A typology of task characteristics and their effects on student engagement

The tasks that teachers set have a major effect on how students approach learning, however the nature of this interaction has not been explored comprehensively, nor against current understandings of quality learning. This paper details the development of a typology of task characteristics that lead to four different types of engagement associated with quality learning. The typology was developed from the work of hundreds of teacher researchers in the Project for Enhancing Effective Learning (PEEL), who provided accounts of tasks they designed to engage students in quality learning. It provides insights into characteristics of tasks that are more likely to lead to higher levels of engagement and stimulate better approaches to learning and hence provides a way of auditing both individual tasks and the sets of tasks in a course.

► Development of a comprehensive typology of eight characteristics of tasks.
► Provides a framework to discuss tasks in terms of likely influence on learning and engagement.
► Four forms of engagement defined: behavioural, affective, cognitive and metacognitive.
► Provides guidance for designing tasks that stimulate different forms of engagement.