Student engagement and learning

Read through several of the articles on 21st Century Learning and viewed a couple of videos. One particular, ‘Engage Me’ showcases students from an Alabama district that could very well be our own students. We have so many opportunities to utilize technology and tools with students to engage them in learning. In a Twitter discussion this evening on the e-book ‘Why School?’ by Will Richardson, a comment was made that I immediately retweeted because it struck a chord: “Productive learning is that which engenders & reinforces wanting to learn more.”

I want our students to like learning; really like it, appreciate it, desire to learn more and share their knowledge with others. We are blessed with students who love to learn, but they don’t always share because it’s not popular or cool. Today when I mentioned in a classroom visit that we wanted our students to truly love learning, I saw some heads nodding in agreement, others who didn’t respond, and watched the reaction of the one student who thought the comment was a bit funny. Nevertheless, as educators we must move forward; we must change the way we learn because it ultimately impacts the way we teach (not because it’s easy, but because it’s the right thing to do) and our goal is to provide students with every opportunity to develop a love for learning, and to expect in return that they share what they know and show us what they can do with what they know.

Something to think about……….

2 thoughts on “Student engagement and learning

  1. Well said, Mitzi. We encourage, train, empathize, and even embolden our staff to take risks in their classrooms. We provide equipment when requested and support when needed. We showcase their successes and partner to overcome the failures. Where else could you get this team atmosphere centered around staff and student success?

  2. “Productive learning is that which engenders & reinforces wanting to learn more.”

    That’s my philosophy of reading in the secondary school. The most important book kids read in your class is the first one they read AFTER they leave your class. We are far too focused on coverage and not on developing kids who read. I never thought I’d have a quote from BF Skinner on my wall, but I do: “We shouldn’t teach great books; we should teach a love of reading. Knowing the content of a few works of literature is a trivial achievement. Being inclined to go on reading is a great achievement.”

    I think the same can apply for learning in all areas.

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