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Engagement

Engagement is a prerequisite for learning, although it is important to bear in mind that engagement does not necessarily equal learning.

Engagement means students directing their attention and energy ‘in the moment’ towards a particular task or activity. It describes the observable student behaviours, such as planning, task management, and persistence, that arise from their feelings of motivation.

Engagement with learning is essential to academic progress. It is most likely to occur when students are motivated, interested, and socially interactive. It is also most often associated with other characteristics in students, such as self-regulation or self-directedness, conscientiousness, and drive. Student outcomes are affected by the extent to which they exert effort, demonstrate enthusiasm, think strategically, and constructively contribute to learning plans.

There is a considerable body of evidence on engagement in education, including quantitative evidence determining the link between student engagement and learning. The evidence base is complicated as engagement is a multi-faceted concept, which is not only connected to a number of other aspects of students and learning but also impacted by context.

High levels of engagement are supported by:

  • Students’ interest in a task or in a particular subject
  • Meaningful, authentic, challenging (yet achievable) tasks
  • A classroom context where individual students’ needs are catered for
  • Providing opportunities to learn using a variety of techniques
  • Actively involving students in the teaching and learning process
  • Providing feedback that focuses on comprehension, mastery, and strategies, rather than feedback which defines competence in comparison to class performance

 

Providing opportunities for groupwork in which students can work with their peers

  • How do you create conditions in your classroom to promote high levels of engagement?
  • How do you ensure that students who are highly engaged in a task are actually learning what you are intending for them to learn?
  • How do you respond when you recognise that students in your class have disengaged?

Engagement infographic
Engagement

Engagement infographic

Madeleine Matanawa -
0
The good, the bad, and the ugly of student motivation
Engagement

The good, the bad, and the ugly of student motivation

Amanda Howley-Rouse -
0
What switches students on and off?
Engagement

What switches students on and off?

Nina Hood -
0
Tauhora College teachers on increasing engagement and motivation
Curriculum integration

Increasing Year 9 and 10 students’ engagement and motivation in STEM

Nina Hood -
0
Seven characteristics of engaged students
Engagement

Seven characteristics of engaged students

Amanda Howley-Rouse -
0
Learning from lockdown: Trying to understand the variations in student engagement
Engagement

Learning from lockdown: Trying to understand the variations in student engagement

Nina Hood -
0
Harry Fletcher-Wood
Engagement

Student motivation and engagement when learning from home

Nina Hood -
0
An introduction to engagement in educational settings
Engagement

An introduction to engagement in educational settings

Amanda Howley-Rouse -
0
Hunter Gehlbach
Engagement

Measuring engagement
by Associate Professor Hunter Gehlbach

Nina Hood -
0

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