Augmenting survey instrument data with written reflective reports to assess student engagement

What was the educational challenge? Written reflections are common in medical education. However, they do not appear to be used in assessments of student engagement. Student engagement is an important educational construct, with implications for learning and academic performance. What was the solution? This article seeks to suggest the integration of qualitative written reflections when assessing student engagement, with the purpose of augmenting quantitative measures. The use of reflections in conjunction to surveys adds nuance and the students' own voice. How was the solution implemented? We present an example illustrating how written reflections can be integrated to augment survey data of student engagement. The illustration depicts a link between quantitative survey data and qualitative quotes from written reflections. Data in this illustration were generated using the Burch Engagement Survey for Students and written reflections compiled in line with the Fifty-five Word Stories technique. This integration leverages students' own words to capture their engagement. What lessons were learned that are relevant to a wider global audience? Written reflections can be used to augment quantitative survey data on student engagement. They present a convenient way of uncovering the student's voice regarding student engagement, thus explaining how engagement took place or was experienced. What are the next steps? While we believe that this integration is innovative, large-scale and multi-institutional studies are required to establish best practices.