Building Learning Communities 2011

In his 2009 book Drive, Dan Pink identifies three key factors underlying human motivation: Autonomy, Mastery and Purpose (AMP). How can we apply these ideas to student learning? By designing instruction with an eye for engagement. According to Phillip Schlechty, engaged students demonstrate deeper understanding, better retention of content and more successful transference of their learning to new contexts. After reflecting on our own needs as learners, we will review key engagement concepts from Schlechty's "Working on the Work," contextualizing them through innovative examples and simple ways teachers can leverage technology to increase student engagement and move them towards a greater sense of autonomy, mastery and purpose in their learning. We will review examples of simple online tools and processes such as social bookmarking and backchannelling that can increase engagement. Twitter summary of this presentation: "To engage students, let them create content that matters and contributes. Use digital tools to connect them constructively to the world.”

Participants will leave this session with a framework and ideas for using online tools and processes to design learning experiences that allow students to:

• Create content and teach others
• Connect with peers and experts beyond the classroom
• Help define assessments
• Personally invest in learning
• Increase effort and take meaningful risks