What is student engagement and why does it matter so much?
Engagement can be explained generally as the interest and attention levels of the students in the class. Participation levels, how they interact with the material, how they access it, and the passion they show for it as they are taught in class. It also can more generally refer to the motivation that the students feel for school and education.
The underlying aim of education is for children to learn. As educators, we understand the trust that is being placed on us when you enroll in our program. For many of our students, their Monday to Friday schools are incredibly different environments from what they experience on Saturdays. We know and are aware that students learn in many different ways and it is our job to support them through the learning process. Through proving them with a range of ways to access the information they are being taught we increase their engagement with the content and make it easier for them to learn.
Fun and engagement on Saturdays go hand in hand. The students learn more meaningfully when they are having fun and are engaged. Language games and activities, art and crafts, and opportunities to explore the world around them all promote learning in the students. But, engagement is about more than that though. Studies have shown the positive links between engagement and growth in students. Not to mention the links between the decrease of negative behavior that takes place when students are engaged in what they are doing at school. With all the positive benefits of engagement, it is no wonder we continually bring it up as being so integral to classroom environments.
