Learner engagement strategies: how to increase it

Learner engagement is necessary to increase the success rates of an academic program. The learner is more receptive and predisposed to learn.

When a student feels stimulated by the activities that are proposed, he will be more involved in his learning, and will actively participate in the tasks given.

Positive challenges are one of the tools you can use to increase learner engagement and improve the return on your educational investment, which indirectly benefits society in general.

Read on and find out what is and how to increase learner engagement.

What is learner engagement

Learner engagement is the ability to become academically, behaviorally, cognitively and affectively involved in the learning process.

Achieving high motivation implies that the teacher is committed to undertake continuous improvement strategies that place the learner at the center of learning.

The result of greater engagement in the classroom is students who make better use of the knowledge acquired, who strive to achieve academic objectives, and who take responsibility for their own learning.

Likewise, learner engagement improves the relationship with the rest of the classmates and with the instructor, fostering the exchange of ideas, experiences and learning.

Without the active participation of the learner, learning can fail, so it is essential to enhance learner engagement by improving the learner experience.

Types of learner engagement

Learner engagement can be of different nature:

1. Academic. This is the connection that the learner manifests with respect to the learning activities that they take on as a positive challenge. It is the antithesis of academic disaffection.
2. Behavioral. It is linked to cognitive and emotional engagement in the sense that it manifests observable signs that translate the level of engagement. For example, nodding in agreement or smiling at a stimulus.
3. Cognitive. Focuses on studying progress in learner engagement with indicators such as asking questions or giving examples. These behaviors indicate that they are processing information.
4. Affective. It focuses on the feelings that learners manifest within and with respect to their learning environment. When a person is involved in an activity that stimulates him/her and arouses his/her curiosity, he/she devotes more time and effort to this task.
5. Cultural. It is oriented to develop a learning culture, and for this purpose it is essential that students identify with the contents. This is achieved by including different cultures and encouraging respect for what is different.
6. Social. It focuses on including social issues in class, as well as promoting values such as justice, equality and solidarity. Likewise, the student understands that knowledge can improve their environment.

These 6 types of commitments are observable and measurable indicators that have to be analyzed and worked simultaneously to achieve greater learning effectiveness.

Importance of learning engagement strategies

Learning engagement strategies have a positive impact on students who, by reinforcing their commitment to educational practice, are more predisposed to learning.

Students in these contexts feel more valued, face positive challenges and actively participate in the acquisition of knowledge.

Since these types of educational dynamics enhance their experience, they assimilate the programs better and get more out of the whole process.

Another great advantage of this type of strategies is that people who receive learning that reinforces their commitment, are more easily oriented at work to efficiency and successful professional development.

How to increase learner engagement

Now that you know the implications of learner engagement, you are probably wondering how you can increase it in your classes.

The first step is, as we have already mentioned, to place the learner at the center of the learning process, then you can incorporate some of the strategies we have compiled for you in the following sections.

Ask open-ended questions and avoid judging the answers

The use of open-ended questions, i.e., free-response questions, allows you to learn more about the way your students think, as well as to delve deeper into their motivations.

Establish community norms in the classroom

Building a community of constructive exchange requires rules – how about creating them together with your students?

It’s a fun way to build respect and work on inclusive education.

Research on the students’ prior knowledge

Make sure that your content takes into account the students’ prior knowledge. This allows you to avoid boredom and lack of participation in your classes.

It is also a great tool to enhance customized e-learning based on interactivity, accessibility and adaptation.

Use collaborative teaching methods

Encourage group work, use peer review or have students themselves present content to their peers in which they have previously specialized, are some dynamics that you can implement in class to increase motivation.

Inverting the natural order of the class, known as flipped classroom, fosters a motivational learning culture.

Encourage informal learning

Informal learning is a strategic complement to traditional education that suits the interests of today’s learners.

It fosters autonomy and creativity through the acquisition of contextualized, practical and interactive skills.

Facilitates group dynamics

Dynamic debates, role-playing, escape rooms or collaborative project designs are ways to engage learners in the classroom.

Leveraging technology

Technology in the classroom provides you with great tools to enhance learner engagement in multiple ways:

• It favors the creation of varied and interactive cross-platform content.
• It improves accessibility and inclusion in the classroom.
• Helps personalize learning.
• It guarantees fairer evaluations.

This last issue is one of the factors that most concern students and that you can guarantee with our proctoring plans.

We provide our clients with the ability to create remote assessments on a level playing field for all participants that ensure compliance with standards while protecting the privacy of individuals.Request a free demo for a virtual tour of all the solutions we can offer for your project.