Keeping Students Engaged
When I look at the online experiences that I have had in both the instructor and the student role, I truly believe that instructors providing quality and timely feedback is so important to students learning.
What are some of the best ways to engage students and meet them where they are at?
Alfretta,
Great list. This is a list that reflects my own classes. I like to use these activities because they get the students engaged and I am able to keep the class moving forward.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Question: What are some of the best ways to engage students and meet them where they are at?
Some ways to engage students in classroom discussions include:
Role-Playing - in this scenario students can be organized in small groups and assume roles in various scenarios relative to the course content
Case Studies – allow students to work in groups to respond to cases that allows for applying theories and concepts relative to course related case studies.
Brainstorming – prepare a class activity, problem, or discussion for which students can brainstorm ideas or solutions to a course related topic.
Claudia,
Yes, immediate and 'digestible' feedback is a prominent engagement tool. Very good.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
short quizzes with immediate feedback can be helpful to students. If I were a student I would want to be able to ask questions and get a response within an hour or less. So, knowing when an instructor is available on line is important. I also like using skype and chat sesions. I would make sure my students cold contact me on skype.
Jenny,
Very true. When possible, lead the student group activities with questions and confirm or correct responses as required to keep the group on track.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
Yes keeping email responses coming and going or group activity where everybody gets to voice their thoughts would be a welcomed thought to keep the students engaged
ROSA,
Very good points of interest. Do you have any particularly successful assignments like this that you have used in your online classes? Thank you for sharing.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
Making the learners interested in the content is key. It is important to have assignments that will make students think outside the box. Having them do more than just book assignments or reviews will help them acutually have a hands on on what they are learning. This will make them better learners and give them a sense of what is instore for them once they leave your classroom. In addition, have them research other resource material is also important.
Marybeth,
That seems to be consistent with what most online instructors generally report.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
Besides having it posted on-line, I send them personal emails to remind them about the synchronous chats and I have found that sometimes the extra reminder helps to get them to participate in the synchronous chat/disscussion. As far as the asynchronous chat, they do stay engaged as it is a requirement for the course grade.
Breezy,
This is an excellent multifaceted approach. Multiple avenues of communication, encouragement and support provide many options for the students to engage in the learning activities. Have you found any of these to be more helpful than the others?
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
The way that I keep students engaged during an online class are the following. I use the chat room via computer and this is for an hour. With this chat students can bring any questions that they have to me so that I can discuss as a group. I put this information on the class calendar, announcement, and through email. I try and make sure that I participate within the class discussion questions. I try and give the students a professional view point. Also, I make sure that I send out positive encouragement to my class to try and keep striving for the best with it comes to their career.
Chad,
My most successful approach to this has been individual e-mails highly recommending participation in the chat to students based on their individual needs. Additionally, I have obtained student phone numbers and placed calls to individual students. I must admit I do not practice either of these on as regularly, as I probably should.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
Daniel and David,
I do provide synchronous chats to my students, but these are often poorly attended. My university does not allow for extra credit and the chats are not required. I do archive the lectures. Do either of you have some ideas about generating more student participation considering these circumstances?
Daniel,
Many of the synchronous and asynchronous audiovisual files used in online classroom activities have gotten positive feedback from students and instructors alike. In my experience, using audiovisual human interactivity is one of the best ways to engage students and meet them at their point of need.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
