Valeri
Farmer-Dougan, Psychology
Kathleen
McKinney, Cross Chair in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning and
Professor of Sociology
Illinois State University
A common topic in conversations among faculty about teaching is how to help students engage with the course and the course material. Recently, for a University Teaching Workshop session, we generated a list of strategies for engaging students. The ideas come both from our reading of literature in the social sciences and education as well as our own practical experience. Below is a discussion of some of these strategies. Of course, which strategies you use will depend on context: the course objectives, characteristics of the course and students, and your own personality and teaching style.
Provide students with choice and a sense of control. Give students options and choices in planning the course, in assignments, in ways to demonstrate their learning, and in how they are evaluated. It is possible to offer some choice and still maintain your objectives and standards. Whenever possible in particular assignments, allow students to pursue their own questions (in discussion, on projects, for paper topics…). Be clear on your expectations and objectives. Knowing why they are doing something can increase students' sense of control and engagement. More specific strategies in this category include using individual learning contracts as part of the course, holding student-run review sessions, having students draft exam questions (edit and use some of the best ones), and using classroom assessment techniques (ways of soliciting student feedback about the course, your teaching, and their learning).
Do all you can such that students perceive your grading/evaluation as fair. This probably includes providing frequent, prompt, and meaningful feedback, making sure your learning objectives, required tasks, and evaluation all "match," and using several and diverse forms of evaluation activities. Avoid the use of competitive grading systems. Allow students to help define grading criteria or standards. Use some classroom assessment techniques (CATs) in your classes and be sure to follow up on the students' responses.
Students can help each other engage. Assist your students in doing the following: offer each other support and feedback, value and give credit to other students' contributions, form study groups and use them well, and resolve conflict. In addition, you can require formal and informal group work when appropriate as well as have students participate in cooperative learning (divide the material among students or groups of students, and require each group to teach their peers the material they have studied).
For many people engagement is more than just actions, it has an emotional component. You can involve students' affective responses in a variety of ways. For example, select topics and readings that are relevant to students, use controversial topics, have students engage in structured, intellectual debates, ask students to argue the side opposite the one they believe, and role model appropriate affective responses.
Let's not forget that many of the pedagogical techniques we have always used can improve engagement. Rethink how you use writing: Use short, in-class reaction papers. Have students produce a newsletter about course content. Assign out-of-class speakers or events and have students write a critical summary. What about instructional technology? Use multimedia (broadly defined), such as text, audio, video, overheads, computers, discussion, group work, lecture, poetry, art, touch...to present and learn material, make use of technology as another mode of learning and for asynchronous learning, and use technology to "talk to" students outside of class (email, WebBoard discussions, etc.). Appropriate, exciting, discussion--where the students are responsible--also fits in here. Require each student to bring in a "good" discussion question covering the material of the day or use some other form of the "ticket in." Require each student to take a turn as class discussion leader (you must "train" them). Have students answer the following two questions while reading and bring those answers to class: What was the most difficult part/concept/idea in the reading? What did you like the best/find most exciting? Make use of small group discussion assignments (summarize a reading, respond to a question on a reading, compare two readings, draw a group concept map) and have a scribe or reporter from each group share the group's ideas with the whole class.
Encourage students to self-reflect on their own learning. There are many ways to do this. You could have students keep learning journals for your course. Ask your students about barriers and supports for learning in one-minute papers or midterm evaluations. Take a class period to discuss strategies for learning in the course or to analyze why students performed as they did on an exam and what changes you or they might make in the future. Meet with each student to discuss her/his progress in your class.
Finally, think about the many behaviors you as an instructor engage in every day. How can you alter these to encourage engagement? For example, you should know and respect each student as an individual including making every effort to learn your students' names. Show respect for students in your interaction with them. Demonstrate your own passion for the subject matter. Challenge your students but offer appropriate supports. Try some self-disclosure, sharing something relevant about your personal life with students. Use eye contact and move around the classroom to include all students in your interpersonal space. Spend time with students outside of class (e.g., work with a student disciplinary club or attend a campus scholarly presentation with your students).
