Strategies for Engagement
"Choosing engagement" is about considering how we help students/pupils to engage with what is being learned, the ways in which they participate. There are many possible ways of engaging – listening quietly, vigorous discussion, answering questions, writing prose or poetry, responding through pictures or music, taking part in role-play, doing independent research, collaborating with others, helping fellow learners, praying for one another, looking for life applications, and so on. For any given lesson, we have to choose the ways of engaging that best fit the purpose. We can look for ways of helping learners to …
...Focus
As students/pupils focus their attention on certain dimensions of a topic or with a particular quality (such as quiet contemplation), their sense of what matters in learning is shaped. We can help learners...
...Experience and Expand
Experience involves actively engaging through various senses. It includes responses such as celebrating, exploring, playing and creating. As we vary learning experiences, we can help learners...
...Enquire and Change
Enquiry is about engaging in discussion and research and letting them challenge and change us. It can lead us to empathy, critique or trust as well as information. In pursuing enquiry we can help learners...
...Reflect and Act
Reflecting on experiences, questions, ideas, choices and consequences opens paths to action. This may lead to taking a principled stance, making a personal investment, or another response such as prayer. Applying learning to life, we can help learners...
...Rethink
Rethinking involves learners in trying out new frameworks, engaging their imaginations, and examining familiar habits and assumptions. As we invite them to renew their thinking, we can help learners...
...Connect
Learners can be encouraged to make connections across subjects to explore the oneness of God’s world. They can discover links between faith, learning and daily life. As connections are made, we can help learners...
...Relate
A relational focus points learners towards community, not just individuals. A relational focus promotes encouraging, collaborating with and serving others, sharing feelings and beliefs, and reaching out beyond the classroom. We can help learners...