Name: Thinking about engagement in STEM
Start: 2026-09-19T11:15:00+0200
End: 2026-09-19T12:15:00+0200

Working Together To Support Learning

Saturday September 19, 2026 11:15am - 12:15pm CEST

Description:
This presentation interrogates what we mean when we speak about “engagement” in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) within international school settings. Rather than equating engagement with visible participation or on-task behavior, the session conceptualizes it as a multidimensional construct involving cognitive challenge, emotional resonance, and intellectual agency. It critically examines how engagement is frequently interpreted through observable compliance, while deeper indicators—curiosity, persistence, and epistemic ownership—remain less visible but more consequential.

Drawing on contemporary educational research, the session considers how inquiry-driven pedagogy, authentic problem framing, and interdisciplinary design can foster sustained intellectual investment rather than short-term task completion. Particular attention is given to how teacher assumptions shape classroom structures that either enable or constrain meaningful participation.

Intended Impact:
Participants will leave with a conceptual framework for diagnosing disengagement and rethinking learning design. The session ultimately challenges not only how we teach STEM, but how we define and evaluate student involvement in complex, future-oriented disciplines.

Speakers