Aislinn,
Sorry for the late response! Busy times. I can’t speak for others, but my own plan is to submit my own model for grading that can at least start to compromise with these requirements. It’s a stopgap measure and might/might not work, but it’s a start at least.
On January 2019, Virginia Tech Library launched an awesome booklet that introduces a few of the many open resources you can find in and through the Library. You can download the booklet in this link . I think one of the biggest challenges is not student engagement, but teacher preparedness. I think students want to be fully engaged, but this can mean a lot of work for the teacher. Some teachers shy (run) away from that, so that they can have an orderly class, so there won’t be much challenge, or to ensure that they are fitting department requirements. But in the same vein, as I have mentioned, we have to look at the structural environment that teachers work in. If they are not supported, or at worst punished for creativity from a department that doesn’t understand critical pedagogy it can be hard to stick your neck out.
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I also use machine learning in the urban context, coupled with my own experiences learning as a student, the hands-on, real world problem solving approach definitely engages students. This past summer while working with UG on data science, while we had an overarching product, I allowed students to pick an area that interested them. I treated their projects not as side projects, but as a full component of the project deliverables for the client. From my role as project manager, I could see a change in students motivation and excitement after seeing the client really engage their interest areas.
