Say I do! An Engagement Party. Sarah Bergeron Assistant Director, Office of Student Aid and Financial Literacy

Warning…

Todays Program… What is student engagement? Participation vs engagement Why does this even matter? How are we currently engaging our students? What is going well/what can go better? Active/passive engagement How do we measure student engagement? Activity!

What is Student Engagement? “Student engagement occurs when “students make a psychological investment in learning. They try hard to learn what school offers. They take pride not simply in earning the formal indicators of success, but in understanding the material and incorporating or internalizing it in the lives” - Wikipedia “Student engagement is the product of motivation and active learning. It is a product rather than a sum because it will not occur if either element is missing. Elizabeth F. Barkley, Student Engagement Techniques: A Handbook for College Faculty How great would it be if students would apply this to financial literacy information!

Participation vs Engagement Participate- to take part, taking action Sign up for the program Fill out the necessary paperwork Go through the motions of the program without much focus or effort Engage- make an investment, mental effort Set individual goals Take part in extra or optional activities Content gets you started, the skills get you engaged! Alahrie Aziz- Sims

Lets Play! Is Mike Participating or Engaging? Sarah: Hi Mike, how’s the weather in Boston today? Mike: It’s cold out. Is Mike Participating or Engaging? Participating Sarah: Hi Mike, what do you think of David Price opting in for the rest of his contract? Mike: I think it’s good. On the radio they said he could be a big role player again next year.

Lets Play! Is Mike Participating or Engaging? Sarah: Mike, what do you think of Tom Brady's performance so far this year? Mike: I think he had been underperforming, I’m just not sure if that is because of him or his receiving corps. It will be interesting to see what happens the rest of the season. Is Mike Participating or Engaging? Engaging Sarah: Mike what do you think about the Celtics chances of winning the NBA Finals this year? Mike: I’m not sure, I don’t follow the Celtics, let me do a little digging and get back to you? Depends!

Why does this even matter? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=256hluHbp2o

How are we currently trying to engage our students? Pizza Prizes Bulletin boards in the residence halls Games Interactive sessions Question and answer time Certificate programs Coaching Podcasts Savings challenges

What about that is going well?

What about that could go better?

How should we be trying to engage with our students? Get them involved in an activity Budget worksheet Balancing a checkbook Have them add to the conversation What has been your experience with…. Get students to understand the life long importance of the topics Intrinsically motivated Life-long application of knowledge

Active vs. Passive Programming Active programs- events that happen in real time Session on credit, etc. Tax filing session Passive Programs- convey information in a logical, interesting format in which no active participation is required. Bulletin Boards in Residence Halls Creative advertisement is sometimes a form of passive programming - Green Bean Project

How do we assess engagement? It’s more than just people in the seats… Pre and post assessments Survey Visually Are students reading critically Interacting with other students Taking ownership over the material

The good news… Generation Z is different! They have always been wired Independent learners Short attention spans Entrepreneurial ambitions Independent They were born or raised in the midst of an economic crisis Prefer images to words

Activity! Your Board of Trustees has asked your office to sponsor a financial literacy event during Financial Literacy Month and they would like for you to present to them your plans for the event including: - Basic information about the program - Means of communicating the information - Who will be involved in what aspect of the program - What you want the attendees to get out of the program - How you will evaluate the program success Split into groups of 4 to 5 people, draw a topic from the topic jar and start discussing! You will have about 10 minutes as a group to develop these answers and then will be sharing with the larger group.

Questions, Comments, Concerns? Contact Information: Sarah Bergeron Assistant Director, Office of Student Aid & Financial Literacy Worcester Polytechnic Institute sebergeron@wpi.edu

References Carter, C. P., Reschly, A. L., Lovelace, M. D., Appleton, J. J., & Thompson, D. (2012). Measuring student engagement among elementary students: Pilot of the Student Engagement Instrument—Elementary Version. School Psychology Quarterly, 27(2), 61-73. doi:10.1037/a0029229 [Editorial]. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20141204033234-229516004-student- participation-v-student-engagement-a-note-to-my-teachers/. Kozinsky, S. (2017, July 24). How Generation Z Is Shaping The Change In Education. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/sievakozinsky/2017/07/24/how-generation-z-is-shaping-the-change-in- education/#512db2c56520 Spencer, J. (2017, December 04). Schlechty's Levels of Engagement. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=256hluHbp2o