Engagement in Learning

1. Engagement in Learning Marian A. Ford EDHE 6050

2. Class Agenda • Engagement Theory • Experimental Learning Theory • Cognitive Apprenticeships/Internships • Study Abroad • Learning Communities • Use of Technology • Discussion • Definitions • List of Activities • Ideas/Comments/Future Planning

3. What is Engagement? Write down a word or short sentence about what you personally need in order to remain engaged in a classroom or engaged in learning.

4. Engagement Theory Defined • The fundamental idea is that students must be meaningfully engaged in learning activities through interaction with others and worthwhile tasks. • Academic challenge • Active and collaborative learning • Student-faculty interaction • Diversity-related experiences • Student models • Higher-order thinking skills • Academic integration • Practical involvement inside and outside the classroom is important to student development. • Social interaction and language • Apprenticeships • Internships • Study abroad programs • Mentorships

5. Experimental Learning Theory • Created by David Kolb • Instructional method with adult learning theory • Four Modes of Learning • Concrete experiences • Reflective observation • Abstract concept making • Active experimenting • Role experiences that play in the learning process contribute to the idea that how much we experience reflects what we learn and what we become engaged in. • Knowledge is acquired and applied by direct participation. • There is a higher understanding of learning. • Role of the explorer is defined.

6. Cognitive Apprenticeship • It is based on cognition theory. • Shared understanding is reached through collaboration of students and instructor. • Apprentices continually evolve with each new situation or occasion of use. • Complex problems are resolved by reasoning with unique models and cases . • Internships match school based learning with practical experience. • Learning is accomplished through physical integration and work-place training. • Coaching and scaffolding are provided as students are immersed in activities. • Modeling allows learners to observe and mimic.

7. Importance of Internships DISCUSSION: Should it be a requirement in a program of study? Does it depend on field or academic level (graduate vs. undergraduate vs. secondary education)?

8. Study Abroad Programs • Immersion of learner in another culture and language • Opportunity to become fully engaged and immersed • Most effective acquisition of language when it is learned for communication in meaningful and significant social situations • Support of Lev Vygotsky’s social learning theory • Indiana University Study • Impact of study abroad on senior-year engagement • Higher levels of engagement in integrative and reflective learning • Stronger personal gains in personal and social development • Enhanced international perspectives • Increase in academic knowledge and levels of cognition

9. Importance of Study Abroad Programs DISCUSSION: Should it be a requirement in a program of study? Does it depend on field or academic level (graduate vs. undergraduate vs. secondary education)? YouTube - Tina Fey German Study Abroad

10. Learning Communities • Formed by people who engage in process of collective learning • Fosters student learning through participation in group and socialized learning • Promotes involvement in academia and social activities outside the classroom • Develops positive behaviors such as increased academic effort and personal and interpersonal development • SURVEY: How many have learning communities in their school?

11. Technology in/out of classroom • Email, online conferencing, web databases, audio and video conferencing • Electronic learning method to foster creativity and communication • Whiteboards in the classroom to help deliver instruction by increasing students’ interaction and also to meet needs of the learners • SURVEY: How many have used whiteboards in their own classroom as an instructor or student? • YouTube - Video case study: Jennings School District

12. NSSE (National Survey of Student Engagement) • Created in 1998 to provide evidence for effectiveness of undergraduate teaching and learning • Its primary activity is to annually survey college students to assess the extent they engage in educational practices associated with high levels of learning and development. • “Students learn more when they are intensely involved in their education and are asked to think about and apply what they are learning in different settings. Collaborating with others in solving problems or mastering difficult material prepares students to deal with the messy, unscripted problems they will encounter daily, both during and after college.”

13. Discussion • Definitions ( what does being engaged mean to you?) • What does it take for you to be engaged? • List of activities throughout tenure in learning • Future planning for the classroom?

14. Useful Websites • http://nsse.iub.edu/ - National Survey of Student Engagement • http://www.ccsse.org/ - Community College Survey of Student Engagement • http://www.taylorprograms.com/ - Dr. Mark Taylor and Generation NeXT