As an instructional coach, one of the most important ways to support classroom teachers is by helping them improve student engagement. Engaged students are more likely to be invested in their learning, retain information better, and develop a love for learning that will last a lifetime. However, it can be challenging to determine whether students are truly engaged or merely compliant.

Compliance is NOT Engagement

Compliance is simply doing what the teacher asked you to do. For example, the teacher set the expectation that students stay in their seats, don’t have theirs heads on the desk, and have their materials out and ready at the beginning of class. A compliant student does all of these things, but they are not necessarily engaged in the lesson. An engaged student is actively thinking about the lesson. A compliant student may appear to be giving their attention and mental focus, but their mind may have wandered off to other things—even if they are compliant when asked to write something down or to read something aloud. While on the surface, a compliant student looks engaged, they may not be mentally focused on learning.  So how do you tell if students are just being compliant or if they are engaged?

1. Look for Nonverbal Cues

One of the easiest ways to determine if students are engaged is to look for nonverbal cues. Nonverbal communication can provide a lot of information about what students are thinking and feeling. Students who are engaged in learning are likely to be:

• leaning forward,
• making eye contact with the teacher or other students,
• nodding their heads,
• and participating actively in class discussions.

On the other hand, compliant students may be:

• sitting back in their chairs,
• looking around the room,
• and giving short, noncommittal answers to questions.

2. Observe Student Work

Observing student work can also provide insight into students’ levels of engagement. Engaged students will often produce work that is creative, thoughtful, and demonstrates a deep understanding of the subject matter. They may go above and beyond what is required and ask questions or make connections that show a genuine interest in the topic. Compliant students, on the other hand, may produce work that is superficial, lacks creativity, and demonstrates a lack of interest in the subject matter.

As an instructional coach, an easy way for you to monitor engagement with minimal disruption to the teacher’s lesson is to simply look at students’ work as they are working. Are their answers thoughtful or are they doing the bare minimum to complete the assignment? You can also look at students’ work with a teacher during a coaching cycle or a non-teaching time. You and the teacher can determine which students are truly engaged and work together to create a plan to engage those students who are not.

3. Ask Students for Feedback

Another way that instructional coaches can support teachers in determining if students are engaged or merely compliant is to simply ask students for their feedback. Students are often the best judges of their own engagement and can provide valuable insights into what is working and what is not. Asking open-ended questions such as “What did you learn today?” or “What was the most interesting thing you learned?” can provide a window into students’ engagement levels. Additionally, instructional coaches can use surveys or questionnaires to gather more detailed feedback from students about their engagement levels.

Determining if students are engaged versus being compliant is an essential task for instructional coaches. Looking for nonverbal cues, observing student work, and asking for feedback allows instructional coaches to gain valuable insight into students’ engagement levels and thus support teachers in making necessary adjustments to improve their students’ learning experiences.

Supporting Teachers

Instructional coaches can support teachers’ efforts to increase engagement by helping them implement specific strategies to help them monitor engagement levels, setting expectations, and foster better engagement day and day out. For example, encourage teachers to observe students’ work frequently during class. Instead of being the “sage on the stage” help them become comfortable with being the “teacher in the bleachers”—moving throughout the room during the class, actively observing students’ work and refocusing students who are simply being compliant by asking questions about their responses to push their thinking.

It can also be helpful to help teachers establish expectations and discuss ways to build those expectations into the classroom. An example of setting and explicitly teaching expectations for engagement could be a SLANT anchor chart:

S: Sit Up Straight

L: Listen

A: Ask and Answer Questions

N: Nod Your Head

T: Track the Speaker

(Another version of this replaces Listen with Lean Your Body Toward the Speaker.)

Students should be explicitly taught the meaning of SLANT early on, enabling teachers to use the anchor chart to reinforce the behavior throughout the school year.

In some cases, instructional coaches may also support teachers with the implementation of more engaging instructional strategies. Help teachers find ways to increase relevance in their lessons, include more collaborative learning opportunities and student-centered activities, or giving students more choice where possible.

Helping teachers learn to identify student compliance versus student engagement can open their eyes to what is really happening in their classrooms and can be the impetus for teacher growth and improved learning outcomes for students.

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