October Post: Dialogue

      Whenever I think about student engagement, I think about Freire.  Freire, as we have learned, argues that dialogue is the key way that students become active and engaged. Simply put, students can overcome anxiety and communicative fear when their teacher encourages them to engage their classroom. One important way that we can generate student engagement is instructor authenticity. The authentic self is the individual that you are inside and outside the classroom. Granted, the authentic self does have limits and borders. For instance, you probably do not want to go into your class talking about your personal life. Additionally, you probably do not want ask your students questions about their personal life. These limitations are good limitations because they disallow or preclude ourselves from producing instructor misbehaviors.       
     After we embrace out limited yet authentic self, we can then get the students to engage their classroom. When an instructor is authentic, the students feel more comfortable. California State University instructive and educational researcher,  Zac Johnson, surveyed undergraduate students.   Zach's sample size was 300 students, where he asked them the simple question: does authenticity help you learn? The undergraduate response was a resounding yes. One reason is that instructor authenticity motivates and encourages student communication, which facilitates student learning. When instructors are authentic, the students feel like they can converse with their instructor. However, student engagement comes in many forms. Often times, instructors have preconceived notions regarding student engagement. A lot of instructors apply blanket statement interpretations regarding student engagement inside their classrooms. For example, some instructors may argue that students engagement means discussing or conversing.
       However, engagement will, and should, look differently from student to student. For example, one student may engage the classroom by nodding their head after their instructor finishes discussing something. This is important because this particular student may not normally use nonverbal language. Additionally, Student B may actively talk when the instructor asks questions, when they normally would not. Teachers need to establish a fluid and comfortable zone in the classroom for all students. A fluid classroom environment would mandate that their is not an uniformed engagement standard. Moreover, a fluid engagement standard would require respectful, knowledgeable, and stern instructors. If there is a disruption or problem, for instance, an instructor should not call classroom attention to the problem. Rather, instructors should deal with disruptions or problems calmly, respectfully, but fluidly.