Any teaching strategy designed to engage a student should centre on the individual reasons for their disengagement,
like I said, prefer to play on their phones, is the biggest one.
Not all, some have terrible experiences, and my heart goes out to them, but there is nothing I can do if the school doesn't back me up in the central reason for our existence, to educate.
I have students who have been excused from writing for 5 solid years, even though they can do it, they don't like to, so they don't havr to - whats that all about. So I scribe for them, which should mean I write down what they say, but all it actually means is they tell me to write down whats on the board and shut up, I'm interrupting their gaming. One has actually brought his play station in and set it up in lessons, I am not kidding.
So I talk to them, and write out their notes, and we get on fine, but they won't engage with the work, or take their notes, and just throw them on the floor at the end of every lesson.
One lad is homeless, and just puts his head down and sleeps every lesson, and again I talk to him, and we are on good terms, but he sees no point in work at all, and can't be bothered, and I can't keep him in or anything like that, or offer any other incentive, he is years behind now, anyway. He rarely knows where he will be sleeping from night to night, just meets his mum and follows her after school. Miserable existence. He needs proper structure and help, he isn't getting it. He has no SEN. There is nothing for him at school. He truants a lot, and gets swept up by the inclusion team and parked in the inclusion room to go to sleep.