Читать книгу Student Engagement Techniques - Elizabeth F. Barkley - Страница 52

Learning is a dynamic process in which learners literally “build” their own minds by constantly making and changing connections between what is new and what is already known. Deep, long-term learning occurs when changed connections result in reformatted structures—whether these structures are described as schemata or neuronal networks. As much as we (and often students!) would like to think that we as teachers can simply transfer knowledge into learners' brains, it is simply not possible. Students need to do the work required to learn. We can help them by setting up conditions for active learning. By being active participants in their own learning, students “build” their own minds at the level of involvement required for engaged learning.

We also note that although students may find one (or even several) course activities engaging, the kind of intense and sustained student engagement that most teachers strive for is a byproduct of a larger, integrated effort. This includes implementing the principles of good teaching, such as establishing clear and significant learning goals, holding students to high expectations, and giving them prompt feedback. But it also requires something both deeper and less tangible: approaching teaching with the aim to honor students by

[g]enuinely engaging their spirit, their experience, and their perspective. A mere strategy does not create such a milieu. [It is] the result of a determined living harmony, a constancy of practices blended with ideals from the beginning to the end of every lesson of every session of every course. (Wlodkowski, 2008, p. 169)

Thus, in the following sections, we turn our attention to how teachers can work to create synergy between motivation and active learning.