Chapter 5 Part 2; Engagement in learning = future success

This is the second part of my reflection and review of Chapter 5 of the powerful book  OPEN: How we'll work, live and learn in the future by David Price. In the first part of my review, I asked you to engage with disengagement (see this link) as a wake up call. I shared the cold hard facts about disengagement. 

Sometimes we can get caught up in the busyness of our own planning and ideas as teachers and leaders and forget to co construct sessions with our students and staff. Although we mean well, we might repeat lessons and routines that suit us because we feel comfortable. Are we really just pleasing ourselves or are we truly engaging our learners in deep, authentic learning that will inspire and motivate them and instil a desire to want to keep on learning?

In my last post I mentioned that I was persevering with my own learning to produce and upload my very first video based on my sabbatical report - How to engage every student in deep learning for success. I am excited to be able to let you know my perseverance paid off! Here is the video that offers a few solutions to what we must do as educators to engage our learners in deep learning for success. It's also available on YouTube at this link.

In the video, I refer to passion, excitement and motivation for learning as drivers for engagement and higher achievement. This also reflects the powerful messages from Price in both Chapter 5 and in Chapter 6 of OPEN: How we'll work, live and learn in the future.

Now reflect on this information shared by Price based on a longitudinal Australian study focused on engagement in schools :

"The more children felt connected to their school community and felt engaged, rather than bored, the greater their likelihood of achieving a higher educational qualification and going on to a professional or managerial career." They found that engagement was the key determinant of student's success 20 years later, over and above their academic attainment and socioeconomic background. "An engaged student from  a disadvantaged background, is likely to have better life chances than a disengaged child from a better-off background " (Page 99,100).

Price goes on to say, "I believe the visionaries of the future are likely to emerge from the kind of environments where learning is collaborative, social, passion-led and values driven, networked, horizontal, democratic and creative "(Page 101).

I challenge you to take this sentence and unpack each word and what it means and looks like in your own schools or workplaces?

In my next post, I will reflect on Chapter 6 'Open Learning in Society' in OPEN: How we'll work, live and learn in the future by David Price and the value of 'Just-In-Time' informal learning.