Definition of student engagement

Students’ engagement has been considered fundamental for their achievement and learning progress. There is a long history of research on the relevance of academic engaged time for improving student achievement (Fisher & Berliner, 1985).

However, engagement has long been viewed as more than academic engaged time.

Engagement is viewed as multidimensional, involving aspects of students’ emotions, behaviours, and cognition (Fredricks, Blumenfeld, & Paris, 2004).

Emotions

Emotions function to trigger and facilitate impulses for specific actions. Thus, they play a role in initiating behaviours.

Engaged students want to learn, and show interest and enthusiasm in achieving their learning goals.

The words that describe them are “passion and excitement” (Barkley, 2009).

So, engaged students are motivated students; their desire or disposition to succeed leads to their engagement.

Motivation is thus a precursor of engagement rather than a part of it.

But, does students’ motivation necessarily result in their engagement and learning?

Having motivated students in our classes is great, but not sufficient for engagement” (Appleton et al. 2006, p. 428).

Students’ motivation may not always translate into actually initiating and sustaining behaviour. This depends on the student’s personality, teacher’s role, content, introduced tasks, classroom atmosphere including peers’ relationships, and other factors.

So, we should not expect all motivated students to engage with our content. Instead, we should consider how we approach that content to instil such behaviour.

Behaviours

In the classroom, students exhibit different learning behaviours and attitudes. We see those who always participate, raise relevant questions, initiate, and more. Others barely say a word in class or seem not interested even in attending (not to mention those who rarely show up).

So, our observations can help us distinguish the engaged students from the disengaged.

Engaged students actively and voluntarily participate in learning activities. That kind of engagement is constructive as their contribution is valuable to the teaching-learning process.

So, they do not just answer your questions or address theirs, but they think, initiate, share their ideas, cooperate with their peers, take on challenging tasks, communicate their interests and needs, etc.

As a teacher, you feel that these students are a great help; they add a lot to the teaching process.

In my classes, there are even times when those engaged students remind me of what I should say/do in class through their constructive interaction and intervention. They also inspire me to think more creatively in my teaching and improvise.

Observable behaviours that characterize students’ engagement are not exclusively related to the academic work of the classroom. They include as well their involvement in school-related activities, such as academics, sports, band, student government, and extracurricular.

Cognition

Because learning is a dynamic process that consists of making sense and meaning out of new information by connecting it to prior knowledge, the more students’ abilities are stretched and challenged the more they are engaged in learning.

Research evidence suggests that students rated classes that challenged them as being more engaging (Newmann, 1992).

Indeed, an engaged student actively examines, questions, and connects new and old ideas, achieving long-term deep learning.

Csikszentmihalyi (1988) describes the ultimate cognitive engagement as a state of “flow,” in which people are so intensely attentive to the task at hand that they lose awareness of time and space.

Therefore, if we want to achieve that deep engagement in our classes we should focus more on active learning where students’ minds are actively engaged.

To conclude, student engagement in learning is not about reciting information, answering yes/no questions, or a controlled task. It is not attending classes and getting involved in tasks for the sake of compliance, pleasing others, or seeking a high grade.

Instead, engagement is about connection with the content of the task, interest, and excitement to find out more beyond the classroom context. (emotional engagement)

It is not only a matter of observable behaviours (looking for assistance, completing work, etc.) and energy in action (behavioural engagement).

But it also includes mental or cognitive behaviours such as thinking critically to overcome the challenge, questioning one’s assumptions and beliefs, analyzing and evaluating information, and solving problems. (cognitive engagement)

These aspects of engagement (emotional, behaviour, and cognitive) are all necessary for students learning and growth.

References

Appleton, J. J., Christenson, S. L., Kim, D., & Reschly, A. L. (2006). Measuring cognitive and psychological engagement: Validation of the Student Engagement Instrument. Journal of School Psychology, 44, 427–445.

Barkley, E. F. (2009). Teachers talk Perspectives on student engagement. Web page on Student Engagement Techniques.

Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1988). The flow experience and its significance for human psychology. In M. Csikszentmihalyi and I. Csikszentmihalyi (Eds.), Optimal experience (pp. 15-35). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Fisher, C. W., & Berliner, D. C. (1985). Perspectives on instructional time. New York: Longman.

Fredricks, J. A., Blumenfeld, P. C., & Paris, A. H. (2004). School engagement: Potential of the concept, state of the evidence. Review of Educational Research, 74 (1), 59–109.

Ladd, G. W., Birch, S. H., & Buhs, E. S. (1999). Children’s social and scholastic lives in kindergarten: Related spheres of influence? Child Development, 70, 1373–1400.

Newmann, F. (1992). Student engagement and achievement in American secondary schools. New York: Teachers College Press.

Shulman, L. S. (2002). Making differences: A table of learning. Change 34(6): 36–44. Retrieved from The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching (Publications) at http://www.carnegiefoundation.org/publications/sub.asp? key=452&subkey=612