The effects of high impact learning experiences on student engagement

Student engagement includes skills engagement, participation engagement, emotional engagement, and performance engagement. Handlesman et al., (2005) created a questionnaire (SCEQ) that measures these forms of engagement. The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which each form is promoted by different learning experiences. One hundred an twenty-seven students involved in (a) undergraduate research, (b) learning communities, (c) internships, or (d) service learning completed the SCEQ. The results indicated that undergraduate research and internships promoted greater student engagement. Key factors contributing to engagement included perceived career relevance, faculty/student collaboration and the focus and intensity of the learning experience.