The importance of

Engaging Students
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Objectives

✓ Define Engagement and Authentic engagement

✓ Explore 3 Dimensions of Student Engagement

✓ Generalize the importance of an Engaged Learning

Environment

✓ Construct an Engaged Learning Environment by

integrating active learning strategies and techniques
 3

Defining Student
Engagement
 4

What is
Engagement?
“Active participation and involvement in
learning activities”
(Mercer and Dörnyei, 2020. p. 2)
 5

Authentic Engagement
Motivation Affect
Motivationally engaged? Affectively engaged?

Cognition Action
Cognitively engaged? Active?
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No engagement, no learning
 7

G lobal pandemic & lockdown – Emotional strain and

Think about trauma

S hared access to wifi and devices in one home

your current C ognitive overload, ability to concentrate for longer

contexts periods, attention

Greater equity discrepancias than in regular classes

T eachers learning by doing with digital teaching tools
 8

Model of learner
engagement
(Mercer and Dörnyei, 2020)

Willingness to Maintain
engage Trigger engagement
engagement
 I can do this

• Make progress visible – Break down goals

• Teach how to learn in new context – My teacher cares about me and my
Better still they teach each other learning

• Build in choice and Voice – Autonomy • Go beyong the subject learning –

within structure Strenghten personal connection
• Opportunity for self-disclosure – Be
authentically you
I feel safe and belong in this group
• Use feedback for individual chatter – Use
• 3 Rs – Rules, roles, routines (Habit & of emojis
online etiquette)
• Foster sense of ‘us’ - Shared experiences
• Maximize collaborative tasks – Study
buddies / mix breakout

A facilitative mindset: I can do this

Positive Student-Teacher rapport: My teacher cares about me and my learning
Positive Groups dynamics: I feel safe and belong in this group
 The most important instructional
resource will ALWAYS be the Teacher.
Not the technology, activities or
programs. THE TEACHER!
Tom Loud
School Founder and Director
Trigger engagement
Get them active Get them curious
• Keep instructions and • Have learners predict, ask
tasks simple – less is more questions
• Quick active starts – Quiz, • Pose questions, puzzles,
word cloud, polls, etc. mysteries
• Get kinaesthetic – Simon • Use attractive visuals,
says, mirroring etc. teasers, cliffhangers
Foreground relevance
• Help them to see the ‘why’
of tasks
• Give chance to bring in their
‘real’ life
• No one-size-fits-all – Let
them adapt
 Maintain engagement
Keep them active
• Keep up the pace –
Attention spans shorter still
online – Less is more
• Make action visible – Think
about output in diverse
media formats (vary)
• Make progress visible (e.g.,
progress bars in Moodle,
Excel or Checklist
Chunk the lessons Have fun!
• Plan lesson in bite-sized • Online teaching is not
pieces – Mosaic mode online admin!
• Critical brain breaks – • You should both have fun –
Refresh mode Play games!
• Use islands online – Non- • Enjoy the alternative space
sequential, autonomous to try teaching approaches!
mode
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The 3 dimensions of students engagement

Emotional Behavioral Cognitive

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The importance of an Engaged

Learning Environment
 15

Research has shown that an

engaged learning environment
increases students’ attention
and focus, promotes meaningful
learning experiences,
encourages higher levels of
student performance, and
motivates students to practice
higher-level critical thinking
skills.
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What are the Benefits of an

Engaged Learning
Environment?
 17

An engaged learning environment

▪ Increases student interaction with peers and teachers

▪ Provides students with frequent feedback

▪ Requires increased time, effort, and investment for tasks
▪ Offers students the opportunity to apply their learning in
other situations
▪ Gives the opportunity to experience diversity
 18

What Makes an Engaged

Learning Environment?
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The two main components of engaged learning are

Student Motivation Active Learning

20
 21

Engaging teaching is

CLARA
 22

C Challenging

L Learner-centered

A Active

R Relevant / Valuable

A Autonomy-rich
 23

8
Active Learning Strategies & Techniques
 24

The Techniques

Reciprocal Questioning Three-Step Interviews

Create an open dialogue in which Encourage students to develop
students take on the role of the active listening skills by quizzing
teacher and generate their own one another, sharing their
questions about a topic, reading thoughts, and taking notes.
section, or lesson.

