Importance of Student Engagement

by Jerry Wircenski

In his new book, The Highly Engaged Classroom, Robert Marzano provides teachers with an in-depth treatment of research-based instructional strategies that can be used in the classroom to enhance student achievement. 

One of the key points in the book is the importance of student engagement.  If students aren’t engaged, there is little chance that they will learn what is being taught in class.    Basically, student engagement happens as a result of careful planning and classroom delivery on the part of the instructor.  The author emphasizes that no instructor will have all students engaged at high levels all of the time.  However, every instructor can create an environment in the classroom in which engagement is present the majority of the time.

The engagement model proposed by Dr. Marzano begins with the first step, which is attention.  Attention is a short term occurrence that ranges from a few seconds to a few minutes.  The following strategies and activities have been proven to solicit attention from students:

·        The level of activity in the classroom- Maintaining a lively pace can help keep energy high.  Any classroom activity that raises the level of activity in the classroom can help heighten students’ energy levels.

·        A positive demeanor on the part of the instructor is the second and most general influence on the attention level of students.  The instructor can communicate a positive demeanor through demonstrating enthusiasm and intensity.

·        Humor can change the culture of a classroom and is associated with enhanced productivity.  Humor reduces stress in students and promotes creative thinking.  Humor has been shown to produce a 40 percentile point gain in instructional effectiveness.

·        Game-like activities help trigger interest.  “Inconsequential competition” is an aspect of games that helps trigger and maintain interest.  Instructors should organize competitive games in such a way that students enjoy the challenge but do not feel compelled to win.  Competition might have a negative consequence in that it could embarrass some students on losing teams.

·        Another activity that triggers and helps maintain interest is the use of unusual information.  Student curiosity is the driving force which underlies motivation.

·        Effective questioning strategies can trigger interest. When a student is answering a quest6ion, his or her working memory is fully attentive to the task at hand.  Students’ attention to questions is most likely due to the fact that a quest6ion presents missing information.  One of the problems of questioning is that once an individual student answers a question, the others in class may disengage.  Consequently, increasing the number of students who respond to any given question helps capture the attention of more students.  Increasing the rate at which students respond is a commonly mentioned strategy to increase the effectiveness of instruction.

By incorporating these research-based “best practices” into instructional planning and delivery, instructors will increase the interest level of students which will, in turn, motivate them and keep the level of engagement in the classroom at the highest possible level.

SOURCE:  Marzano, R. & Pickering, D.  (2011).  The Highly Engaged Classroom.  Bloomington, IN: Marzano Research.