4.4 Engagement

Why Focus on Engagement?

Student engagement is defined as “the student’s psychological investment in and effort directed toward learning, understanding, or mastering the knowledge, skills, or crafts that academic work is intended to promote” (Newman et al, 1992, p. 12). An engaged learner tends to be a more satisfied, motivated, less lonely, and better performing learner (Banna et al., 2015; Martin & Bolliger, 2018).

Since engaging learners is so important, we want to be sure the tools we choose to use in our OER support engagement. And while we hope to engage learners with these tools, we want to do so with wisdom. Not every piece of content needs to be interactive, or we risk distracting or overwhelming our learners (Clark & Meyer, 2008).

Engagement Strategies

Moore (1993) proposed three types of student interactivity in instruction where increasing engagement might occur: learner-to-learner, learner-to-instructor, and learner-to-content. For each type of interaction, we offer active learning, adult learning, and open pedagogy strategies and how these might be implemented in an OER.

Learner to Learner

Active learning strategies support engagement of learners (Freeman et al., 2014). When constructed thoughtfully, engaging in shared learning with peers can build community, leading to feelings of belonging and feeling connectedness (Martin & Bolliger, 2018). Consider supporting learner-to-learner active learning with

• Collaborative group work using Hypothes.is
• Case study discussions using Hypothes.is

Take engagement between learners up a notch by applying open pedagogy. Learners who are included in the process of creating content or interactive learning objects for an OER tend to be more motivated learners (Clinton-Lisell & Gwozdz, 2023). Consider supporting learner-to-learner open pedagogy with

• Student-created presentations, videos, or audio using H5P Course Presentation, H5P Interactive Video, or H5P Audio
• Student-created infographics using Canva or H5P Column tool
• Student-created images using one of several H5P image tools
• Student-authored sections or chapters of your OER

Learner to Instructor

The learner-to-instructor interactions can greatly impact a learner’s level of engagement, but it can also affect learning outcomes (Dixson, 2010; Gayton & McEwen, 2007). Knowles’s (2013) Adult Learning Theory posits that adult learners require different methods to engage in learning; they engage when the instruction is relevant, practical, experiential, and when they can self-direct their own learning. Consider supporting learner-to-instructor adult, active learning with:

• Student reflections, notes, and takeaways from the learner using H5P Documentation tool or H5P Cornell Notes
• Student-generated outlines or guided responses to instructor prompts using H5P Documentation tool or H5P Structure Strip

Learner to Content

The learner-to-content interaction is most easily exemplified within OER. The most effective way to engage your learners with the content you are creating is to ensure it includes subject mastery by aligning your content with your learning objectives while including real-world examples (Britt, 2015) and a variety of authentic activities (Dixson, 2010; Revere and Kovach, 2011). Consider supporting learner-to-content active learning with

• Student interaction with text, images, video, and audio (See H5P for Presenting Your Content)
• Student interaction with real-world application or case studies (See H5P for Reflection and Deeper Learning)
• Student annotation with Hypothes.is

Learners can also interact with content by creating formative assessments or interactive learning objects based upon the content. When learners are involved in creating instruction, their critical thinking skills improve (Hilton III, J, 2020). Consider supporting learner-to-learner open pedagogy with:

• Student-created interactive learning objects (See H5P for Interactivity and H5P for Deeper Learning)
• Student-created formative assessments (See H5P for Formative Assessment)

Besides ensuring the tools we choose are accessible and engage our learners, we have one more thing to consider: the sustainability of our tools.