Promoting Engagement in the

Secondary English Classroom:

When both teacher and student

discover, “this is who I am”

Capstone Presentation- Spring 2019

Lindsay Masin

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You’ve been doing a
lot of listening...now
it’s your turn to
share.

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 “Remember always that you
have not only the right to be an
individual; you have an
obligation to be one.”
-Eleanor Roosevelt
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How do I combine these identities
to feel whole in the classroom?
 “If I wanted students to be engaged and
motivated to participate in the coursework I
designed, I needed to feel engaged and
motivated myself. I wasn’t feeling that. I felt
like I was playing the role of ‘teacher’ and
checking off the boxes of required phrases
and classroom management techniques.”

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Why are we doing this?
Is this good enough?
Miss, is this right?
Does this look good?
Is this formative or
summative?
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 “Students would think better if they
could be provided with conditions that
would encourage the application of
their thinking to the world in which they
lived.”
Matthew Lipman, Thinking in Education

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“Our curricular choices say who counts
and who doesn’t- whose stories are
important and whose aren’t.”
-Linda Christensen

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So, What do we do?
Play!

“Play touches and stimulates vitality,

awakening the whole person - mind,
body, intelligence and creativity.” -
Viola Spolin

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Let’s play!

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What else can we do?
Acknowledge and utilize intrinsic motivations.

“When classroom activities allow students to make

choices relevant to their interests, direct their own
learning, engage their imaginations, experiment with
adult roles, and play physically, research shows that
students become more motivated and interested, and
they enjoy more positive school experiences.”

-Hilary G. Conklin, Time

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“Negating what [students] bring into the room is
the same as telling [them] they have nothing to
offer.”

-Melissa Talhelm, Second City Teacher

Training:
Applying Improvisational Theater
Techniques to the Classroom

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Approaching each class
with an improvisational
mindset:

Placing students in
different roles to honor
their identity exploration
and boost engagement.
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 Ms. Masin’s classroom
expectations for engagement:

1. Take a risk and try something new

2. Step out of your comfort zone.
3. It’s okay to fail.
4. Be you!

If we are fulfilling these expectations,

we are learning more about ourselves in
the process, and building our identity!
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Thank you!
Jan and Barry Carol Svoboda Dr. Thomas
Masin Fred Stuart Dr. Gatti
Mike & Chelsea Maggie Deschaine Scott Gealy
Sarah Staples-Farmer My Cohort boyz
Rachel & Sam

Matt & Ingrid

Maxwell and
Hallie 17
Works Cited
Christensen, Linda. Teaching for Joy and Justice: Re-Imagining the

Language Arts Classroom. Rethinking Schools Publication, 2009.

Lippman, Matthew. Thinking in Education. Cambridge University Press,
2003.

Roosevelt, Eleanor. You Learn by Living: Eleven Keys for a More

Fulfilling Life. Harper and Brothers publishers, 1960.

Talhelm, Melissa. Second City Teacher Training: Applying

improvisational theater techniques to the classroom. National

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Council of Teachers of English, Vol. 104 (5). 15-20. 2015.