their own monsters using fuse beads.

Ole Rømer Skolen in Høje-Taastrup

5. Openness to different products

A sixth grade class was working with newspaper genres in Danish and had to work as an editorial team. A student with dyslexia asked whether newspapers today also produce podcasts. The teacher entered into the dialogue with curiosity, and in this way the module also gained an audio track, which several other students chose to join.

Hornbæk Skole

Let students define the assignment

6. Shakespeare as you like it

Students in fifth grade were working with Shakespeare’s authorship in English. They could choose between four of his plays and then perform the chosen play as their own role play — either using the original wording or more modern language. This could be done both as theatre in the classroom and as a video.

Sønderbroskolen in Aalborg

7. Choosing the theme for a longer module

Students in the special education department chose the theme “vehicles” for a longer module. After a shared introduction, each student chose which product they wanted to create; some built imaginative vehicles, while others built a soapbox car.

Vestre Skole in Grindsted

8. Co-determination with close follow-up

At intermediate level, teachers and students jointly chose to explore how social media affects children and young people. The students had considerable influence on what they wanted to investigate, but the teachers maintained close dialogue with the groups about their choice of topic, progress and curriculum to ensure the academic outcome.

Langebjergskolen in Humlebæk

Listen to the students’ voices

9. Early practice in having a say

To create greater security and a stronger sense of community in a somewhat unsettled first grade class, the teacher introduced special “children’s meetings”, where the students themselves decided what should be discussed. For example, they wanted more opportunities to speak during lessons — and together they found a way to manage this. Three years later, the weekly meetings are still being held.

Vesterbro Ny Skole in Copenhagen

10. Student-led parent-teacher meetings

At the school, one of the two annual parent-teacher meetings is student-led. This means that the student decides the content and leads the conversation following prior dialogue with the teacher. Especially in lower secondary school, students plan the conversation quite independently within certain fixed requirements.

Langebjergskolen in Humlebæk