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Engagement vs. Compliance

By Sandie Lahr

Are your students really engaged in their learning, or are your students just plain compliant? What is the difference between engagement and compliance?

Students respond to your class activities and tasks on five different levels.

Reflect upon the activities and tasks your students do in your classes. At what level are your students? There are two factors that indicate whether a student is compliant or engaged, and they are commitment and attention.

What is the difference then between engagement and compliance?

Engaged Learning Environments include:

• High attention and commitment

• Intrinsic motivation

• Desire to actively learn, create, and contribute to the experience.

Compliant Learning Environments include:

• Some levels of attention and commitment are forced by extrinsic factors:

  • Grades

  • Tickets

  • Rewards

  • Quiz tomorrow.

How exactly do we get our students engaged in learning, instead of simply compliant? It really comes down to what we value. There are four ways to demonstrate our focus on learning. One way, we have to celebrate, look for, and assess learning (not compliance). Another way, we have to support learning (not compliance). A third way, We have to make time for learning (even when it goes against compliance). A final way, we have to allow for learning (in the face of compliance).

We have to shift our focus to show that we value learning over compliance. We must continually ask ourselves, “ Is this __________________(fill in the blank with assignment, task, activity, assessment) focused on learning or compliance?”