ABSTRACT
The phrase "engaged learning" broadly indicates any situation in which students actively participate in their own acquisition of knowledge or skill. Collaborative learning methods such as problem-based or project-based learning can be identified as engaged learning, among other pedagogical practices such as increasing the frequency of instructor feedback, incorporating writing across the curriculum, and establishing learning communities. Incorporating collaborative activity into the classroom is not a tremendously difficult change to make in teachers pedagogical practice, but it does require some background knowledge and prior planning in order for these learning experiences to work well for students. Engaged learning strategies counteract the discrepancy between teachers knowledge of best educational practices and traditional approaches to pedagogy. Students complete hands-on, engaged learning activities featuring design thinking, lateral thinking, problem solving, and peer critique, among others. Implementing community-engaged learning will require a larger investment of advance planning than teachers may be used to.
