An engagement is an agreement by a couple to enter into marriage at some future time, usually accompanied by a formal or informal announcement to friends and family. Following this agreement, the couple is said to be "engaged to be married," or simply "engaged." A male partner in an engagement is called a fiancé and a female is called a fiancée (same pronunciation for both; from the Frenchse fiancer, to become engaged). Though some describe engagement as the modern successor to the act and state of betrothal (an "exchange of vows [troth]" to be married), the terms are sometimes used interchangeably, and would be often understood as interchangeable, today.
In contemporary Western culture, it is quite common (in fact, in some areas, far more common than not) for couples to spend a considerable period of engagement, often living together, possibly without setting a date for their marriage. The saying has been, that they were "engaged to be engaged." As a consequence— though originally it was a tabloid usage— during the 1990s "fiancé" was sometimes used as euphemism for a live-in lover (or, in France, a mere boyfriend or girlfriend whether or not they live together), even where marriage has not been considered, largely replacing the somewhat sociological "significant other".
These indicators of engaged learning can act as a "compass" for reform instruction, helping educators chart an instructional course and maintain an orientation based on a vision of engaged learning and what it looks like in the classroom and community.
Engaged learning also involves being collaborative--that is, valuing and having the skills to work with others.
Assessment of engaged learning involves presenting students with an authentic task, project, or investigation, and then observing, interviewing, and examining their presentations and artifacts to assess what they actually know and can do.
About three-fourths of engaged employees (76%) strongly agreed with the statement "I have a friend at work who I share new ideas with." On the other hand, only 2 in 10 actively disengaged employees (21%) strongly agreed that they have a friend at work with whom they share new ideas.
Almost 9 in 10 engaged employees (85%) strongly agreed that they have grown in their ability to positively affect their company's customers, while only 2 in 10 actively disengaged employees (19%) strongly agreed.
Finally, more than half of all engaged employees (51%) strongly agreed with the statement "At work, my coworkers always do what is right for our customers." This was in stark contrast to the actively disengaged employees: Only 1 in 10 strongly agreed that their coworkers always do what is right for their customers.
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