Engagement

Engagement can be perceived in different ways: Deep Engagement, engagement, active compliance , passive compliance, periodic compliance and resistance.

The 8 C's of Engagement we looked at today were: competition, challenge,curiosity, controversy, choice, creativity, cooperation and connections.

I selected Challenge as an aspect that resonates with me because some students love to face challenges. I am amazed at the extremes individuals go to in order to challenge themselves and the great achievements that people experience due to challenges they are faced with! Research suggests a good example of increasing the level of challenge in a class/ space is to provide tasks at different levels and allow students to select what they feel most capable of completing. (Muska Moston, 1972) In our collaborative space we provide students with opportunities to have choice, however we significantly target the whole group. We could improve this by providing more variety in the levels of activities we provide.
Expectation can enhance this aspect if a culture of expecting excellence exists.

The challenging aspect is of engaging students in challenges is that there are students who find challenges daunting and too difficult. This is where I view it important to allow growth in manageable chunks and with a positive mindset to ensure students perceive they are able to move forward on their learning journey: using intrinsic rewards, setting goals and reflecting on progress along the way.

A good focus for me is to think about: How willing are our students to spend time and energy on learning? What are we doing to drive their time and energy to learn?