The keys to student engagement aim at identifying what will help students engage in class and learning process. Among the 26 keys to student engagement by Angela, three stands out as the most important ones. They include authenticity, motivation and you as a teacher (Maiers, 2008). These three play very specific and direct roles in student engagement in the learning environment.
Authenticity refers to the genuineness and the validity of what students learn in school. The learning process is involving and intense under normal circumstances. Every student as different aspirations and others lack a sense of direction which often has them wonder what the lessons at school means for them as individuals. The value the experiences put to their goals will determine how engaged they are in class. Students have to understand why they have to learn and particular subject and how significant it is to their aims and pursuits in life.
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Motivation is a force that gives a reason to do something. Motivation will cause students to own their learning and allow them a reason to what to learn which will improve engagement. Students are motivated by different factors from backgrounds, dreams, competition and goals. For instance, students from poor backgrounds will want to learn so as to achieve something that will lead them out of poverty. Students with aspirations to become successful will be motivated to work hard to achieve those aspirations while competitions among students or with siblings at home will push students to gain all that is necessary to come out on top. All these motivation factors make students own their learning and therefore want to engage in class to achieve more.
“You” is another important key to student engagement: you being the teacher. According to Angela, leadership is essential in the learning environment (Maiers, 2008). The teacher is a coach, a mentor and the support for an engaging environment of learning. The attitude, presentation and teaching techniques the teacher uses will stimulate how students engage in class. This is clearly evident in the fact that student will participate more in lessons for certain teachers regardless of what the unit is and will completely wander in other supposedly enjoyable groups.
In conclusion, all Angela’s keys of student engagement are vital for any learning system. Student engagement is the fundamental basis for any efficient learning, and without this engagement, the result is poor and do not account for students’ and teachers’ full potential. The three keys are central to draw students to class environment and focus them to gain and achieve the objectives of every lesson.
Reference
Maires, A. (2008). 26 keys to student engagement. Angela Maiers. Retrieved on 20 April 2017 from http://www.angelamaiers.com/2008/04/engagement-alph/.
