Defining “Engagement”: How Teachers Describe Student Engagement During a Digital Inquiry Module

• In Event: AERA Poster Session Friday 7:45 am
  In Poster Session: Learning Sciences Poster Session

Abstract

“Engagement” is a critical component for learning yet its meaning is often assumed rather than defined. This study investigates how practicing teachers viewed their students’ engagement while using a digital inquiry module created by a museum-based design team. In our analysis of 481 open-ended survey responses and 10 interviews, we developed 6 themes that describe the variety of ways teachers talked about their students’ “engagement”: general engagement, engagement as focus, engagement as social, engagement as silence, engagement as enjoyment, and engagement as interest. These definitions influence what counts as learning for teachers and also points to the contextual nature of engagement in practice.

Authors

• McKenna Lane, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

• Catherine L. Dornfeld Tissenbaum, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign