Bernie Dodge, PhD
San Diego State University
http://webquest.org/workshops/engagement7/
As I have reflected on the school year I have thought about what successes I have had and what goals need to be set for next year. In particular, I have thought about the professional development training and classes I have taught. I think it is easy, particularly when teaching with technology tools, to assume learners will be engaged just because technology is involved. I think it is also easy to assume that teachers will be engaged in professional development training if they have chosen to attend. These are assumptions I cannot afford to make if I want to be an effective teacher. What do I need to do to keep learners engaged in the lessons I am teaching?
Last summer at the ISTE conference in Denver, I attended a session on the very topic of student engagement. In his presentation, Bernie Dodge said, "Engagement is critical. It is a valve that controls how much information gets into the minds of our learners."
So, if engagement is critical, I need to understand more about it. First, what is engagement? Engagement is...
- commitment
- being involved because you want to not because you have to
- true interest
- being utterly tuned in, focused
- asking questions
- interactions
- time flies
- not disrupting
- sitting quietly
- smiling and nodding
Fun--
- thinking critically
- thinking creatively
- remembering
- performing
- presenting
- moving around
- highly challenging tasks
- teacher enthusiasm
- interacting with artifacts, the instructor, or other learners
- sensory rich experiences
- physical activity
- human interest
- lectures are rarely mentioned as "fun"
Often teachers use technology to help lessons be more fun (engaging). In my case, all of my lesson utilize technology. It is important to remember, however, that using technology does not automatically make a lesson engaging. New tools are like visiting a new country -- it's very exciting to take that new trip -- but you've got to remember where you're from. In other words, good, engaging teaching is not about what you can buy from the vendors, it's about remembering what we already know about good teaching. It's not about the technology, it's how you use it.
Engaged learning has to be centered in collaboration and is a combination of constructivist principles and problem-based learning. Engagement is really all about interactions -- not about the tools, but about the interactions between students, people, materials, etc. It's about the topic you're trying to teach and using as much of the brain as possible.
For example, many novice teachers often come in thinking they need to lecture. Some may even create elaborate PowerPoint presentations to go along with their lectures, thinking that adding that technology component will make their lesson engaging. Perhaps their lecture is a little more engaging than it would have been without the PowerPoint, but a presentation alone does not get students interacting. On the other hand, a WebQuest that contains the same information as the lecture mentioned, but causes the students to work, explore, discuss, and answer questions would be very engaging.
Esquire magazine attempted this type of engagement in their Augmented Reality Issue with Robert Downey, Jr. This issue took the magazine to a new level. It allowed readers to interact with the magazine like never before. If Esquire magazine understands that they need to engage their readers in the learning experience, we should too!
Technology tools can be used to enhance learning by increasing engagement if they are used effectively. Consider the same tool being used in different ways:
Scenario 1: Teacher demonstration = low interaction/low engagement
--Scenario 2: Students explore, but the teacher hasn't really asked them to do anything with it
----Scenario 3: Students are asked questions to find answers to
------Scenario 4: The teacher gives a task that requires students to interact with tools and classmates to accomplish
360 Site Ideas:
Take the plot of a novel -- how would it change if it took place in Yemen instead?
Geometry
Architecture
What sites would you want to visit?
Where would you take a photo of your city so people would see the important sites?
Compare/contrast cities
Give a tour of the city, for example as a country report
Tell the story of the people in the picture
How can we measure engagement in our own teaching?
Rate yourself on a scale of 1 to 10. Observe what the teacher is doing, then what the students are doing. Indicate the kind of thinking required for what they are doing (Bloom's Taxonomy).
Thinking about interactions can help us plan our lessons -- Is there time for student-teacher interaction? Time for student-student interactions? Self reflection?
How can we improve? Ask a friend to watch you teach and watch the interactions.
How do we judge the quality of the interactions the students are having? That is the key. Bloom's taxonomy and the nature of the tasks they are doing the interacting for can help us judge that, but that's what we need to work on.
Links Mentioned During the Session
- Time Lapse of a baby playing. Pure engagement!
- Learning, Motivation & Fun. Videos of 160 stories about engaged learning.
- O’Malley, K. et al, (2003). Validation of an observational instrument for Measuring student engagement in health professions settings. Evaluation & the health professions, 2003, 26; 86.
- Esquire's Augmented Reality Issue. Was on the newstands in December, 2009 and will be in your textbooks soon. Be afraid.
- WebQuest.org - Designed from the start for engagement
- Slate Magazine's News Dots
- 360 Cities: View from a rooftop in Sana'a
- Smithsonian National Postal Museum
- Primary Access - Make stories based on historical images
- Twine - A tool for creating interactive stories
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