Confucius said, " ; I hear, I forget. I see, remember. I do and understand & quot ;. We cannot overemphasize the importance of active student engagement in teaching and learning. According to Maria Montessori, teachers should involve students in the teaching and learning process using the hands-on method. Students should have the opportunity to explore their environment in their way and according to their learning style. Let us see how student engagement Impact learning.
How Does Student Engagement Impact Learning?
Student engagement in the classroom impact in increasing their interest in the learning process, sparks inquisitiveness, and builds cognitive intelligence and critical thinking skills.
Learners should be involved in choosing what and how to learn. The classroom should be a place where a student finds expression, as an avenue where talents and individual gifts can be discovered and harnessed.
What Are The Importance Of Student Engagement In The Classroom?
Student engagement can also be known as student-centered learning. In a student-centered classroom, students can connect to a particular subject area and promote understanding of concepts, unlike the conventional classroom where Students who have only head knowledge read to cram and write exams. The student forgets about the topic altogether.
Education is continuous, whereby students' skills, knowledge, and abilities are impacted until behavior changes. The conventional classroom whereby the teacher is the center of attention has not proven to effect change in students because students get bored out of their minds. They look forward to the lunch break when the teacher can be out of sight. Students learn to pass standardized tests instead of learning to change.
● A student-centered classroom is relatable. It focuses on the lives, activities, and experiences of individual students. A student can feel a sense of belonging in the school, knowing that they are heard and their views are valid. A student-centered classroom builds confidence in students.
● In a student-centered classroom, students learn by discovery and research. Student- centered learning encourages conversation among students, which develops students' social skills and emotional intelligence as they learn to listen to and respect the views of other students and learn from them. Students also learn to become doers and not mere listeners who get bored in a teacher-centered classroom.
● A student-centered classroom builds presentation and communication skills. Students learn to share their views with other people comfortably without the fear of judgment. They know to present their ideas intelligently and fluently.
How To Encourage Student Engagement In The Classroom?
Are you a teacher thinking of engaging your students in the teaching and learning process? Here is how to make your classroom student-centered.
1. See education as continual
Many teachers are afraid of time lapsing in the classroom and want to do as much as possible to cover the topic within the stipulated time. Hence, the teacher adopts the lecture method of delivering the lesson and tries to cover the entire textbook content in a short time. Dear teacher, take a breather and recognize that education does not end in the classroom; it continues outside the class, in the home, and within the family. Give assignments when a topic cannot be covered entirely. Allow students to do some research about issues and concepts. Assignments will lay a foundation for the next lesson.
2. Ask open-ended questions
Open-ended questions are questions that do not have a specific answer. Open-ended questions allow for discussion of views and ideas among the students. Maria Montessori said that teachers should act as classroom directors and not interrupt students' activities. When the teacher asks open-ended questions, they should allow debate and exchange of ideas among students. The discussion will exercise students' critical thinking skills; they can think deeply about scenarios and case studies.
3. Peer engagement
Pair students into groups to discuss case studies and proffer solutions to problems. Peer engagement ensures that every student is engaged in the teaching and learning process; no student will be inactive. Ask students to present what they discussed in their groups and draw a conclusion. The teacher should encourage students to use technological tools like google scholar and Wikipedia. Peer engagement ensures that every student is grounded in a particular topic before moving on to the next, which builds students' research skills.
4. Create a student committee
Students are more comfortable talking to their peers about issues than with their teachers. The school management can consider creating a student committee body that encourages students to speak up on issues regarding their course work and learning environment. The school management should recognize that learning is about the students and consider listening to their plight about the learning environment and fashioning it to suit their learning needs.
5. Give positive reinforcements
Reinforcement refers to anything that encourages or strengthens behavior. The teacher should support students in terms of awards, stars, encouraging words, and the likes. Reinforcement will encourage other students to participate fully in classroom activities. Reinforcement will also build the enthusiasm and self-esteem of students within and outside the classroom environment.
Conclusion
Students are the reason for a classroom. Every student should have a chance to express themselves in a safe environment free from bias or judgment. The classroom should be a place to build life skills and harness talent and gifting. The classroom must be an enabling environment where students can find expression. When students are actively engaged in learning, even the teacher finds their job easy to do.
Frequently asked questions.
1. What is student engagement?
In simple terms, student engagement involves channeling the individual student's energy, gifting, skills, and capability to the teaching and learning process to enhance learning within and outside the classroom environment.
2. What factors affect student engagement in learning?
– Environmental factors: The school environment must be prepared to accommodate every student's individual needs and capabilities.
– The educator factor: The educator must be able to take the back seat and allow for student leadership. The student, not the curriculum, should determine how they will learn a particular concept.
3. What are the benefits of student engagement?
– Leadership skills
– Communication skills
– Emotional intelligence
– Higher retention rate
– Problem-solving skills.
