| Students who feel disconnected from school are at greater risk of dropping out. At-risk students often cite a lack of engagement in classes as a factor contributing to disconnectedness in school. This study was designed to explore the perceived impact of the Layered Curriculum instructional model on student engagement. The following research questions guided this study: What are the perceived best practices in the delivery of the Layered Curriculum instructional model?, What is the impact of Layered Curriculum on student engagement as perceived by students and teachers?, and What is the impact of Layered Curriculum on student performance as perceived by students and teachers?. The participants were secondary teachers implementing Layered Curriculum and their students. The study follows a qualitative design, consisting of two individual case studies and a cross-case analysis. The researcher created and utilized several instruments to collect rich, detailed, descriptive data in the field. The researcher identified themes and patterns from the data using a consistent coding system. The perceived best practices that teacher participants followed included: setting clear expectations related to the model, decreasing student stress associated with the model, providing meaningful feedback to students, planning independent student work time, and offering assignment choices that attend to diverse learning styles. Participants perceived that the following factors related to Layered Curriculum positively impacted students' levels of engagement: assignment choice, meaningful homework, and individual attention from teacher. Finally, participants perceived that the following factors related to Layered Curriculum positively impacted students' performance: clear expectations, assignment choice, student accountability for learning, and feedback from teachers. |
