In today’s modern environment, educators have their work cut out for them, from staying on top of adaptive learning technologies to navigating new student requirements. But one of the most crucial concerns for educators today is student engagement.
While most educators recognize that student engagement is critical to their mission, there are many signs that this is becoming more difficult to achieve. This article briefly outlines the changing picture of student engagement and offers some tips for dealing with it.
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A growing disconnect
Numerous surveys indicate the greater fragility of student engagement in recent years.
- It was already softening before the pandemic. Thus, the so-called “school cliff” was already entrenched, where engagement seemed to decline steeply as students got older.
- The pandemic had an eroding effect. A 2021 survey found that fifty% of students felt less motivated than before the pandemic (87% of teachers agreed that it had negatively impacted student motivation).
- And engagement levels have not picked up. According to a study by Kahoot!, 59% of teachers surveyed in 2022 felt students were even less motivated.
There will be large variations (among ages, subjects, and settings, for example) in these general findings. But the big picture seems clear: There is a significant disconnect between many students and their learning.
Of course, this disconnect is not exclusive to students and the education sector. Companies try to engage disenfranchised customers with unique business gifts (some of which can be a good way to engage higher education students), social media is all about engaging those who feel disconnected from the real world. There is a general feeling of disconnection across all age groups.
Why the disconnect?
The pandemic had a visible and transcendental impact, which seems to be rumbling one way or another. But there is a wide variety of other factors and issues at play, a detailed assessment of which is certainly beyond the scope of this short article.
It is a question that every educator should consider in their particular environment. What broader changes in student behavior and experiences may be affecting their engagement? What role might broader economic, cultural and technological forces play?
Whatever the causes, most educators agree that connection is crucial to achieving positive results. For example, in a 2021 survey of K1-12 educators, 92% he saw engagement as the primary driver of student success.
There are also reasons to be positive. During the pandemic, educators have discovered powerful tools to support their work and are eager to continue using them. Take for example the sophisticated lecture and class presentation tools now available and more familiar to educators. These make it easy to share engaging content and communicate (especially if compare to apps like magicJackwhich set the standard for such things earlier).
improve engagement
Just as the challenges depend on the context, so are the solutions. However, many general ideas can help educators improve the connectivity of their students.
1. Constantly feed your “containment”
In 1970, the educational theorist jacob kounin He stated that positive classroom experiences depend on the behavior of teachers, even more than on the behavior of students. In fact, the former largely decides the latter: a student’s learning experiences and outcomes are directly related to the teacher’s approach.
Although decades old, this fundamental idea is still highly influential and relevant. A key characteristic of successful teachers that he established was the “witness.” a teacher with that knows what is going on in your class and, most importantly, also perceived by students to do so.
Stay highly connected with your students, anticipating their needs and difficulties. For example, students should be very clear about the expectations for the lesson, whether they are behavioral, academic, or motivational. They know that your commitment to learning is important. The teacher will quickly address and diagnose problems.
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2. Offers achievable difficulty
One of the biggest losses of student engagement is learning that is too easy or too hard, that does not meet the needs of the learner. This can often lead to a general student feeling of boredom with their learning: “It’s just boring!”
Learning needs to be at the right level: difficult enough to be challenging (giving students a sense of progress with their learning) but accessible enough to be achievable. Students need to experience not only success but also progress.
In recent years, cognitive load theory (CLT) has offered more information. It can help educators understand how our brains store information, particularly how short-term ‘working memory’ (critical to learning) works. Educators can focus their teaching and activities to get students into an appropriate zone of challenge, difficult for them but not also difficult.
3. Foster collaboration
Engage students in the classroom it means making them active participants in a lesson. Students must have the opportunity to work together on assignments.
When carried out in a very deliberate way, with close supervision by the teacher, such Collaborative learning it can yield many benefits. It can promote higher thinking skills, increase self-confidence, build friendships, and nurture social skills. And, while doing those things, you can also increase engagement.
By connecting students with purpose, an innovative teacher can better connect them to the learning at hand. Try to get all students to participate; there are many brainstorming techniques to empower everyone to feel valued, for example.
4. Engage students more broadly
Student feedback can spark ideas about what helps them learn. For example, a survey showed that 61% of students felt they learned better when “fun” activities were used. But what exactly could that mean in your lessons, with your students? Maybe use surveys to get feedback on what works.
Giving students more responsibility for their learning can also help. According to the Kahoot! survey, 7 out of 10 educators felt that students remember more when given a choice of activity. And the next step may be to encourage students to keep reflecting on their progress. How successful were they? Are they ready to move on or do they need more input at that level?
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5. Use technology
Technology had already become an everyday part of education long before the pandemic, with many educators using tools like master schedule software to make administrative tasks more efficient and productive. But Covid certainly increased the role of technology.
Overnight, face-to-face lessons were replaced by remote learning, and a wide range of new tools were introduced to support this. Educators found themselves becoming familiar with the conferencing software and business phone systems.
For many educators, remote instruction, or at least a hybrid model, is still a part of life. And even for those who are now predominantly returning to a class-based model, the new tools and approaches adopted can improve teaching.
- Homework and assignments can be managed through online portals, granting visibility and ownership.
- Live instructions or video tutorials can be provided – an additional support library.
- Online platforms provide personalized learning, using AI to adjust to an individual’s needs. The use of gamification can make these especially motivating.
- Instead of printed books, a ebook It can be used to engage students in the classroom and encourage discussion points and interactive games and questions.
When used appropriatelysuch TechEd can help connect students more deeply with their learning.
Creating commitment takes effort
While many tools can help, there is no magic bullet that will reinvigorate disengaged students. It requires a high expectation that learners will stay connected and then a relentless drive to ensure that that happens. However, achieving this, and fostering a student’s enthusiasm for learning from her, is one of the most impactful things a teacher can do.
