A study conducted by Gallup News found that students perform 2.5 times better in school when they are interested in what they are learning and are 4.5 times more ambitious compared to their peers who are uninvolved. Unfortunately, student engagement has drastically regressed in recent years.
French teacher Laurie Resnikoff is one of the educators fighting to keep students interested.
According to Resnikoff, COVID-19 altered the way students function, and since then, student engagement has drastically declined. Even though quarantine was nearly five years ago, it disrupted students at a pivotal time for learning development.
“Before COVID, students could be given a list of directions, and they could follow them easily. Nowadays, students require a lot more hand-holding,” said Resnikoff. “Students used to be a lot more autonomous. Teenagers need to thrive socially and practice [independence]; COVID ruined that for them.”
Another source of student struggles today is social media. According to data collected by the Pew Research Center in 2023, roughly 70% of children and young adults are addicted to some form of social media. Resnikoff competes with technology during class to grab students’ attention.
“Social media has an algorithm to hook you,” said Resnikoff. “Teachers have to work extra hard to keep you engaged because they can’t curate to individuals; they have to work towards a whole class.”
As a way to gain more traction for the French program, Resnikoff’s students proposed starting a TikTok account to encourage middle school students to join the class. According to Resnikoff, the students took the idea and ran with it.
“I think the TikTok account is super fun!” said junior French student Catherine Curry. “We’ve all been loving making videos together, and for a video to be posted, you have to incorporate something French, so I’m actually learning about French culture! The videos are also super funny and hopefully will make kids want to join the class because it’s awesome.”
The engagement problem in schools is significant, but it’s essential to recognize that it’s not solely the kids’ fault. Systems and teaching methods established years ago are still used in modern education. Even though the way kids process things has changed, the way they are taught hasn’t.
Although Resnikoff believes the root of declining student involvement is absurdly large class sizes, she still works to immerse her students in French culture. Resnikoff no longer gives traditional tests or quizzes, and she has found that students learn more effectively when she tailors lessons to their interests.
“I think students are naturally creative,” said Resnikoff. “Every day, I have to ask, what is going to be the thing that’s going to engage students? I’ve tried many things throughout the years, and certain things work better than others.”
Resnikoff does her best to spark students’ interest in the subject through more than just TikTok. In her classroom, students don’t just listen to lectures and take notes. Some days, they complete art projects or watch French soap operas.
“[Creative projects are] a way to sort of make students engaged because they have to have something to show for it,” said Resnikoff. “Whether it’s speaking up or turning something in, they’re actually physically doing something.”
When asked about how to fix the engagement problem among students on a larger scale, Resnikoff promptly responded with one answer: smaller class sizes. This school year, Costa combined multiple French periods, leading to class sizes with upwards of 35 students per period.
“I’m in this unique position as a foreign language teacher where I can curate learning to student interests,” said Resnikoff. “I think that makes a huge difference in their engagement, and that’s important.”
Leave a Reply