Engaging and Motivating Students in Learning

This report by The Education Trust examined two powerful levers for engaging learners — choice and relevancy — and explored how educators can use these levers to increase student motivation and engagement. The study explains how educators can bring choice and relevancy into their daily assignments. The authors explain how choice can and should be provided in terms of content, product, and process.

The study found that teachers bring relevancy to assignments when they:

·       Teach rigorous content using themes across disciplines, cultures, and generations; consider essential questions; and explore universal understandings

·       Use real-world materials and events to explore salient topics

·       Connect with the values, interests, and goals of their students

Dabrowski, J., & Marshall, T. R. (2018). Motivation and engagement in student assignments. Washington, D.C.: The Education Trust. https://edtrust.org/resource/motivation-and-engagement-in-student-assignments/