Engagement Home Resources Standards Inspiration About the Author
21st Century Readiness TPACK UDL
The Role of Engagement and Motivation
in Developing 21st Century Workforce Skills
The 21st century classroom has 3 basic characteristics. First, it must have active student engagement. They can’t just be going through the motions and working for a grade. They have to be genuinely interested in the topic or solving a problem. Second, the instructional time should be encouraging the 4C’s of creativity, collaboration, critical thinking, and communication. Lecture and worksheets should be kept to a minimum. And third, the use of technology should be evident. Students today are digital natives and find the use of just about any technology to be intuitive and motivating. All three of these characteristics are important for preparing our students for the 21st century workforce.
All three of these characteristics naturally increase engagement and motivation in my classroom. By incorporating more inquiry based lessons that are student driven, rather than mandated by me or a bureaucrat in a high educational office somewhere, my students get to formulate their questions and take ownership of the problem solving in my science classes. Then they decide how to answer the question and I get to be a guide on the side and nudge them in a direction when necessary. As long as the relevance to their lives is evident to them, my students will remain actively engaged.
The 4C’s increase engagement and motivation in my classroom as well. By allowing my students choices on how to present their knowledge, they can be creative. When participating in the Science Fair, they got to create posters and multimedia presentations for the judges. Collaboration is a daily part of my classroom with desks arranged in groups and students given specific roles to be responsible for. This increases engagement and motivation because they have an outlet for their social nature and they feel valued and needed. By asking my students to discuss “what if” scenarios and releasing them to find out, they are forced to move beyond memorizing information and actually thinking critically and applying it. Communicating what they have learned through presentations, lab reports published on my website and teaching mini lessons to younger kids in the school has increased engagement and motivation as well. They love communicating how much they know in creative ways to an audience other than their teacher.
Finally, by incorporating the use of several tools of technology, my students immediately dive into the lesson with very little guidance from me. From collaborating with Google Docs to watching video lessons and commenting on a Google form, the digital format is naturally engaging and motivating. I am able to reserve a class set of laptops to use in class occasional and I ask students to work through their own devices at home. They love it and often teach me new ways to use the technology too.
These 21st Century skills are essential for students to practice in school. They must be able to compete successfully in the workforce and it is our responsibility as teachers to provide the practice and guidance they need. If they know they are being truly prepared for the world after school, then their engagement and motivation will be high.
All three of these characteristics naturally increase engagement and motivation in my classroom. By incorporating more inquiry based lessons that are student driven, rather than mandated by me or a bureaucrat in a high educational office somewhere, my students get to formulate their questions and take ownership of the problem solving in my science classes. Then they decide how to answer the question and I get to be a guide on the side and nudge them in a direction when necessary. As long as the relevance to their lives is evident to them, my students will remain actively engaged.
The 4C’s increase engagement and motivation in my classroom as well. By allowing my students choices on how to present their knowledge, they can be creative. When participating in the Science Fair, they got to create posters and multimedia presentations for the judges. Collaboration is a daily part of my classroom with desks arranged in groups and students given specific roles to be responsible for. This increases engagement and motivation because they have an outlet for their social nature and they feel valued and needed. By asking my students to discuss “what if” scenarios and releasing them to find out, they are forced to move beyond memorizing information and actually thinking critically and applying it. Communicating what they have learned through presentations, lab reports published on my website and teaching mini lessons to younger kids in the school has increased engagement and motivation as well. They love communicating how much they know in creative ways to an audience other than their teacher.
Finally, by incorporating the use of several tools of technology, my students immediately dive into the lesson with very little guidance from me. From collaborating with Google Docs to watching video lessons and commenting on a Google form, the digital format is naturally engaging and motivating. I am able to reserve a class set of laptops to use in class occasional and I ask students to work through their own devices at home. They love it and often teach me new ways to use the technology too.
These 21st Century skills are essential for students to practice in school. They must be able to compete successfully in the workforce and it is our responsibility as teachers to provide the practice and guidance they need. If they know they are being truly prepared for the world after school, then their engagement and motivation will be high.