Creating Spaces that Encourage Student Engagement(1) (2)
When researching concepts like student engagement, people seem naturally biased. It is for just this reason that gauging student engagement has such a heavy emphasis placed on physical evidence. “Meaningful student involvement is propelled by students and creates opportunities for students to initiate […]” (Fletcher, 2005) With the concept of bringing students along as partners in the classroom, I decided one day to simply ask the students what motivates them and what gets them engaged in the classroom.
This idea was borne out of my desire to: (A) see if how I naturally, teach, which is very discussion based, best engages students and (B) if that’s not the case, find out what does motivate them to genuinely engage in class. The feedback I received was very diverse. Some students enjoyed projects while others enjoyed debates. Some students engaged in politics while others engaged in topics that related to personal rights. I looked over the surveys I handed out multiple times and as different as they are, they all share a common idea; evidence of student engagement, as a common thread, provides areas for students to express themselves. When a safe environment is created for students, they are afforded the experience of truly expressing who they are as individuals. Then, and only then, will a student access and draw from his/her funds of knowledge and share them, resulting in an enriching experience for all present, including the teacher.
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How does an educator do this all the time? The answer, as simple as it sounds is equally as hard to execute; knowing how to assess genuine student engagement is only possible when the student is placed above the content. What this means practically is that an educator's role is to teach students, not subjects. This is what a co-constructive class is; a class that involves the students as educators themselves, partnering to create environments that support and foster genuine engagement and learning. Because every student is different, only through building relationships with students can an educator truly know what the evidence of engagement really is.
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