Keeping Us Engaged: Student Perspectives (and Research-Based Strategies) on What Works and Why
Agenda
Engaging students on the first day of class
Connecting with students in and outside of the classroom
Using powerful teaching strategies
Creating meaningful assignments
Feedback that engages
Engaging Students on the First Day of Class
Fostering a Sense of Belonging
Developing Knowledge and Skills
Fostering a Sense of Belonging
Getting to Know Me�Rosalyn Stoa, University of Wisconsin
“The first thing this professor had us do was create a nameplate and write on a notecard some personal information, like our name, major, minor, where we came from, what we wanted to do, a couple of fun facts about ourselves, why we were taking this class, and what we wanted to get out of it. Throughout the whole class, he kept high spirits and a smile on his face, giving us a little primer on what the class was going to be about. At the end of class, he took a picture of each of us holding our nameplates up and collected the notecards. He told us it was his goal by the next class to know each of our names. I thought for sure he was joking. I knew he had at least 100 students in all his classes. But sure enough, by the next class, he came up to me, called me by name, and asked about my second major (business) and we talked about the applications of psychology to business, as well as my involvement on the swim team (one of my fun facts). “
Getting to Know Me: Pecha Kucha�Shadiquah Hordge, New Jersey City University
Icebreakers: Focusing on Similarities�Gehlbach et al. (2016)
Groups
5 Similarities with Teachers
5 Similarities with Students at Another School
315 High school Students; 25 Teachers
Icebreakers: Focusing on Similarities�Gehlbach et al. (2016)
Results:
Developing Knowledge and Skills
Solving Complicated Math Problems on Day One�Cayleigh Keenan, William Paterson University
“The first day of a college course is normally a long, drawn-out reading of the syllabus. However, in my Math Methods and Assessment class, we were immediately engaged with the course content. This course involved exploring different methods of solving mathematical problems and unique ways to assess students on the skills they learn in the classroom. For faculty looking to create a more engaging classroom environment on the first day of class, I suggest finding an activity that touches on the big ideas you wish to cover in your course to give the students an overview of what is in store for them. You want to create curiosity in your students so that they keep coming back to your class hungry to learn more.“
What do you (or could you) do on the first day to create a sense of belonging and develop knowledge and skills?
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Connecting with Students
Getting to Know Students During Class
Interacting with Students Outside of Class
Power of Relationships
Motivation
Confidence
Learning
Getting to Know Students During Class
Tapping into Student Interests�Michael Daidone, College of the Holy Cross
“He took the time to get to know each student during the class period. For example, he would take polls of your interests on certain topics and then, the night before each class, he would adjust his PowerPoints to customize each of his lectures, ensuring the examples would be of interest to certain students or fit the majority interest. With each student, he attempted to find an area of interest related to the topics of the class. Subsequently, he would send you an email with an article relating to that topic and paragraphs of his own thoughts. This almost weekly email from him continuously kept me engaged in the class..“
Getting to Know Students Outside of Class
Advising Appointment�Sarah Harvey, Stockton University
An Individual Meeting with a Disengaged Student�Joshua Allen Brown, Kennesaw State University
“In my first semester, I was taking a course that I wasn’t particularly interested in, and to make matters worse, it was an early morning class. My level of engagement was effectively nonexistent, and that disengagement and lack of desire undoubtedly showed in the classroom. If he had never asked me to meet with him in person, I could have easily dismissed even the elevated level of care I noticed he had in the class as insignificant. Instead, a few minutes of actual conversation made all the difference, and seeing he genuinely cared engaged me to do exactly the same. “
Persistence Project: �The 15-minute Meeting�Oakton Community College, Chicago Supiano (2020)
Overall Program
Black Students
Teaching Strategies that Engage
Make it Personal
Collaborative Activities
Make it Personal
A Note-Card Activity�Benjamin Sackler, College of Charleston
Collaborative Activities
Online Group Project�Edwin S. Lee, San Jose State University
“In this class, the instructor assigned a group project that required students to research an organization. Before starting the project, the instructor asked students to share what type of career they wanted to pursue. Each student was then placed into a team based on their career interests. Students also had to complete modules to learn interpersonal skills that would be helpful for teamwork. After each team member completed the modules, each team was asked to elect a leader, assign roles to the remainder of the team members, and agree on rules for the project.“
Collaboration and Learning
(Center for Community College Student Engagement, 2010)
Creating Meaningful Assignments
Give Choice
Foster Creativity
Giving Choice�Caleb Morris, University of South Carolina
How much choice do students have?�(Harrington, manuscript in progress)
Any Choice | Topic | Assignment Type | Individual or Group | Due Date |
90/129 70% | 72/129 56% | 32/129 25% | 4/129 3% | 2/129 1.5% |
How do you (or could you) give students choice in your class?
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Creative Assignments
Benefits of Creative Coursework�Miller (2018)
Creative Coursework
Confidence in Creative Thinking,
Critical Thinking,
Entrepreneurial Skills
Networking Abilities
Helping Me Discover My Passion�Genevieve Jaser, Southern Connecticut State University
Feedback and Engagement
Formative Assessment Opportunities
Giving Students Opportunities to Revise
Reinforce Strengths
Formative Assessment Opportunities
Breaking Down a Major Assignment�Kayla Jasper, Temple University
“My professor designed the final project to be completed throughout the semester by making pieces of it due on certain weeks leading up to the final date. This gave us the opportunity to complete the assignment one part at a time and receive feedback at each point. After the first assignment, she gave thorough feedback on what we could improve on for the next phase of the assignment. This approach really helps us gain confidence and skills.“
Giving Students Opportunities to Revise
Required Revisions�Ryan Harrington, Quinnipiac University
“In this course, one of the major assignments was a group project that included a presentation and a paper. About halfway through the semester, the paper portion of this project was due. The professor graded the papers by the following class, and when he returned the papers to each group, he explained how we would be spending the entire class reviewing our papers. The professor then spoke to the whole class describing the requirements of this revision assignment. He told us that we would be receiving a separate grade for this second, revised submission. Knowing that this assignment was going to be graded again, we immediately became more interested in the notes and feedback that the professor had written on the returned papers. The professor then went to each group and spent 5–10 minutes discussing that group’s paper with the group members while the other groups were working on the presentation portion of the project.“
Reinforce Strengths
Reinforcing Strengths�Christina Christodoulo, Drew University
What was your key take-away?
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Thank You!