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Effort vs. innate ability

Figure 1 summarizes the many influences on a student’s willingness to actively engage in the learning process.

Factors that have positive effect on engagement:

Physiological	Physiological	Task-Related	Social/Cultural

Good health	Self- confidence; expectation of success	Appropriate to cognitive style.	Family support and value placed on hard work and perseverance

Food and shelter needs met	Meaningful rewards	Active learning	Role models

Balanced nutrition	Sense of mastery and control	Appropriate level of difficulty for grade	Social support system: friends, extended family, mentors

Adequate amounts of rest	Effort perceived as valuable	Perceived relevance of task; answers the "why" question	Peer support

Hunger	Low self-confidence, expectation of failure	Task perceived as boring/non-relevant	Lack of family support

Tiredness	Effort not perceived as worthwhile	Passive rather than active learning	Negative role models

Illness/poor general health	Absence of rewards	Insufficient time provided to complete task	Too many distractions: TV, Internet, social

Substance abuse	Fear of ridicule	Poor teaching methods	Competing demands on time; e.g. caretaker for younger siblings.

Summary of the Above List

Although the above list has been divided into four categories—physiological, psychological, task-related, and social/cultural—in reality, all factors are interrelated, to some extent.

Physiological factors

In 1954 Abraham Maslow indentified a hierarchy of human needs, beginning with the most basic physiological requirements such as the needs for food and shelter up to a need for engaging in activities that provide each of us with a sense of meaning and purpose in our lives. Thus, students who are hungry, tired, or ill cannot be expected to devote much attention and energy to the learning process. The use of drugs and alcohol can also have a serious negative impact on student engagement

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	Learning Trends Brain-based Leaning Multiple Intelligence Theory in the Classroom Authentic Assessment		Critical Thinking Bloom’s Taxonomy Decide on objective of lesson Engage active student participation Choose appropriate learning activities Monitor and review Provide assessment and feedback		Student Engagement Effort vs. innate ability Build system of rewards Design of learning activities Valuing effort		Societal & Education Societal impacts on learning

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