Engaging Students From the Beginning of a Unit

Have you ever given up on a book after the first few pages because nothing in the story made you want to keep reading? Or picked up your phone and went back onto Instagram a couple minutes into watching a movie because you were already bored with it? The beginning of stories must be interesting if there is any hope of people listening, reading, or watching to the end. The beginning, the exposition, is essential. The same holds true when we think about the beginning of learning units or projects when we launch them to students. Inquiry and engagement is essential at the outset.

What happens when a unit launch is stale.

I once met a teacher with an incredible project idea that had real purpose and an exciting authentic audience for his students to work with. Before the launch of this project, the teacher could not stop talking about the work his students would do, and how excited he was to see them dive into this project. 

However, the teacher launched the project by having his students take a pre-assessment covering the standards for that unit, followed by reading a research paper about the problem they would solve. Needless to say, few students bought into the work as a result of this launch. Throughout the project, this teacher saw minimal engagement from his students and they never deeply engaged with the authentic problem of this project. 

Of course, the teacher was disappointed. Upon reflecting with him, we determined the kids were not disengaged because of the project idea, or because of his pedagogy. It was because the students never developed excitement and curiosity for the problem when it was introduced at the launch. If a student isn’t invested in the problem at-hand, why would they sacrifice their time and energy trying to solve it? If the purpose of the work hasn't been articulated in a way that makes sense, what will fuel them to make efforts to collaborate, critically think, and work hard throughout the length of the project?

This is why the launch of a new project or learning unit is so critical. The launch is where curiosity and inquiry is born, and those are some of the best fuel for student engagement the rest of the learning experience. 

Viewing Projects as Stories

It's helpful to think of projects or learning experiences as unfolding stories, having a defined beginning, middle, and end. Therefore, we have to dedicate time to an intriguing exposition. The beginning of the story should be seen as a hook or attention getter, an experience to draw participants in and make them see why the remainder of the story is worth their time. The exposition is the starting line or the launching point for a major part of students’ lives for the next days or months. 

We have to think of projects this way, because when done well with purpose and authenticity, what a student works on in your class is a major part of their life. It is what occupies their minds at school. It is the discussions they have with parents around the dinner table. It can be late nights and early mornings as stress builds and deadlines approach. Your projects can be one of the only creative outlets a student has in their day, and so that initial buy-in is crucial.

The Entry Event

In story terms, the project launch is the inciting incident. It is where the conflict of the story is introduced. In Project Based Learning, it is called the Entry Event. It's where the authentic problem is presented to students. It’s the event where inquiry begins and students start developing what the project will look like. Whether you have a guest speaker in your class, show an engaging video, read students an email or letter from a professional, do a simulation, analyze an image, or take them on a field trip, it needs to be a defined event that gets students asking questions and identifying a problem they can solve. 

Whatever you choose to launch a project, the entry event must have these three essential components: 

1. The entry event promotes inquiry
2. The entry event is relevant and authentic to students
3. The entry event is connected to your learning goals / content standards

This rubric is helpful for designing engaging project launches. 

Curiosity leads to engagement.

Emphasizing how to introduce a new learning experience to students is all about growing their curiosity. When you have curious students, you have engaged ones. And that engagement does not just end at the end of the entry event, but instead lasts the rest of the epic learning experience.