Alexander Astin’s groundbreaking study in the 1980s shaped our present understanding of student involvement. “The amount and quality of physical and psychological energy students put in the college experience,” said Astin. Students learn more when they are engaged (Axelson & Flick, 2010). Engagement is more than simply exposure; it is when students show interest, get engaged, and feel connected in the course contents and other students (instructors, TAs, and other students). For deep and long-lasting learning, true student engagement requires cognitive focus (attention) and emotional fuel (motivation, interest, curiosity) (Astleitner & Wiesner, 2004). Focused, engaged, and motivated pupils learn more efficiently, taking less time on task (e.g., studying) (Nonis & Hudson, 2010). With that concept in mind, let’s go a bit more into three forms of student engagement: cognitive, emotional, and behavioral. 

The three types of engagement: cognitive, emotional, and behavioral

Cognitive engagement

There is a vast corpus of research in cognitive and educational psychology on how to foster cognitive engagement in online courses. Part of increasing cognitive engagement is knowing what improves attention and memory and what degrades them. Because this article is about online course facilitation and delivery, we won’t discuss how to build online teaching materials. If you will be presenting information or generating learning materials (such as films, websites, presentations, reading materials, or even course announcements), an overview of the most powerful ideas and tactics may be quite useful.

Attention is a crucial cognitive function. Students will struggle to retain material if their attention is not captured. A human can only concentrate on a tiny quantity of information at a time (Cowan, 2010). There are various ways that online course facilitators may use to reduce distractions and promote the sort of concentration that is most conducive to learning.

Principles for enhancing cognitive engagement

There are a few established factors that influence student attendance and learning, which govern course facilitators’ tactics to promote cognitive engagement.

• Direct attention to key facts for efficiency and selection.

• Reduce needless distractions or information processing to avoid wasting limited cognitive resources.

• Present personally relevant information that easily catches attention (Röer, Bell, and Buchner, 2013). The Self-reference effect is a phenomenon wherein personal knowledge is better preserved and recalled (Lieberman, Jarcho, & Satpute, 2004; Rogers, Kuiper, & Kirker, 1977).

• Consider ideal learning circumstances like Flow. Being in Flow (or “the zone”) is considered ideal for learning (Csikszentmihalyi, 2014). Flow states are characterized by a loss of sense of time and immersion in the job. In Flow, keeping attentional concentration is easy, even while doing demanding activities (such as playing an instrument or participating in a sport) (Csikszentmihalyi & Nakamura, 2010). Flow is connected with good effect (Ullén, de Manzano, Theorell, & Harmat, 2010). So it’s a great place to study.

Emotional engagement

Emotional involvement measures how involved and motivated a student is to pay attention and put forth an effort. It is the driving force behind learning and progress.

Interest and curiosity are two cognitive emotions that define emotional involvement. Positive and negative emotional states influence attention and information processing. For example, according to cognitive researcher Barbara Fredrickson, good emotions might increase attentional ability (Fredrickson, 2001). Positive emotional states promote receptivity to new ideas, unique connections, creativity, cognitive flexibility, inquisitive thinking, and creative problem-solving.

• restricting or concentrating attention;

• leading to selective and detail-oriented processing;

• staying with a notion more exploitatively; and

• employing analytic problem-solving (Fredrickson, 2001; Fredrickson & Branigan, 2005).

Possibilities for emotional involvement

Several emotions, both good and negative, may influence cognitive engagement and learning. Listed below are positive emotions that might enhance attention and learning. Negative emotions that may assist concentrate attention are also discussed.

• Feeling connected

• Acknowledged and valued

• Supported

• Interest

• Curiosity

• Surprise

• Joy

• Pride

• Humour

• Wonderment or amazement

• Anxiety, stress, pressure

Emotion goes a long way.

It’s vital to note that the advantages of emotion on cognition and learning are small variations in mood. Many of the good and negative effects of emotion on cognition and learning are lost or reversed when individuals are very emotional. Negative emotions may lead to frustration, anger, melancholy, helplessness, or tension, which can impede learning and memory (Vogel & Schwabe, 2016). Because positive emotion orients us towards novelty, too much pleasant feeling may be bad, limiting creativity and leading to distraction (Davis, 2008). In this case, a little emotion may go a long way. It’s not as hard as you believe to get pupils into emotional states that promote engagement and learning.