On Twitter this weekend, I got involved in a brief discussion about student "engagement". Here's the conversation:
I think the word "engagement" is one of those in education, like "rigor", that everyone thinks they understand, but nobody can precisely define in a way that everyone would agree with. In the conversation above, @punk_rock_prek, @joetabhistory, Jen Hegna, and Lisa Paisley each provided a part of a definition. I definitely think "engagement" includes the concept of self-driven enthusiasm mentioned by @punk_rock_prek; but then I think his replies veer off into a description of "passion" rather than "engagement". Is it not possible for a student to be "engaged" in a task that they are not passionate about?
Then @joetabhistory hits on what I think is the most common use of the word "engagement" among teachers, as a synonym for "focus" or "attention". I suspect this is the idea that most teachers and administrators have when using "engaged": a student who is "engaged" in a task is simply not distracted by anything else. This makes "engagement" a measure of compliance, not true learning.
The edglossary.org definition referenced by Jen Hegna mentions "attention", but also includes "curiosity" and "interest". What resonates with me in this definition, however, is the idea that "engagement" affects the level of student motivation to learn and progress. Lisa Paisley's definition also includes this factor: "desire to learn more". This, to me, is getting closer to what educators should be looking for in "engagement". It's what Seymour Sarason described as "productive learning".
I have come to Sarason's ideas through the writing of Will Richardson. He describes Sarason's concept of "productive learning" in his IASB keynote address from 2014:
I think the word "engagement" is one of those in education, like "rigor", that everyone thinks they understand, but nobody can precisely define in a way that everyone would agree with. In the conversation above, @punk_rock_prek, @joetabhistory, Jen Hegna, and Lisa Paisley each provided a part of a definition. I definitely think "engagement" includes the concept of self-driven enthusiasm mentioned by @punk_rock_prek; but then I think his replies veer off into a description of "passion" rather than "engagement". Is it not possible for a student to be "engaged" in a task that they are not passionate about?
Then @joetabhistory hits on what I think is the most common use of the word "engagement" among teachers, as a synonym for "focus" or "attention". I suspect this is the idea that most teachers and administrators have when using "engaged": a student who is "engaged" in a task is simply not distracted by anything else. This makes "engagement" a measure of compliance, not true learning.
The edglossary.org definition referenced by Jen Hegna mentions "attention", but also includes "curiosity" and "interest". What resonates with me in this definition, however, is the idea that "engagement" affects the level of student motivation to learn and progress. Lisa Paisley's definition also includes this factor: "desire to learn more". This, to me, is getting closer to what educators should be looking for in "engagement". It's what Seymour Sarason described as "productive learning".
I have come to Sarason's ideas through the writing of Will Richardson. He describes Sarason's concept of "productive learning" in his IASB keynote address from 2014:
Productive learning is where the process engenders and reinforces wanting to learn more. Absent wanting to learn, the learning context is unproductive.He also has written multiple times about Sarason on his blog at willrichardson.com. For me, "productive learning" comes closest to what I imagine when I think of a student truly "engaged" in a task. They are not just doing the task to be compliant; they are truly interested in the task and want to do more and learn more.
I suspect this is the idea that most teachers and administrators have when using "engaged": a student who is "engaged" in a task is simply not distracted by anything else. This makes "engagement" a measure of compliance, not true learning.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite quote. I mind myself relearning stuff I should have learned in HS now as an adult, like Americans history, because I have discovered a reason to care about it. Why the heck did I need to memorize all those dates??? Who cares? Sometimes I think we overcompliment what we require of high school graduates. But that is a longer conversation...