Reflections: Literature as data
Dunleavy, Jodene, Milton, Penny. (2008). Student Engagement For Effective Teaching and Deep Learning. Education Canada; THEME 2008, Vol. 48 Issue 5, p4-8, 5p
Many of the education based articles that I have come across are written by Americans, who have certain cultural biases, and their articles are based on research and data collected from American schools. Refreshingly, this article is written by Canadian scholars and based on observations and study of Canadian schools. “Treating equity and excellence as two separate concepts reinforces the age-old idea that deep conceptual learning...is only for some students. This way of thinking has its roots in the beginning of public education systems.” I connected to this sentiment because the students who attend my school disproportionately are living in poverty or dealing with mental health concerns. I believe that our mainstream educational institutions were created during a time when only the privileged had access to an education and that our education system, left unchanged, will continue to struggle meeting the needs of all children.
This article outlines three types of engagement laid out in the article: Social Engagement, Academic Engagement, and Intellectual Engagement. They are listed in sequential order and are all needed to develop the whole child. Social engagement outcomes are friendships, social networks, sense of belonging, and “liking” school. These are the exact issues that my student’s struggle with the most on a daily basis. One might think that it is academic or intellectual engagement that would prove the most difficult, but typically alternative students have massive difficulties navigating their relationships, and enjoying or feeling like they belong in school. Until a young person is socially engaged, it is quite difficult to then extended “a more ambitious goal of promoting deep cognitive engagement that results in learning.”
During my graduate diploma I came to the understanding that there are many things that need to be attended to before learning can take place. I still need to take breathe, give myself some time, and really unpack what obstacles are getting in the way. I know that some students do not come to school ready to learn, but that creating a strong attachment with the student will create the setting necessary to engage, teach and learn.
