How are we to promote real engagement?

I have been a student for many years now, and I will be the first to say— I can fake engagement. As a teacher it is my responsibility to get to the bottom of these myths that suggest you can see students engagement, their test scores prove their engaged, engagement = fun. These examples are just a small few to the many myths that exist.

I am a firm believer, after my TA experience at Palmer elementary, that true engagement comes from relating lessons to real life situations. If a student can put themselves in the lesson and create connections between new information to other experiences, the engagement will continue to be natural. This is just one way to help provide a more raw type of engagement.

In the article, Are Your Students Engaged? Don't Be So Sure., by MindShift discusses some of the major myths that are associated with student engagement. Is disengagement paid close enough attention to? How are we suppose to make certain that students maintain their engagement? In a study that was published at the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Michigan, that engagement is promoted through choice, relevance, etc. Within these two articles there is talk about how school community and environment helps to bring the engagement into the classroom, and more importantly into the students. Technology is also a useful tool that can provide engagement within the two: classroom and student.

Work Cited:

MindShift. "Are Your Students Engaged? Don’t Be So Sure." MindShift. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 May 2017.

School context, achievement motivation, and academic engagement: A longitudinal study of school engagement using a multidimensional perspective. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 May 2017.

Frondeville, Tristan De. "How to Keep Kids Engaged in Class." Edutopia. N.p., 03 Aug. 2009. Web. 21 May 2017.