Opt rdgs-Std. engagement [Aug. 20, 2011, 5:44 p.m.]
Student Engagement
It won't come as a surprise to you that many of our students are bored, but here is some research that give more details on why students are bored.
Source: Charting the Path from Engagement to Achievement" (pdf -______) Great reading!
The results of this lack of engagement are poor performance, high absenteeism, higher drop-out rates, and ultimately a lack of enthusiasm for learning that can have lifelong consequences.
There are many ways you can increase student engagement, in both f2f courses and online:
- Help students to guide their own learning process including setting goals, designing learning processes, and monitoring progress.
- Include a variety of learning resources and activities at different levels (differentiate).
- Present content in a variety of formats (multimedia).
- Make the content relevant with as many real-world connections as possible.
- Emphasize higher order thinking over rote memorization.
- Build strong relationships with students.
- Ask for student suggestions, and then listen to them and act as appropriate.
Here are some additional suggestions that apply specifically to online learning:
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Have ample opportunities for active participation. This could include:
- Discussion groups with prompts
- Online writing (blogs, discussion groups, Google docs, etc.)
- Multimedia production (create a movie, web site, interactive presentation, etc.)
- Encouage students to engage in peer learning by teaching and learning from others.
- Have a strong and supportive online presence as instructor.
- Give ample and timely feedback.
- Provide multiple means of communications, e.g. course announcements, email, discussion groups, online "office hours," etc.
Additional resources:
- Marcia Dixson, "Creating Effective Student Engagement in Online Courses: What Do Students Find Engaging?"
- Indiana University, "Charting the Path from Engagement to Achievement" (pdf)
- The Principals' Partnership, "Research Brief on Student Engagement" (pdf)
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T4LT, Online Student Engagement Tips and Strategies
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPEW2birta0
Source: T4LT - Technology for Learners and Teacher; all rights reserved
The School of Ed also has a whole course on student engagement with lots more information this topic.