Student Engagement

We have been talking about student engagement and challenging ourselves to really think about whether our students are engaged in their learning. It is a timely module, as we begin to ask ourselves what teaching and learning will look like at 2015. The table below provides great discussion starters.

Relevance	Address the “Why should I do this?” question. Learners will engage more readily when the purpose and application of a problem has relevance to them and their context.
Challenge	There needs to be a genuine level of challenge in the learning activity - enough to 'stretch' the learner(s) and force them to engage cognitively. This is covered in more detail further down.
Choice	By this we mean real choice not pseudo choice. This means making sure the choices contribute to the quality of the task. Choices include the nature of the activity, who they work with, how they will present their work etc.
Contribution	It is often said that modern learners must shift from being consumers to being contributors - this is another way of describing the need to develop a culture of participation in all aspects of our teaching and learning.