Season 5, Episode 4 CS (95): Active Engagement Does Not Have to be a "Dog and Pony Show"

In this classroom series podcast, Mallory Murphy, 4th grade teacher and PBIS coordinator at Turner Elementary in Turner, Maine, describes what active engagement should be. She emphasizes the importance of being very intentional when designing lessons so that ALL students have an “access point” to the learning. The engagement piece doesn’t have to be fancy or elaborate. However, the first five minutes of a lesson are critical to getting your students involved. Mallory also provides several resources that might be helpful as you examine how you currently use and can implement more active engagement in your classroom. Get engaged and listen! Resources Examples of Engaging Instruction National Center for PBIS IRIS Center Vanderbilt University ASCD Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development --some free articles; requires a membership for more access Math4ME--Maine Department of Education Teach Like a Pirate by Dave Burgess--also a Facebook group Universal Design for Learning in the Classroom by Meyer and Rose--excerpt from the book Teaching with the Brain in Mind by Eric Jensen--synopsis The Skillful Teacher: On Techniques, Trust, and Responsiveness in the Classroom by Stephen Brookfield--synopsis

You can listen to Season 5, Episode 4 CS (95): Active Engagement Does Not Have to be a "Dog and Pony Show" online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Season 5, Episode 4 CS (95): Active Engagement Does Not Have to be a "Dog and Pony Show" is an episode from The Educator's Blueprint by Dr. Lisa Powers and Ms. Jamie Grieshaber.

This episode is 24:37 long.

This episode was published on Feb 4, 2026.

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