Engagement theory Conceptual framework

The Engagement Theory

 

The Engagement theory was developed by Kearsley, G and Shneiderman, B in 1999 in the USA. The principle concept of this theory is that students gain effective learning when they are assigned a meaningful learning activity through peer interaction. The theory shares the same characteristics with constructivist and situated learning theories because they all directly involve students in the learning process through peer interface. The engagement theory enhances students’ cognitive thinking which results into problem-solving, logical reasoning and decision-making.  As result, and with the continued involvement in the peer learning nature, students become intrinsically motivated (Bunker & Vardi 2001).

The theory has three components; Relate, Create and Donate. In the event that students are given a task, the Relate component emphasizes collaborative team work. During the peer interaction, they gain social skills such as good planning, management, communication, patience, tolerance, self-respect and self-discovery. The Create component encourages students to focus their ideas on a single project that has been initiated by them (Barrows & Tamblyn, 1980). They own the idea and vision of the project and feel they should be associated with the successful outcome of it. Here, student’s idea toward the project is highly respected and given due consideration. The Donate component describes the worthwhile expectations of the students with the results of the project. At this point, students feel they should make a contribution to some people outside the classroom, for example a school or mosque or community or their institution. So, they design their project to attract the targeted client by focusing on authentic aspects that are relevant to that group of clients. Such project can be; developing software or creating a movie for learning purposes or a community based problem-solving project (Jacoby et al,1996).

The engagement theory according to its proponents, works well with technology integrated learning where learners are aided by tools like e-mail, telephone conference, use of fax communications and social entertainment sites like facebook and twitter. These tools can enhance learning when students meet difficulties in the learning process, for example during distance education.

The implication of the engagement theory is that with collaboration, sharing of ideas and authentic learning focus, students develop intrinsic motivation created by; individual satisfaction, mastery of knowledge, creativity, enjoying learning with great interest, persistence in learning despite the difficulties involved and individual effort to make a contribution (Alavi (1994).