A Matter of Engagement:The Important Role of Student

Involvementby Deborah Coxwell-Teague

What do we mean when we use the term student engagement?

College teachers tend to describe student engagement in one of two ways. The first is with statements like “Engaged students really care about what they’re learning; they want to learn” or “When students are engaged, they exceed expectations and go beyond what is required” or “The words that describe student engagement to me are passion and excitement” (Barkley, 2009). These phrases reflect a view of engagement rooted in motivation. (5)

The etymological roots of the word engagement offer clues to this perspective. “Engage” comes from Middle English and its multiple meanings include pledging one’s life and honor and charming or fascinating someone so that he or she becomes an ally. Both meanings resonate with teachers’ motivation-based view of student engagement: we want students to share our enthusiasm for our academic discipline and find our courses so compelling that they willingly, in fact enthusiastically, devote their hearts and minds to the learning process. (5)

The second way many college teachers describe student engagement is with statements like “Engaged students are trying to make meaning of what they are learning” or “Engaged students are involved in the academic task at hand and are using higher-order thinking skills such as analyzing information or solving problems” (Barkley, 2009). These teachers are relating engagement to active learning. They recognize that learning is a dynamic process that consists of making sense and meaning out of new information by connecting it to what is already known. (5)

What are the qualities of engaging teachers?

Engaging teachers—. . . share a contagious enthusiasm for the subjects they teach. They do so because their teaching emerges from the passions of their lives. Caring so much about the particular studies to which they are committed, they work to keep informed, to learn more, to master their subjects better, and, whenever possible, to advance the state of the art in their fields. (Roth 226-27)

Roth’s study led him to conclude that engaging teachers— “. . . do not regard teaching and research as two separate activities. One

informs the other” (227). “. . . challenge their students—and themselves—with high expectations, and

then they collaborate with their students to fulfill them. . . . They keep looking for ways to motivate and encourage students—the weak as well as the strong, the uninspired as well as the dedicated—and to extend their goals” (227).

“. . . share the conviction that it is vitally important to know their students personally. They work to gain such knowledge—it includes basic items such as knowing the students’ names—because such awareness enables them to teach their students more effectively” (227).

“. . . are organized; they focus their concentration. While keeping their inquiries open-ended and their teaching flexible, they map where they are going. Often those journeys are intentionally risk-filled, and to reduce the chances of wasted time and energy, these teachers plan as carefully as they can” (228).

“. . . are vigilant about change—from the technological and theoretical to the social and spiritual—that must be acknowledged and embraced if they and their students are to be the lifelong learners that a civilized and well-governed world needs. . . . Outstanding teachers pay attention” (228-229).

In his article, “Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants,” which was published quite a while back—in 2001—Prensky claims that “Today’s average college grads have spent less than 5,000 hours of their lives reading, but over 10,000 hours playing video games (not to mention 20,000 hours watching TV)” (1).

Molly Daniel, a promising scholar and one of our PhD students, makes extensive use of Twitter in her FYC courses. Molly says that she “. . . incorporates Twitter into class discussion with a hybrid style of responding digitally as well as face-to-face.” She goes on to say that . . . in addition to using Twitter in class discussions, I teach students a balanced approach to using social media with careful attention to the personal and the professional, which results in potential for networking with scholars they read, professions they are interested in, and interaction with global communities.

“My composition pedagogy focuses on the limitations and affordances of different modes, genres, and media.” Logan goes on to say: “In possession of that theoretical foundation, students are then able to compose with/within whatever materials they choose, which are typically digital as they are digital natives.”

What tips and strategies can I use in my classroom to engage my students in their own learning?

Tips and strategies we can use in our classrooms to engage our students in their own learning:

“Use praise and criticism effectively” (83). “Expect students to succeed” (91). “Try to rebuild the confidence of discouraged and disengaged students” (92). “Move away from an authoritarian role” (110). “Promote class civility” (111). “Create an environment that supports community” (112). “Reduce anonymity: Learn students’ names and help students learn each other’s

names” (112). “Use technology to extend or reinforce community” (120). “Involve all students in discussion” (122). “Use group work effectively” (124).

(From Elizabeth F. Barkley’s Student Engagement Techniques: A Handbook for College Faculty. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2010.)

Make time for individual conferences with students in our composition courses.

Please send us— stories of engaging teachers who played a

role in making you the person you are today; qualities of engaging teachers that came to

your mind during the webinar—qualities I didn’t bring up or maybe qualities I mentioned that you want to elaborate on;

tips and strategies we can use to engage our students in their own learning that you like to add to our list.

Works Cited 

Alexander, Jonathan. “Gaming, Student Literacies, and the Composition Classroom: Some Possibilities for Transformation.” College Composition and Communication 61:1 (2009): 35-63. Print.Barkley, Elizabeth. Student Engagement Techniques: A Handbook for College Faculty. San Francisco: Jossie-Bass, 2010. Print.Bearden, Logan. Email Interview. 2 March 2015. Web.Daniel, Molly. Email interview. 2 March 2015. Web.Prensky, Marc. “Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants.” On the Horizon Vol. 6. Bradford: MCB University Press, 2001. Web.Roth, John. Inspiring Teaching: Carnegie Professors of the Year Speak. Bolton: Anker Publishing Co., 1997. Print.Yancey, Kathleen Blake. “Made Not Only in Words: Composition in a New Key.” College Composition and Communication 56.2 (2004): 297-328. Print.