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4 Takeaways from Student Engagement Panel with District and Education Leaders

Written by Dr. Jenny Nash, Head of Education Impact, US for LEGO® Education 

 “How was school today?” is the question that punctuates nearly every afternoon walk through the door. But how many times do you receive one-word responses, if anything at all? And while there are dozens of other questions that can be asked instead, these typically uninspired responses mirror the lack of engagement educators see in the classroom.

A new LEGO Education report found that only 31% of US administrators describe their students as engaged, and nearly half believe disengagement leads to increased absenteeism and decreased enrollment. Unfortunately, this isn’t surprising and reflects the current disengagement crisis.

To better understand the state of student engagement, LEGO Education recently hosted a panel conversation with leading administrators and teachers to discuss the challenges, why it matters, and what’s working in their schools and districts. We were joined by:

The panel included perspectives from urban and rural districts and classroom teachers and district leadership. There were a few solutions that we all agreed are most effective. And as you go back to school, there couldn’t be a better time to share and implement these learnings.

Watch the full recording of the panel above.

#1: Learning through play is proven to work

To truly engage students, learning needs to be exciting, fun, and joyful. Hands-on learning through play is an approach that administrators, teachers, and parents agree is a highly effective way to create a classroom full of engaged students. It is a powerful combination that builds academic content and skills, along with motivation, curiosity, social interaction, and more. After all, “fun alone will not teach kids. The trick here is to make the teaching at a high level of rigor in a way that appeals to kids,” said LAUSD Superintendent Alberto M. Carvalho. “And when that happens, it’s magic.”

The learning through play methodology engages students and their teachers because it allows the students to be leaders in their own learning, while teachers become facilitators. Engagement is active and participatory. “It is also having the student at the center of the education ecosystem,” said Superintendent Carvalho, and this is exactly what makes learning through play so effective.

The good news: “We already know what works,” said Denver Superintendent Dr. Alex Marrero. “We as superintendents and those who are lawmakers and policymakers need to ensure that we don’t lose that.”

#2: Discover the magic in your students

Carlanda Miller, known as “The Magical Teacher,” defines magic as Motivation, Academic Accountability, Goal-Driven, Inquisitive Thinking, and Content Engaging. “You need all of those things in your classroom to help unlock the magic inside of your students,” she shared.

Students enter the classroom with different backgrounds, abilities, skills, and interests, so it's important to meet them where they are. The panelists discussed how education levels the playing field because not all students will have access outside the classroom. This is particularly true of career exploration and introducing ideas and concepts they might not experience otherwise. In a rural district, Durango Superintendent Dr. Karen Cheser highlighted how they bring in these experiences to deliver on the district’s primary objective to “help every student achieve their Ikigai – their goal and purpose in life, that future pathway that encompasses students’ passions and talents in a career that the world needs.”

Unfortunately, only 2 in 5 students surveyed are regularly getting hands-on experiences. Yet all students benefit from the opportunity to connect ideas, nurture creativity, and develop future-ready skills like problem solving, collaboration, and communication. Teachers can link curriculum to student interests, real-world moments, and their communities to make the content more meaningful, relatable, and ultimately more engaging. And inspiring students to learn is when engagement really starts to take off.

#3: Support teachers and innovation

Engaged students start with engaged teachers. Yet fewer K-12 teachers in the US are satisfied with their jobs than ever, and only 53% say their job is enjoyable. At least part of the solution lies in engagement. Our report found 83 percent of teachers would be happier at their job if their students were more engaged in learning, and student engagement makes them less likely to leave the profession.

For many teachers, they are learning an entirely new approach, which is often very different from how they were classically trained. Ongoing professional development and training is key to set teachers up for success in the classroom. In the last school year alone, LEGO Education trained nearly 10,000 teachers, building their confidence and skillset to engage students. But it doesn’t end there. The panel also talked about support from district leaders and needing to trust, empower, and give permission to their teachers to be innovative.

The passion and excitement were evident anytime Carlanda Miller talked about her students, and she said it best: “… if I’m having fun, the kids are going to have fun. I can’t wait to get to work the next day. So I know my students can’t wait to get to school. And I think that’s what this is all about.”

#4: It’s never too late to start

Increasing engagement may seem overwhelming at first, but the panelists shared an optimism and commitment to drive change. Each district leader pointed to success stories in using engagement to turn around low graduation and attendance rates and keep staff retention high.

It’s inspiring to hear the amazing work teachers and administrators are doing across the country to engage students. And if you’re wondering where to start, you’re in good company. The student engagement survey found 88 percent of teachers globally feel it's never too late to engage students in learning.

To learn more about how you can increase engagement in your school or district, get your copy of the State of Classroom Engagement Report.