Learner Engagement

What do you think?

  • What’s wrong with the way teachers learn about student engagement?
  • Who are actually the master teachers and master storytellers?
  • Where are the spaces that these master teachers could learn about engaging people?
  • How does the preacher engage the audience?

Content and theories with the absence of the ____________ of teaching and learning means nothing.

  • How (do you/) does he recommend trainee teachers learn about engagement?
  • What body language and gestures could help engage learners?
Engagement TED.mp4

Learner Engagement at TED

Have a listen to Christopher Emdin talk about the true masters of engagement and how we should be modelling learner engagement in the classroom from them.

Intellectual Engagement

  • Curiosity
  • Student’s own project
  • Student’s choice
  • Chunking information with interaction or active segments

How do the masters of engagement engage intellectually?


What could you adopt in your classroom?


Emotional Engagement

  • Monitor students’ moods
  • Stop students from dropping out
  • Minimise negative behaviours
  • Grabbing attention
  • Refocusing students

How do the masters of engagement engage emotionally?


What could you adopt in your classroom?


Behavioural Engagement

  • Cues and gestures (expecting certain behaviour or refocusing on task)
  • Variation in activities
  • Pause in speech for students to fill in the gap
  • Known routines (that elicit student behaviour)

How do the masters of engagement engage behaviourally?


What could you adopt in your classroom?


Physical Engagement

  • Eliciting physical movement from the students
  • Active student participation through speaking, body movement and/or writing

How do the masters of engagement engage physically?


What could you adopt in your classroom?


Engagement short.mp4

Rapper Engagement

How do they engage...

  • Intellectually?
  • Emotionally?
  • Behaviourally?
  • Physically?