Courtesy of National Catholic Educational Association
Anyone spending just a bit of time in our field knows that we can be a trendy group. Some ideas are here today and gone tomorrow like musical one-hit-wonders. Engaged learning is not one of those trends. As the idea has grown over the decades, so has the need for this style of learning. Text book driven, teacher centered instruction is not meeting the needs of all of today's learners. The style can promote narrow understanding, limited comprehension, and a lack of critical and creative thinking skills. Students need to have conceptual, critical thinking, collaborative abilities for a successful future.
We are witnessing another generation of learners whose skills needed to be successful professionals will once again be very different from those of their parents. In a 2010 study by IBM of top 500 executive leaders, the biggest area of concern was hiring employees who were skilled to cope with the rapid state of organizational and societal change. The old model of teacher centered education does not serve our current generation of learners because they do not have the same needs of past generations.
Engaged learning calls for students to be active in the learning process. Discovery, inquiry, and exploration all play active roles in this process. Instead of textbook driven worksheets, teachers who espouse the engaged learning model give students the opportunity to dig into material and challenge them to explain what they have learned through a variety of formats. Teachers who are excited about the engaged learning model should learn about such key components as Authentic Assessment, Project-Based Learning, Problem-Based Learning, and Inquiry-Learning.
All over the country, teachers, principals, and entire dioceses are transitioning away from teacher centered education and over to this active form of student learning. The STREAM movement (Science, Technology, Religion, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) is completely grounded in the Catholic approach to dynamic learning. STREAM is purposeful about taking Catholic teaching and incorporating it as a critical component of the learning process. If your plan is to have students who are problem solvers, why not have them solve real-world problems from a Catholic lens of world justice and the Gospel?
At the 2014 NCEA Convention and Expo in Pittsburgh this April, I will be presenting the session, "Have You Flipped Your Engaged Learning, Project-Based, Student-Centered, Creative, TEAL, Authentically Assessed, 21st Century, Inquiry Classroom?" While playing "buzzword bingo" is always fun at education events, there was a purposeful choice in this title. Engaged Learning is not simply a collection of trendy terms, some of the concepts are new and others have been growing and expanding for decades. It is an ever evolving and refining concept of learning. For more on engaged learning, come join me at the 2014 NCEA Convention on Tuesday, April 22 from 2:45 - 4:00 p.m. in room 301.
Jim King believes in educational innovation, engaged student learning, and active spiritual leadership. He is also the associate executive director of the NCEA Elementary Schools Department. Follow Jim on Twitter @NCEAJKing for more ideas.
