Empowering Engagement in a Technology-Enhanced Learning Environment

Abstract

Engagement is one of the most powerful driving forces that moves learners forward in a learning experience. The effects of engagement are related to satisfaction, learning results, and reduction of drop-out rates. School engagement can be positively influenced by problem solving and technology-enhanced learning activities. This paper discusses how online interactive activities can promote engagement in Mathematics at school level. After discussing a theoretical framework for defining and measuring engagement, the potentialities of activities with automatic formative assessment used in a blended environment are illustrated. The activities have been experimented with 299 students of grade 8 in Italy; their effects on student engagement are evaluated through questionnaires administered before and at the end of the project. The activities resulted particularly effective with regard to the increase of the engagement level of students who showed a low interest in Mathematics at the beginning of the project.