Increasing Student Buy-In with Targeted Communications (NYC SWOW)

Overview

This brief case study features the work one school system completed to address the challenge of student engagement in their virtual and hybrid learning environments. It is part of a larger brief exploring the work that four school system teams undertook in TLA’s Strategy Lab program, which is a networked learning experience that leverages our Real-Time Redesign (RTR) process to help teams identify and address root-cause equity barriers.

Context: NYC Department of Education

A hybrid program based in New York serving 60 students in grade 9, the NYC School Without Walls (SWOW) launched at the start of the 2022-23 school year. Their instructional model offers a combination of virtual and in-person classes with a focus on student-created passion projects and place-based fieldwork (outside of the traditional classroom). They joined Strategy Lab because they wanted to build a robust hybrid program that facilitates independent inquiry and passion-project development.

The Challenge of Engagement: Active Learning

Each of the districts featured in TLA’s student engagement case study was selected based on their focus on one particular aspect of engagement, ranging on a continuum from foundational (i.e., attendance) to deeper (i.e., active learning) characteristics. Each district chose to focus on an aspect of engagement that emerged from team discussions, self- and team-assessments, and aligned to their reason for joining Strategy Lab.

Continuum of engagement from foundational tenets to more meaningful learning.

The SWOW team identified a core challenge: how to increase student attendance for in-person fieldwork (i.e., field trips). As evidenced by TLA’s examination of the team’s coaching notes, the term engagement appeared 14 times. Similarly, attendance was recorded an equal number of times, as they used it as a measure of engagement in a core component of their virtual program: fieldwork. The team recognized that for students to engage in meaningful learning through fieldwork, they first needed to focus on getting students to show up.

The team assessment and workbook notes indicated that the school was actively developing plans to create motivating and relevant learning experiences for students through fieldwork on Fridays. However, they shared that student attendance was approximately 10-20% lower on Fridays compared to other days. During team discussions, they wondered whether students and families understood that fieldwork days were an integral part of the school curriculum.

Continued conversations around current policies and practices pointed to a problem of practice: the challenge of increasing student attendance in the required fieldwork to drive engagement in meaningful learning.

Designing and Piloting a Measurable Solution: Addressing Attendance Through Communication and Better Connections Between Online and Offline Experiences

To address this issue, the team decided to design and pilot a redesign of how they presented fieldwork requirements for students to encourage attendance. The program sought to increase communication with students and families and intentionally created connections between class-based lessons and hands-on, fieldwork activities. They hypothesized that this plan would encourage more buy-in from students, which they believed would translate into increased attendance and, ultimately, higher engagement.

The pilot featured two key components:

• Communication Channels: The pilot team created a plan to increase communication efforts for students and families so they could ask questions and have a better understanding of activities and expectations. The team believed that sharing expectations and soliciting feedback would help increase student attendance and buy-in for their required fieldwork. To do this, the pilot team held two student information sessions during the school day and via Zoom, which advisors for the overnight camping trip also attended to answer questions. Additionally, the pilot team hosted two family information meetings to further encourage attendance.

• Targeted Instruction: The eight pilot teachers intentionally created lessons with shared targets and learning activities connected to the fieldwork opportunity. The purpose was to get students to buy into the fact that what they learned in class was applicable in the real world – which then would hopefully result in increased attendance for their required fieldwork.

• Execution of Multiple Fieldwork Opportunities: Prior to the pilot experience (an overnight camping trip), the team hosted a day trip to Central Park where Urban Park Rangers took students on a hike to create an intentional connection between multiple fieldwork opportunities (the day hike and overnight camping trip).

What Happened

Data from the pilot revealed that 73% of the students attended the day hike in Central Park and 57% of students attended the overnight fieldwork – even though 80% of families submitted the required medical forms for the camping trip. Although the attendance rate was lower than anticipated, those who participated (both students and teachers) provided valuable feedback that will help inform future fieldwork opportunities.

Reactions to the camping trip were largely positive. Student survey results indicated that they enjoyed the activities offered during the trip (e.g., completing a ropes course, hiking, participating in games) as well as the opportunity to bond with their peers. Of the seven teachers who completed the post-trip survey, the majority found value in this type of fieldwork. They mentioned that students formed bonds with their peers, resulting in some displaying a higher willingness to try different activities.

The district team was bolstered by student excitement for their projects as well as the hope that more classes would incorporate hands-on learning activities. The team shared another positive outcome: two formerly disengaged students completed their projects and received passing grades. As such, even though attendance rates did not increase to the extent that the team had hoped, students who did attend the fieldwork found value in their experience, gained important skills, and formed bonds with their peers and teachers.

What’s Next

The district leadership team is planning to use lessons from this pilot to design a new one. It is important to note that the team intentionally focused the pilot on attendance as a foundational tenet of engagement. Going forward, they plan to offer the camping trip as well as expanded outreach efforts to better inform students and families of the value of fieldwork as a means to meaningfully engage students in their learning. This plan aligns with the reason why they joined Strategy Lab: to improve their practices around building a robust hybrid program that facilitates independent inquiry and passion-project development.