When my son was two years old, my husband left. I was a stay- at-home mom at the time and had to find a job – fast. So, while sending out résumés, I also signed up for the temporary agency at a local university. I was placed in a pre-college outreach program through the biology department. My degrees were in political science and world literatures, so I didn’t expect a permanent job match. I was 34 and hadn’t had biology since tenth grade!

Engage first, explain later

The outreach program consisted of two, 20-foot buses, with a full wet-lab that went around to the state’s high schools. It brought equipment and experiments that the high schools couldn’t afford (DNA testing, for example). The woman running the program, Betty, was a retired high school biology teacher. Around each lab experiment that the bus offered, she carefully constructed a full lesson plan that was given to the schools’ teachers. They were to teach the lesson before and after the arrival of the “traveling science laboratory.”

To design the lesson plans, Betty used a 5 step process that had been created for science teachers in the 1960s, called the “5E Instructional Model.” Betty was a GENIUS at it. The first activity in the model is “engagement” and is designed to heighten students’ curiosity. Betty created amazing plays for the students to act out, usually resulting in a mystery that would be resolved when they performed the lab experiment. For the DNA experiment, students solved the “case of the missing iPod” using “blood drops” found on a locker (they really tested plant DNA). The teacher actually set up a “crime scene” to start the lesson! What I found fascinating about this “5E Model” is that the first “E” is engagement, the second is exploration, and the THIRD is explanation. Explanation doesn’t come until step THREE! (Four is elaboration and five is evaluation.)

Unexpected career

When I was placed in this temp position, Betty was starting to develop a lesson plan on the science of obesity. I saw the opportunity for interdisciplinary lessons with social studies and English classes. So, when I was finished with my assigned work, I would secretly work on lesson plans. As far as I knew, no one was using this 5E model on anything but science. But, I tried to follow it carefully in the plans I designed, and, one day, I presented them to Betty. She loved them. I ended up being hired full time to write interdisciplinary lessons for all their science curricula.

I had a blast at this job but it was grant funded, and grants end. So, I went on to another job with the university, as manager of education and outreach for a computing institute. I brought with me the concept of “engage first, explain later.” I found it useful in short presentations, and even in organizing events. For the most part, everyone loved it. But, I ran into a roadblock when we were planning a summer camp for high school students. The scientists at the institute were going to be teaching biochemistry and robotics. I had the “engaging” idea of starting the whole entire camp with a “mock disaster.” We would make it obvious that it was fake, but announce that there was a chemical leak in the area. Different people would pretend to have convulsions. We’d record fake news announcements. The students would use plastic bags to seal up the room. It was all educational, as the Homeland Security website had sample news releases and step by step instructions about how to handle such an emergency. I even arranged for the real local HazMat team to come by at the end of the “emergency”, knock on the door and say, “all clear”. They would then talk about how they would have handled a real chemical spill. It was going to be awesome! I had already recruited people to play the parts but I still had to pitch the idea to the scientists who would be teaching at the camp.

Engagement can be scary

As I described the play, one guy literally slid down in his chair until he was on the ground. The rest sat in silence.

When I finished, the only comment I received was, "What’s wrong with starting with a PowerPoint presentation?” 

Are you kidding me? I was determined and after getting some high school teachers to publicly back me up, finally persuaded the team to let me run the mock emergency.

It was a huge hit. Many people told me it was the best part of the camp. One scientist came up and apologized for doubting me. He said they were scared that they would make fools out of themselves. Sure, it was a risk. But we took that risk, and we were engaging. People were eager to learn more as a result.

I stayed with that job for a few years but the economy took a nose-dive, and the institute sustained a 35% budget cut. I took my unemployment and started an institute of my own (FemCentral)! For the first nine months, I had weekly themes and each day, provided a resource relevant to the week’s topic. This month, I also started offering online classes, taught by a variety of instructors. We worked hard to write up course descriptions and get the schedule finalized. Then it was time announce our courses to the world. Each instructor already had her own website, Facebook page and twitter account, and I saw how each announced her respective classes. This is where it got interesting. Most of us (and I include myself) were just posting links to our classes. Or, saying, “check out this class I’m teaching.” One instructor, though, was designing colorful ads, explaining why she was jazzed to be teaching, and extolling the benefits to the students. She was engaging! Wanna guess whose classes have the most enrollments so far?

Engaging with your life

“Engage first, explain later” works in all areas of life. How many times are we scared to take a risk or make a fool of ourselves, out of fear of rejection? If you follow the logic of this 5E model (which has been widely tested and proven effective), by not engaging people, we are actually inviting rejection! It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy! How often do we do this in our relationships? Our career? Our creative pursuits?

While I am quite good at designing a presentation or lesson plan using this 5E model, I’m still working on fully engaging with my life. But, one thing this educator knows, we learn by practicing. You bet I’m practicing my engagement activities on a daily basis!

How engaged are you with your life? Do you play it safe out of fear of rejection? Can you try one “engagement activity” today?

(I am teaching an online class on the 5E Instructional Model, designed for presentations of all kinds, on Tuesday, November 9 from 7-8:30pm EST. Visit FemCentral for more information.)

Jennifer
Astrologer, Educator &
Founder of FemCentral, the Virtual Institute for Women