Why Engagement Matters!
“Student engagement is the product of motivation and active learning. It is a product rather than a sum because it will not occur if either element is missing.” ― Elizabeth F. Barkley
I’ve been a student for most of my life, so I understand my future students perspectives. Within the medium of the classroom students come with various backgrounds, knowledge skill sets and learning styles. As a teacher I am required by law to teach a required set of general and specific outcome from the Alberta’s program of studies. The ‘how’ is completely up to my discretion.
The basic questions students ask is why is this important to me? If the information seems outdated and irrelevant to their life they won’t engage with the material or enter into inquiry type thinking.
I believe strongly in quality versus quantity, taking time to dive into topics of worth and asking students to respond by producing quality reflections. I understand that in classrooms teachers don’t have time to polish each writing piece but as often as possible students should be encourage displaying their work online.
Social networking has exploded all across the globe, why because it is engaging and interactive. Students need to ‘buy into’ what the subject matter that the teachers are presenting. Using technology is a good medium for students to access knowledge, publish their work and communicate with other students (via skype, twitter, or wiki.) Teachers just need to change their mindset; it is the same skills manifested in different forms other than paper and pencil. Helps foster inquiry initiatives.
The most important feature is that students are intrinsically motivated to facilitate their own learning. The more engaged there are in the online community the more they will be willing to extend their learning beyond the requirement level.
The teachers passion for learning needs to spill onto the students. You want to create a ‘love affair of learning’ for your students.
The pivotal question I asked myself when choosing the career path as an educator. Was “will I be an engaging teacher who makes it my daily goal to have students excited about learning?”
I’ve had plenty of teachers from either end of the spectrum. I’ve obtained enough rote worksheets to fill 3 cabinets. But the moments I remember and are most fond of are when we were able to be active in our learning. We were allowed to get out of our seats and see the impacts of reaching out into our community (community projects.) Or that social studies teacher that allowed us to do a live depiction of ‘trench warfare.’ Engagement = resonating memories that last beyond when the students leave your classroom.
"It's Summer" Image captured: by Dia