Twenty-first century learning, technology, and the impact on student engagement

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between twenty-first century instructional methods and student learning experiences. To do so, a typical and representative group of eight students was selected for qualitative interviews which ascertained student perception of their engagement in a typical New Media class. The study determined the perceived impact of a "student-centered instructional approach to video creation" on levels of student engagement in order to understand the nature of engagement and how they moved towards higher levels of independent learning. Transcripts of these interviews were used to identify a thematic structure of student perceptions of their engagement in a classroom where a "student-centered instruction approach to video creation" was used. Lastly, using the teacher's professional reflections, notes, and anecdotal reports from the class, students' stories of engagement were created to illustrate each unique journey toward self-engaged independence from the teacher's perspective. The results of this data pointed to three meta-themes. Meta-theme 1: Positive Relationships and Affective Climate, Meta-theme 2: Personalized, Student-centered Supported Independence, and Meta-theme 3: Accelerated Lift and Independent Learning.