Intersperse strategic pauses into Ask students to write notes on

your class lectures to enhance
students' understanding
teaching materials.
The Pause Procedure
the most unclear or most
of confusing element of a given
homework assignment, lecture,
or class discussion.
The Muddiest Point
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The Techniques

Devil’s Advocate Peer Teaching Activities

Ask one or more students to take Deploy a range of strategies that
the opposing side of a have students instruct skills or
predominant argument or point explain concepts to classmates.
of view being discussed during a
lesson.

Use specialized games to add depth Encourage students to actively

and differentiation to the listen to selected speakers who
educational process, helping
follow a pattern of guiding class
students to achieve their learning
objectives.
discussion and summarizing
previous points.
Game-based Learning Platforms Rotating Group Discussions
26
 27

Golden Rules for Engaging Students in Learning Activities

Six factors to consider in designing lessons to help increase student
engagement behaviorally, emotionally, and cognitively..

Fredricks, Reeve, Jang,

Schunk & Mullen,
Blumenfeld, & Carrell, Jeon &
2012
Paris, 2004 Barch, 2004

Wentzel, 2009; Deci Anderman &

Scales, 1991
& Ryan, 2000 Patrick, 2012
 28

Make it Meaningful
o Connecting them with
students' previous knowledge
and experiences.

o Highlighting the value of an

assigned activity in personally
relevant ways.

o Expert modeling can help to

demonstrate why an individual
activity is worth pursuing, and
when and how it is used in real
life.
 29

Foster a sense of
o Being only slightly beyond students'
current levels of proficiency.
competence

o Making students demonstrate

understanding throughout the activity.

o Showing peer coping models (i.e.

students who struggle but eventually
succeed at the activity) and peer
mastery models (i.e. students who try
and succeed at the activity).

o Including feedback that helps students

to make progress.
 30

Provide autonomy
o Welcoming students' opinions
and ideas into the flow of the
support
activity,

o Using informational, non-

controlling language with
students,

o Giving students the time, they

need to understand and absorb
an activity by themselves.
 31

o Making group work more productive, Embrace collaborative

strategies can be implemented to ensure
learning
that students know how to communicate
and behave in that setting.

o Teacher modeling is one effective method

(the teacher shows how collaboration is
done), while avoiding homogeneous groups
and grouping by ability.

o Fostering individual accountability by

assigning different roles and evaluating both
the student and the group performance.
 32

Establish positive
o Caring about students' social and
emotional needs.
Teacher-student
relationships
o Displaying positive attitudes and
enthusiasm.

o Increasing one-on-one time with

students.

o Treating students fairly.

o Avoiding deception or promise-

breaking.
 33

Promote mastery
o Framing success in terms of orientations
learning (criterion-referenced)
rather than performing Teacher
modeling (obtaining a good grade).

o Placing the emphasis on individual

progress by reducing social
comparison (making grades
private).

o Recognizing student improvement

and effort.
34
Quick Tips for Getting Started with Active Learning
Assess the needs of the class Design the activity
1. What topics or ideas do 1. Prepare a timeline to help
students struggle with most in you manage the activity. Will it
your course? take place in the classroom?
How long will it last? What
2. What data or information will
instructions will students need
help you understand what
to participate in the activity?
students are learning?
2. Establish ground rules for
3. Which active learning
the activity. How should
strategies will provide this data,
students interact with each
and ultimately help your
other? What are they expected
students meet their learning
to do during the activity?
objectives?
35
Evaluate the activity
1. Consider any roadblocks or
challenges that you and your
students experienced in carrying
out the activity. How might these
be overcome?
2. Elicit feedback from students
on whether or not the activity
assisted in their learning. Did they
find the activity helpful?
3. Assess the usefulness of the
information the activity provided
you. Did the students improve
their understanding of the topic
or concept? Can you use data
from the activity to make further
improvements to future activities
or instruction in general?
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Thank you!

Operación Académica 2021

Supported by Sarah Mercer’s insights