Is student engagement in a classroom really that important; can’t they learn just as well by passively listening to a lecture? No, they can’t learn just as well, and research has shown again and again that lecture is the least effective method of instruction; students want engagement, and that increased student engagement results in improvements to students learning persistence, academic achievement, motivation, and satisfaction (Anders, 2019; Taylor & Parsons, 2011; Trowler, 2010). By engagement, I am specifically talking about presenting instruction in a way that maximizes students’ interactions with the content/process, the instructor, and other students. So, getting straight to the point, how can an instructor improve student engagement in every class, small or large, face-to-face, or online?
Recommendations
Small classrooms are of course the easiest to increase engagement in. The class feels more intimate because there are fewer people and this also generally makes students feel less judged by the crowd. This then leads to opportunities for more discussion, questioning, and active learning (demonstrations and practical exercises). Techniques such as think-pair-share (students contemplate a question for a short time, then pair up with another student, then share with the class or table) and the Socratic method (learning is realized discovered by going through and answering ongoing questions from the Instructor) can easily be implemented.
Large classrooms have the perceived problem of “the crowd,” with too many people the intimacy is lost so it can be hard to have a discussion or engage people in a personal manner.
- Overcome shyness/introversion by first engaging the crowd (warming them up), asking questions that simply require opinion and answering by raising their hands to show overall group thoughts.
- Go from easy to more challenging. Initial questions posed should be simple and easy to get things going. Summary questions about the last class or asking students to put what was just said into their own words are good easier type questions to start with before using the Socratic method in large classrooms.
- Think-pair-share questions can and should be done in large classrooms as well. Simply pose questions and tell the students to first think it through and then work as a table, or in groups of two or three (change this up by asking this several times and each time telling them to form a new group). A key aspect of this is to give them only enough time to work together and answer the question, too much time and students will get bored and lose interest. The key thing is to have different students present their answers/finding to the rest of the class. Then ask other students about what they just said. Note, don’t overuse think-pair-share, keep the students thinking with various types of engagement/active learning (fill in the blank lecture notes, physical movement, group project presentations, skill usage, and learning games).
- Use students’ names. Using students’ names goes a long way to improving instructional presence and improves interaction and personalization. Call on a student by name, if you don’t know their name, ask them to state their name and then refer to them by name and come back to them later in the class (by name) to address a question or as a reference.
Online Classes, a major aspect of making online courses better is by understanding that it is a different format, but it still needs the same components. There still needs to be a lot of engagement and action in order to have the best class possible.
- Use video. This is the year 2019/2020 you need to be using video (in the right way) for a multiple of reasons. Show video of your self explaining and commenting on the learning material. This helps students understand the concepts, humanizes the instructor (making them more approachable), and enhances instructional presence (Anders, 2017).
- Feedback engagement is an important interaction that is needed throughout the course. Be sure to give detailed feedback (as quickly as possible) on all assignments/tests, as well as on message boards. Email students and investigate the appropriateness of using social media tools for further engagement.
- Motivate/encourage and get them to talk to each other. Online learners tend to need a bit more motivation/encouragement sometimes so be sure to address that through your engagements. Also, since these courses are at a distance, there often aren’t the same opportunities for students to talk to one another. Overcome this by assigning group projects and needed interactions via message board use.
- Online learning should also use active learning components. Consider the use of online games and create assignment projects that require more than just writing. Ideas such as group projects, video creation, interviewing a real person (either as a video, podcast, or written work) would be a powerful real-life experience.
Summary
A key to all of this “action,” using the philosophy of more doing and less sitting (Bolliger & Colleen Halupa, 2018; Dixon, 2010). Students want to be engaged and learn so much more by going through the process of applying what they have learned as opposed to just sitting, listening, and then that’s it (Smoot, 2016). All aspects of the experiential learning process should be contemplated and addressed to maximize learning. Engagement is a vital piece to this learning process and should be used as much as possible to continually improve the education to transform students through effective learning experiences.
Reference
Anders, B. (2017). How to enhance instructional presence: Research & experience based techniques to improve both online & face-to-face instruction. Manhattan, KS: Sovorel Publishing.
Anders, B. (2019). The Army learning concept, Army learning model: A guide to understanding and implementation. Emporia, KS: Sovorel Publishing Company.
Bolliger, D. U., & Halupa, C. (2018). Online student perceptions of engagement, transactional distance, and outcomes. Distance Education, 39(3), 299-316.
Dixson, M. D. (2010). Creating effective student engagement in online courses: What do students find engaging?. Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 1-13.
Smoot Jr, J. A. (2016). Military instruction: A mixed-methods study of strategies for teaching critical thinking to enlisted military personnel (Doctoral dissertation, Capella University).
Taylor, L. & Parsons, J. (2011). Improving Student Engagement. Current Issues in Education, 14(1).
Trowler, V. (2010). Student engagement literature review. The higher education academy, 11(1), 1-15.