Enhancing Engagement in the Classroom

Mandee Noval, PGY-1 Pharmacy Practice Resident, University of Maryland Medical Center

          When thinking about a successful lesson, student engagement is key. Learning environments are constantly changing and we must consider how this impacts our teaching strategies. In today’s society, current students are now exposed to technology at greater rates than ever before, further increasing the chance of students becoming distracted by outside resources. As an educator, it’s important to understand these potential distractions and try to identify strategies that will encourage students to be more consumed by the lesson and less so by potential distractors. Studies show that the more the students are engaged in a lesson, the higher likelihood that they will understand and retain the information.¹ This begs the seemingly-simple but increasingly thought-provoking question: how do we enhance student engagement?

          As we know, students' interests play a large role in their willingness to participate and their ability to stay focused. Though students should be active in their education process, it is often the educator's mindset and effort that controls the level of student engagement. When trying to assess whether a lesson is likely to be efficacious, one question should always come to mind – can your students “hide”? This issue seems to be increasingly prevalent in group situations, allowing students to do differing degrees of work and not truly assessing whether all participants are comfortable and understanding the information. If at any point in your lesson, a student finds themselves able to sit back and do nothing as others complete their work, your lesson may have sacrificed the engagement element. By focusing on individual accountability and student interest during a lesson, you create an environment where students feel equal and that their opinion matters. Everyone must have a part to do, proving that the task cannot be completed without them. Once you have developed a lesson that everyone must take part in, the engagement will inevitably increase.

          By creating a learning plan focused primarily on student engagement, you want to ensure to provide each student the opportunity to share their ideas or complete a task. Dr. Spencer Kagan, an author and keynote speaker in the field of education and psychology, has a large variety of structures that focus strongly on cooperative learning and engagement. During Dr. Kagan's Cooperative Learning training, he quotes, "Why call on 1 or 2 when you can call on everyone?".^2,3 This may be exemplified by having students talk to other classmates around them before the teacher calls on one or two to share. By allowing students to first have time to think about their answer on their own and then encouraging them to share their thought process with their peers, we’re encouraging student engagement. This approach to teaching allows for all students' ideas to be heard and ensures that each student must develop their own response. When working in a group, each person could be responsible for developing their own idea before being asked to complete the task.^1-3 It may then go a step further by assigning each group member a specific portion of the task to be completed before another member can complete their task. By holding student’s accountable and delegating specific tasks, students are less likely to be “left behind” and educators are more likely to identify potential knowledge gaps.

The key factor to remember when trying to enhance classroom engagement is to think about whether a classroom activity allows students the chance to “hide”. If you find this is a frequent occurrence in the classroom, cooperative learning strategies may be employed and can serve to enhance engagement, classroom involvement, and ultimately student learning in a more efficient and fun manner!

1. P. Dillenbourg. Collaborative learning: Cognitive and Computational Approaches., Oxford: Elsevier, pp.1-19, 1999.
2. Kagan, S. Structures Optimize Engagement. San Clemente, CA: Kagan Publishing. Kagan Online Magazine, Spring/Summer 2005. www.KaganOnline.com
3. Kagan, S. Cooperative Learning Structures, San Clemente, CA: Kagan Publishing. Kagan Online Magazine, Issue #53. www.KaganOnline.com