Original subtitles

In this next segment, what we're going to be talking about is engaged learning.

So what is it? How do we measure it? And the most important thing is how do we

create it in our students when we're in the classroom? So I want to start by

having you think about a time when you were engaged, and I hope that was not

that long ago since we've been in class together, but a time when you were

engaged in learning and to think about words you would use to describe that,

it felt, what you were doing, what you were thinking.

What are some words that come to mind?

Okay, it was a collaborative process.

It was exciting.

I was connected.

Okay, focused and... It related to my experience.

Okay, inspired something in me.

All right.

Now I want you to think about...

How you know that students are engaged.

So that's how it felt for you, or that's what you were thinking about or

experiencing. But how would you know it in students?

How would you know they're engaged?

When they ask a question that's related to what you're talking about.

All right, they're asking questions, and the questions are related to what we're

talking about.

I think I remember a few comments.

Is it fun, or I really like this.

Okay. Verbal affirmation of the learning process and that it's fun or exciting.

Okay. Body language.

What kind of body language?

All right. So we're maintaining eye contact. I notice you're taking notes.

You're leaning forward.

Okay.

All right, well, this is the same process that we used in thinking about

learning. Not to use the iceberg, but when I saw your iceberg over there, I

like, ah, there's an iceberg.

So engaged learning is like an iceberg.

And that is, we used a process that was inductive and deductive. So inductive,

we asked students, what's it like for you when you're engaged?

We asked faculty, what do you see? Or how do you know that a student's

And through focus groups and interviews, that inductive understanding of engaged

learning emerged.

But then it was also deductive. So we went back to some theories.

So Aspen's involvement theory from 1984 that says when students are

psychologically and physically involved, then they learn more.

And so that's The active participation part of engaged learning, which is the

tip of the iceberg.

And then the theories of Ellen Langer with mindfulness or mindful learning,

1997, where her point is that when you are mindfully learning, you are fully

present in the moment.

You are noticing.

Things that are different. You are able to take on other perspectives. You're

not bored. Your mind is not wandering.

And so we call that focused attention.

But it comes out of Langer's mindfulness theory.

And then the third part and what's underneath the surface is meaningful

processing. Which goes back to John Tagg's work and work of authors before

That it's about meaning making. It's the connection.

that students are making between what they already knew, what you're learning

now, what they might need to know in the future. Now here's the thing, and

here's why it's an iceberg.

When we measured this, the active participation part, that's what faculty

and it's all they talked about with us.

The eye contact, the raising your hand to ask a question, the willingness to

participate in group discussions, the verbal comments that are made in class.

That is about 10 % of engaged learning.

And there are gender differences, culture differences, personality

and racial differences. When you are a minority in the classroom, and

particularly when you don't match the instructor, so perhaps you're the only

woman in a classroom full of men with a male instructor.

Bernie Sandler has written extensively about that and calls it a chilly climate

because you don't participate to the same extent because you don't feel that

understand the majority dynamics in the classroom.

The same thing can happen if you're a person from a culture where to ask a

question of the professor indicates disrespect or that you're challenging

professor. So what we've got is the tip of the iceberg that we see, and if we're

then making judgments about our students based only on what we see, we're

missing most of it. So focused attention is another about 15 % of the story, but

75 % of engaged learning is what we can't see. It's the meaningful

that lies underneath the surface. It's the energy.

of being engaged in the learning process.

It is, I'm thinking about it even when I'm not in class.

I'm talking about it with other students outside of class.

I'm making connections to what I already know or what I want to do with my life,

or I can think of ways of applying it. Those are some of the sample questions,

and I gave you a copy there of the Engaged Learning Index.

So when faculty focus or give a participation grade,

and make judgments about students based on what they see, they may be making

judgments about a student's ability or intelligence or engagement that is

missing the vast majority of what's going on.

of what lies beneath the surface, and I think that's the same mistake that the

captain of the Titanic made, right?

I'm missing what's lying beneath the surface.

So my mission, really, about engaged learning is to help faculty understand

this, and I use the iceberg picture to say you don't notice necessarily what's

going on, but the cool thing about meaningful processing, there are no

differences.

There are no racial differences, no cultural differences.

So the thing that really matters is the meaningful processing. And luckily, that

is not as affected by our culture and the dynamics going on.

So what I want to point out then is how we came to our results.

So we chose six different outcomes that are important to students and to faculty

alike. And then we...

made the connection between how students scored on the Engaged Learning Index

and then how these outcomes turned out. So what we found was meaningful

processing, and the bigger, thicker the line, the stronger the beta weight, if

you remember beta weight from regression analysis.

So that particular beta weight is the largest. Students who are meaningfully

processing show the largest gains in critical thinking.

It's about half a standard deviation, so the beta weight of 0 .49, which is very

large that we see in our work. And so the primary outcome of higher education

that we care the most about, you ask faculty what they want to see in

doesn't matter what discipline they teach in or what level, they invariably

say, I want to see critical thinking.

Well, our research shows if you want to see critical thinking, then let's get

the meaningful processing going in your students in the classroom.

And they'll be more satisfied with learning in the process.

Their grades will get better, although notice that's not quite as thick a line,

so it's interesting that you don't have to be fully engaged in learning to get

the A. It's a little scary.

It leads to more interaction with faculty. They're more satisfied with

and they're more satisfied with the whole college experience.

So meaningful processing was the big ticket item there.

Focused attention related to about four of those outcomes.

And then active participation strongly related to how satisfied students were

with faculty. And that makes sense. You know, that if they're actively

participating in class, then it would make sense that they're more likely to

satisfied with faculty because they're more involved in the situation.

likely to interact and they will get better grades.

So it's not to say don't try to encourage active participation.

We want to see that.

But it doesn't mean that it's the whole picture.