What is student engagement?
“Student engagement is a rendezvous between learning and the digital tools and techniques that excite students.” ~Educause Quarterly
“Student engagement refers to the degree of attention, curiosity, interest, optimism, and passion that students show when they are learning or being taught, which extended to the level of motivation they have to learn and progress in their education.” ~Glossary of Education Reform
“Students who are engaged exhibit three characteristics: (1) they are attracted to their work, (2) they persist in their work despite challenges and obstacles, and (3) they take visible delight in accomplishing their work.” ~Phil Schlecty
Benefits of Engaging Students
Learning improves when students are inquisitive, interested, or inspired, and learning tends to suffer when students are bored, dispassionate, disaffected, or otherwise disengaged
Positive impact on students understanding course content
Increases motivation (active, attentive, involved, etc.) in the learning process
Impacts course completion rates and retention
Challenges in the Online Classroom
Due to the lack of nonverbal cues, faculty cannot directly observe student behavior (especially disengagement, frustration, or lack of enthusiasm), evaluate attitudes, or motivation levels
Faculty and students cannot express or share emotions easily
Anonymous feeling makes it easy for students to withdraw, participate minimally, or completely disappear
Students without required technology skills can become discouraged
Social isolation occurs if a student gets lost, is unfamiliar/uncomfortable with needed technology, unable to get immediate help, or unable to feel instructor presence in class
Motivating Students
Include specific feedback (beyond right/wrong)
You: Good job on your presentation but I think you are going to have to re-do it.
Student: I’m not sure what I am supposed to do. What should I do different? I have no idea. I’m lost.
You: Your presentation went well. There are a few things to note to make your presentation even better next time. I think you could have stopped after slide #6, and I think you could have made the points on slide #4 graphically.
Student: Thanks for the feedback. I’ll work on that.
Motivating Students
Offer encouragement/praise and positive reinforcement
Nice job explaining…
I really like how you used deductive reasoning to answer that question
You did a great job on your essay
That was a wonderful paragraph you wrote because…
Your studying really paid off
Great job! Way to go!
Motivating Students
Provide opportunities to connect with other students and instructor
Get to know your students through class introductions – Introduce yourself and learn about your students
Provide opportunities for students to participate in the learning experience
Promote social exchanges for learning among peers
Let students know you are interested in their success and are available to support them by providing them ample ways to get help
Instructor Behavior
Include a welcome to the course
Provides a sense of your enthusiasm, your approach, your attitude, and your willingness to help
Clearly communicate class expectations and continue to manage these expectations
Set the tone: be the first post of each new discussion topic, post weekly overview, post reminder announcements, etc.
Respond to questions in a reasonable timeframe
Shows you are active, interested in what students have to say, and dependable
Respond to discussion postings
Shows interest and keeps topic on track and moving
Instructor Behavior
Use a consistent timetable with predictable deadlines
Provide timely, specific and personalized assessments
Provide FAQs and class strategy tips
Saves time in answering basic questions
Promote active learning
Pedagogical Design
Use engaging course pages (with imagery, video, audio, interaction, etc.)
Include interactive presentations (use of animation, etc.)
Use videos, real-time data, case studies, peer groups, etc.
Offer 'Extra Resources'
Shows connection to real world and importance to students/relevance to their lives
DSC Initiatives
Rubric for Online Class Delivery
Time on Task, Collaboration/Interaction, Content and Delivery Design, Accessibility and Support, Feedback/Assessment and Progress, Active Learning and Critical Thinking
Syllabus Template
How to proceed through the course, Handling of assignments, Communication, Interaction, etc.