Inquiry Questions

Poes behavior is generally good save for his resistance to

assignments that dont interest him. How can a teacher keep Poe from
being resistant? Is there a way to keep Poe engaged and on-task
during class?
Evidence-Based Recommendations
The most engaged I ever saw Poe was during a class discussion
on race and police brutality. He was one of the most vocal students and
spoke well. Meaningful class discussions appear to be a good way to
engage Poe: Participating in structured, whole-class discussions may
be one of the most meaningful learning experiences a student enjoys
during the school day. Such discussions promote genuine, intellectual
learning that not only builds important individual skills, but also can be
a profoundly unifying experience, strengthening the sense of
community within the classroom (Billings). While these discussions
can engage Poe, they also have the added benefit of making him
feeling like a part of the class community, which is particularly
important for new students. Teachers can make discussions meaningful
by using powerful texts: Teachers set the stage for an engaging,
meaningful discussion when they select and use a tangible human
artifact, or text, that represents key values and ideas of the unit of
study (Billings). When Poe is engaged, he has no reason to be
resistant to learning.
Poe has also shown that having the freedom to choose improves
his performance and motivates him. Students can benefit in many
ways from being permitted to make academic choices. Research shows
that this will create greater completion of academic assignments,
higher quality of academic work, and more favorable attitudes toward
their academic work (Williams). Giving Poe more choice in his
assignments could decrease resistance. Students are more on-task
when given choices in academic work (Dunlap).
Poe is more resistance when he isnt being challenged. One way
to challenge Poe and provide him choice is differentiation. Studies
show that when teachers differentiate, students evidence several
positive affective outcomes in level of engagement, motivation, and
excitement about learning (Tieso).

Works Cited
Billings, Laura, and Terry Roberts. "From Mindless to Meaningful."
Educational Leadership 72.3 (2014): 60-65. EBSCO Host. Web.
<http://web.b.ebscohost.com/>.
Dunlap, G., DePerzeel, M., Clark, S., Wilson, D., Wright, S., & Gomez, A.
(1994). Choice making to promote adaptive behavior for students
with emotional and behavioral challenges. Journal of Applied
Behavior Analysis, 27, 505518.
Tieso, C. (2001). Curriculum: Broad brushstrokes or paint-by-thenumbers? Teacher Educator, 36, 199-213.
Williams, S. (1998). An organizational model of choice: A theoretical
analysis differentiating choice, personal control, and
selfdetermination. Genetic, Social, and General Psychology
Monographs, 124, 465491.