“Live life the real way” (Gary Turk).
Socrates, a Classical Greek philosopher, states that “education is the kindling of a flame, not the filling of a vessel.”
In his article “Student Engagement: Key to Personalized Learning,” Larry Ferlazzo discusses four key components of personalized education that cumulatively contribute to a holistic formation of learners: autonomy, competence, relatedness, and relevance. Today, I had the privilege of actively including these concepts in a lesson I lead in Humanities 8. Entitled “Introduction to Slam Poetry,” this class was predicated on inquiry based learning, and engaged students through questions, discussions, and activities. Beginning with a discussion on literary devices that was discussed in a previous class, students were encouraged to mentally engage their five senses and concentrate on imagery, feeling, and purpose in two primary video examples of modern spoken word poetry. The ultimate goal of this lesson was to creatively encourage creative thinking, and written and oral communication, through the medium of poetry.
Ferlazzo states that “our first job in applying any approach is to engage students in the learning process… Find their spark and make their own fire.” Therefore, the first principle of student engagement is autonomy. In my lesson, I first ignited interest through the Socratic method. I continuously asked questions of the students, rather than simply supplying answers. Through allowing students to find potential answers for themselves, the focus was shifted from educator to learner, and the students became accountable for their own learning.
The second component of student engagement is competence. To Ferlazzo, competence is when “we know we have the skills necessary to successfully accomplish a task.” This knowledge of skill feeds back into autonomy, as the acquisition of it empowers students to take responsibility for their own learning. In Slam Poetry, this emerged through the activity portion of the lesson, when students created their own slam poems in groups and were able to orally incorporate concepts discussed in class, such as literary devices.
Relatedness is “human connection… We learn better by helping each other” (Ferlazzo). Evident in all group activity work and discussion, this relatedness ties into the knowledge that “no man is an island” (John Donne), and nobody is alone. By learning of others, students are able to connect with concepts and people outside of themselves.
The final component of student engagement is relevance. Relevance is “when students view school work as interesting and useful for improving their present lives or achieving their hopes and dreams” (Ferlazzo). This is essential in education because if a student does not see the point, purpose, or significance of something, and their interests aren’t ignited, then they will not be engaged. This relevance engages the other three components of student engagement. Within the context of Slam Poetry, this relevance came from providing modern examples centered around ideas that are relevant in their daily lives, such as social media and bullying.
Ultimately, Ferlazzo’s four concepts of student engagement- autonomy, competence, relatedness, and relevance- ignite the soul of the learner and result in a holistic learning experience for students. Cumulatively, they contribute to living “life the real way” (Gary Turk), and “kindling the flame” (Socrates).
**Note: This post refers to Ferlazzo, Larry. “Student Engagement: Key to Personalized Learning.” Educational Leadership: Getting Personalization Right. Vol. 74. Num. 6. March 2017. http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/mar17/vol74/num06/Student-Engagement@-Key-to-Personalized-Learning.aspx
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