Student Engagement

Student engagement is the first step in learning. Just because you have a student that follows the rules and makes phenomenal grades, does not mean that the student is engaged in learning. True student engagement has the student processing information at a much deeper level. Student engagement is composed of three domains: behavioral, emotional, and cognitive. View the infographic to learn more about these domains:

Ways to reach your students to improve classroom engagement:

• Let students know you care. Increase the relational capacity by getting a little insight into their lives to encourage students to do their best. Does your student have dreams of being a mechanic? Relate your class to that dream. Have a student participating in baseball? Ask how the game went before class begins. By increasing the emotional engagement in the classroom, behavioral and cognitive motivation will be exponentially increased as well.

• Build the momentum by showing passion for your subject. Make learning real by using manipulatives and relating it to the real world. You have to love what you're teaching for students to want to love it, too. This will increase behavioral, cognitive, and emotional engagement.

• Create hands-on learning activities, using manipulatives when possible. Hands-on activities and manipulatives make learning active and tangible. Students explore concepts by doing, which boosts curiosity, deepens understanding, and makes lessons memorable. This active involvement naturally raises engagement. 

• Make learning real. Plan field trips, invite speakers, complete hands-on projects, and anything else that will make your content more relevant. Build all three levels of engagement by pulling students into relevant learning experiences.

• Provide students with timely feedback and recognize students' efforts. Don't just put a grade in for an assignment, but display it, make comments on it, and write a positive note about it to send home. Celebrate progress. This will increase the emotional and behavioral engagement in your classroom.

• Teach students about the real world. Show them what is out there for them. Introduce them to post-secondary programs and help them with goal-setting. Refer back to this in the classroom, which will, in turn, build cognitive engagement.

• Require students to read, research, and teach. Jigsaw information on a particular topic, have students research it, and then have the students teach that content in their own unique way without having to refer back to their notes. This will increase student concentration, engagement, and retention.

• Provide structured collaborative assignments. Structured collaborative assignments give students clear roles and goals, making participation more inviting and purposeful. Working together sparks discussion, encourages accountability, and taps into peer support, driving engagement up.