Taking a Look at Engaged Learning

    Before teachers can see how engaged learning can affect the education of their student's one has to take a look at the definition of it. Engaged learning happens when students take ownership of their learning from very early on in the learning process. In engaged learning students make decisions about the subjects that they are learning. Students in this method relay on research, discussions, creating projects, and technology to aside them in their education. In this method the students are the true star and the teacher merely acts as a facilitator. Teachers who use this method really on calling upon real life activities and do not focus on one subject but try to interrogate many different subjects in their teaching.

    Engaged learning is something that falls into the effective practices. Students learning in this form take the ultimate responsibility for their learning because they will be making decisions on what they will learn and how they will learn it. Because they are taking ownership of their work, students will take more pride in their work and the will produce quality work. With the increased work output of quality work the learning will excel as well.

    As a music teacher, I feel engaged learning can help students learn in virtually ever facet of music education. Students could create rhythmic compositions where the students make decisions on whether to create a song or a rhythmic composition. From there student could decide what the instrumentation of their piece could be. This activity would call upon a vast amount of musical resources, and the students will have to have knowledge in all facets of assignment to be successful. For example, students will have to call upon how to write rhythms and how to correctly use the musical staff to notate those rhythms. Student will also have to have knowledge of instruments and how to properly write for a particular instrument. Finally, students will need to know how to read the music they created when they present the composition to the class.

    Engaged learning can play a crucial part in a child's education. If the assignment is facilitated right by the teacher then the students learning ability is greatly enhanced. This type of learning promotes projects that usually results in a tangible project that the students can see and present. In essence student who are engaged in their learning have real physical proof of their learning that they can display and be proud of.