The Student Engagement Trap

We might think that learning is easy to observe. We can see whether students seem to be paying attention, whether they are participating in discussions and activities, and whether they appear to be enjoying the experience. Yet, none of these behaviors necessarily constitute evidence that learning is happening. 

It is true that if none of these behaviors are present, students are probably not learning or are not learning much. Learning requires attention, is facilitated by participation, and may be enhanced when students enjoy the experience. However, just because students are engaged does not mean they are gaining the intended learning.

A new report from the American Psychological Association makes this point about students’ engagement and learning while using educational technology. The authors note that students being engaged with technology does not mean that they are gaining the intended learning. However, this insight is not new, nor is it confined to using technology. In fact, educators have long struggled to ensure that the activities they plan and present to students will result in learning, not just engagement. Decades ago, noted UCLA professor Madeline Hunter labeled engagement without learning as “activating.” Students may attend, participate, and even enjoy activities that fail to produce the intended learning.
 
When we consider the role of engagement in learning, we might think about three types: behavioral, emotional, and cognitive. When students behave in ways that demonstrate engagement—busy, compliant, participating—learning might be happening. When students are emotionally engaged—interested, excited, enjoying—learning could be happening. However, when students are cognitively engaged—reasoning, explaining, retrieving, applying—we can be sure that learning is happening. 

So, how can we be certain the activities we design are leading to learning? Here are seven indicators to monitor and evidence to watch for:

• Students understand the activity’s purpose. Unless students know what they are supposed to learn, they risk missing the target. Students can be highly engaged and learn how to do an activity but still miss what we intended them to learn.  
• Students are thinking, not just doing. We can monitor whether students can explain what they are doing, justify their choices, and use related information to solve problems, not just follow directions.
• Students retrieve and connect past learning. Learning grows and sticks when students can see how what they are learning relates to and builds on what they have learned in the past.
• Students find the learning challenging. When students experience learning activities that are easy, it often means they already know what they are being asked to learn. When students pause to think, wrestle with problems, and learn from mistakes, learning is more likely to happen and stay.
• Students receive feedback and act on it. When students continue to engage without feedback, they are likely to repeat mistakes, fail to progress, or give up and disengage. When students receive feedback, revise their performance accordingly, and move forward, learning is more likely to occur and last.
• Students can transfer their learning to other contexts. When students use information from a learning activity to solve a new problem, apply it in a related situation, or explain its value beyond the initial activity, we can be certain learning has occurred.
• Students retain new learning after the activity concludes. When students can retrieve, apply, and build on what they learned days, weeks, or even months after the activity, we can be confident that what they experienced was more than a memorable moment.

Whether we present learning-related games, design a class activity, or have students engage in educational technology, we need to be mindful of what will generate the intended learning and what might be a distraction that generates engagement and little more.  

Reference: 
Barnes, N., Mallick, D. B., Evans, C. L., Hirsh-Pasek, K., Irshad, G., Lane, H. C., Mayer, R. E., Means, B., Golinkoff, R. M., Nunes, L., Pardos, Z. A., Radesky, J., Vanacore, K., & Willingham, D. T. (2026, September). Children’s and adolescent’ learning with educational technology. American Psychological Association. https://www.apa.org/pubs/reports/children-adolescent-learning-educational-technology