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What do their responses tell you about creating motivating and engaging learning environments in
both face to face and online contexts?

The responses from the survey closely align with the supporting evidence that gave rise to the

questions. 76% of the students indicated that they thought it was relatively important for them to have

real life connections to their work. One student’s personal response was “Usually experiences that can

be related to real life situations are more interesting.” (1). Students felt that they were using technology

to do routine work instead of problem solving, but this was not cross checked with race and

socioeconomic class.(2) Regardless, the students felt like their current digital literacy learning was a

relevant part of their future. They view group work as important, engaging and helpful. This helps to

prepare them for the career environment, and it seems that student are quite willing and ready for the

teachers to be “engaging them in networked learning in schools”[ CITATION Rei19 \l 1033 ], (3,9).

Questions 4 and 5 were worded terribly and it created confusion. However, we will assume that the

students were answering the 3 parts of the questions in relation to online learning. This shows that

students are not feeling connected with their teacher or their classmates as much as they were in

person. They indicated that the content seemed much the same in both formats. The social aspect of

learning is extremely important and will be shown in later questions. One of the big challenges then is

for teachers to “make sure that everyone in the class community knows each other and forms

relationships with their peers online”[ CITATION Tuc20 \l 1033 ] and to continue to foster the social

connections necessary in the online format (4-5). One of the clear patterns that emerged in the

individual answers provided in question 6 was that students were excited and engaged when there was

more liberty involved in the learning. Students liked group work. They liked being able to choose their

own topics and mediums. They responded to medium interest projects when the teacher presented

them with excitement, one student saying “My science teacher makes me excited about everything. You

can tell he loves what he's doing and it's contagious.” It is clear that teachers need to create interest in

the subject and the work (6). Right now, students are feeling very equal in their access to technology as
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other students in the area. This may be a result of the mass online movement this semester, or they may

not know how much other students do or do not have access (7). In question 8 it shows that many

students feel like they have access to the teacher when they need it. Unfortunately, there is a quarter of

the students feeling like they do not have help when they need it. A follow up question should have

been included to ask if they thought that the amount of help/direction they had in online classes was

negatively affecting their engagement or grades (8).

Survey:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScZdOUwuRSKmtP1jXG9u3wqBONtSmMehtJssG5BxVKnTfg
_IQ/viewform?usp=sf_link

1. How often is content in your classes relevant to your lived experiences or your future
experience?

“In classrooms that promote motivation, teachers continually make connections between texts and the
life experiences of students, films, other texts, previous school experiences, and the topic at hand.
Before assigning a piece of text to read, teachers provide students with a purpose for reading, and they
consciously activate students' prior knowledge” (Irvin, Meltzer and Dukes).

2. How often are you using technology in lessons or assignments? When you do,
a. Are you using it to help solve a problem or in a creative way?
b. Are you using it to do common and routine work or drills?

“Even when access gaps are closed, white and affluent students are more likely to use technology for
creativity and problem solving with greater levels of mentorship from adults, while students from
minority groups and low-income neighborhoods use technology more commonly for routine drills with
lower levels of adult support” (Reich).

3. In your opinion are the technology skills you are building in school preparing you for a future in a
technology culture/higher education/career?
a. On a scale of 1-10, 1 being not at all and 10 being absolutely, how do well do you feel
these technology skills are preparing you for that future?

“As technology transforms civic life, the trades, professions, industries, and academic disciplines, it
becomes increasingly difficult to prepare students for a networked future without equitably engaging
them in networked learning in schools” (Reich).
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4. Do you feel more or less connected/engaged with your _______________in online or in person
school?
a. teachers
b. Classmates
c. Content work
5. Is it easier to:
a. participate in online or in person?
b. understanding content and do classwork online or in person?
c. Keep up with assignments in person or online?

“As teachers move online, a critical first step is to create a safe virtual space that will help students
develop their social presence. Traditional teachers shifting classes online mid-year due to school
closures may assume that their students know each other and will feel comfortable participating in
academic conversations and collaborative tasks online. But I would caution teachers not to assume that
the community they have established in-person will automatically translate to the online environment.
There are likely students in our classes who have shared the physical classroom all year but who may
have never spoken or collaborated on a shared task. The transition to learning online presents an
opportunity for teachers to make sure that everyone in the class community knows each other and
forms relationships with their peers online that will make their interactions more respectful and
rewarding” (Tucker).

6. Briefly share about an experience when you were excited or interested in the assignment and
why? Did the teacher present it in a special way? What did you find interesting/exciting about
it?

“Setting the Stage: During this stage of instruction, teachers build interest in learning by sharing,
clarifying and setting goals, engaging students in activities that develop interest and curiosity, diagnosing
student background knowledge, understandings and skills; and sharing assessments, expected
performances and end products” (Seif).

7. In your opinion, do you have more less or about the same access to technology and resources at
your school than students in other schools in the area?

“Reframe adult thinking: In my field research, I found a striking pattern in how teachers discussed
technology and equity. Nearly every teacher that I talked to was concerned with educational equity, but
some were more focused on inequalities within schools ("Some of my students don't have access to
technology"), whereas others were more focused on inequalities between schools ("My students in the
city don't have the same opportunities as kids in the suburbs"). What I discovered, interestingly, is that
the former concern typically led to more limited tech usage in classrooms: Teachers who focused on
within-school inequalities tended to limit practices that couldn't be conducted equitably. For instance,
they often avoided assigning projects that involved technology usage outside of class—learning
experiences that are common in more affluent schools” (Reich).
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8. Do you feel like you have more, less or the same access to your teacher and any help you want
or need with classwork and assignments?

“However, practicing without feedback and coaching often leads to poor habits. Coaching—or, in this
case, explicit teaching—helps refine practice, generates feedback, creates structured exercises targeted
to specific needs, and provides encouragement and direction through a partnership with the learner.
Note that more modeling, structure, and encouragement are often needed to engage students who are
motivated to begin but who have weaker skills and therefore may not have the ability or stamina to
complete tasks on their own” (Irvin, Meltzer and Dukes).

9. On a scale of 1-10 how important/engaging/helpful is group work in a class? Have you been able
to do group work in the online format?

See reference for Question 3

References
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Irvin, Judith L, Julie Meltzer and Melinda S. Dukes. "Chapter 1. Student Motivation, Engagement, and
Achievement." Irvin, Judith L, Julie Meltzer and Melinda S. Dukes. Taking Action on Adolescent
Literacy. Judith Irvin, 2007. digital.
<http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/107034/chapters/Student-Motivation,-Engagement,-
and-Achievement.aspx>.

Reich, Justin. "Teaching Our Way to Digital Equity." The Tech-Savvy School 6.5 (2019): 30-35. digital. 18
September 2020. <http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-
leadership/feb19/vol76/num05/Teaching-Our-Way-to-Digital-Equity.aspx>.

Seif, Elliott. "Planning and Instructing for Deep Learning." Ed. ASCD In Service. 2019. blog.
<https://inservice.ascd.org/planning-and-instructing-for-deep-learning/>.

Tucker, Catlin R. "Successfully Taking Offline Classes Online." An Educational Leadership Special Report
77 (2020): 10-14. Digital. 18 September 2020. <http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-
leadership/summer20/vol77/num10/Successfully-Taking-Offline-Classes-Online.aspx>.