Entry 6: Expanding the Definition of Engagement

Date: May 30, 2025

Quotation: "Engagement is not simply participation it involves cognitive, emotional, and behavioral dimensions" (Fredricks et al., 2004, p. 61).
Reference:
Fredricks, J. A., Blumenfeld, P. C., & Paris, A. H. (2004). School engagement: Potential of the concept, state of the evidence. Review of Educational Research, 74(1), 59–109. https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543074001059

Why I Included This:
Building from Entry 5’s focus on emotional connection, this reading encouraged me to rethink how I assess engagement. In virtual classes, it’s easy to equate engagement with visibility (camera on, microphone unmuted) . But Fredricks et al. reminded me that true engagement includes emotional investment and cognitive effort.

This challenged me. Many LINC learners keep cameras off or hesitate to speak due to language anxiety. I used to read this as disengagement. Now, I realize it may reflect emotional barriers, not apathy. This shift helped me redesign activities to invite multiple types of participation (chat responses, polls, voice notes, or visuals.)

This entry also connects back to Entry 3: just as adaptive systems can misread learner needs, so can teachers. I must actively interpret behavior, rather than assume it. I’ve started asking students more open-ended questions about how they feel in class and what helps them learn best.

Rather than focusing only on visible behaviors, I’ve begun paying closer attention to the internal cues that signal engagement—moments of quiet focus, shifts in posture, or reflective comments. Fredricks et al. broaden the understanding of what engagement looks like, offering language and frameworks that highlight its less obvious, yet profoundly important, dimensions.