Creating Engagement: Difference between revisions

Learning is an active process of constructing knowledge and developing understanding. To aid this process, pupils make meaning by connecting new knowledge and concepts to ideas and knowledge they already possess. It is important, therefore, that teachers help pupils use what they already know to make sense of new knowledge. This can be done through looking at or handling objects, telling stories, drawing concept maps, referring to pupils’ experiences or getting pupils to imagine particular scenes. An advantage of this approach is that pupils’ misunderstandings are often revealed and so corrected.

Challenge is about setting high expectations and then teaching to them so pupils surpass previous levels of achievement. Where learning is insufficiently challenging, pupils can lack stimulation and interest so their level of involvement quickly declines. This is true for all levels of ability. One way teachers create the appropriate level of challenge is by providing learning opportunities which are pitched to avoid, on the one hand, boring repetitive work and, on the other, tasks that are totally beyond pupils’ capability. Pupils with special educational needs, in particular, are sometimes provided with very low-level tasks that lack the appropriate stimulation and challenge. Being given the chance to strive to solve challenging problems and think through issues leads to cognitive development and higher achievement for all pupils.

When pupils work together on a common task they interpret given information, ask questions for clarification, speculate and give reasons. They share their knowledge, ideas and perspectives and arrive at a fuller understanding than they might have done working alone. When pupils work in this way, it exemplifies Vygotsky’s ‘zone of proximal development’, where the assistance of peers helps the development of thought in the individual. The process of cooperative work has been described as ‘talking oneself into understanding’. (Further information about group work can be found in unit 10.)

Metacognition is thinking about thinking. The ability to stand back from a difficult task to consider how it should be done, to monitor one’s progress and priorities and to reflect on successes and weaknesses is critical in becoming a successful learner. Teachers need to give pupils opportunities to plan, monitor and reflect on their work so that they can engage with learning as a process. This is typically done by asking pupils to consider how they will tackle a task or problem or by getting them to reflect on how they have done a task (see unit 2).

Scaffolds are structures that guide and support thinking. Complex tasks such as problem solving and extended writing make great demands on the novice. There are too many things to do at once. Scaffolds help by focusing attention on one thing at a time and providing a prompt, thus reducing the demands on the pupil’s working memory. The pupil can then move on to the next part of the complex task. The intention is always that the support is temporary and that the pupil will progress to working independently over time (see also unit 14).

Some pupils become good, motivated learners; others don’t – and many pupils behave differently in different subjects and with different teachers. These differences arise partly from what the learner brings ''to ''the classroom (in intelligence, background, prior knowledge, attitudes, skills and interests). They are also the result of what the learner experiences ''in ''the classroom. ‘Deep’ and ‘surface’ approaches to learning describe the extremes of learning experience. Deep learning is the consequence of teachers using strategies which accord with the principles of engagement described above (see unit 1).  

When pupils are merely reproducing or memorising given facts and information; accepting ideas and information passively; not being required to look for principles or patterns or to reflect on goals and progress – then they are only engaged in surface learning. The role of the teacher is crucial in engaging pupils in constructive, deep learning.