Student Engagement in Online Courses FALL PLANNING 2015

Engagement is the foundation of online learning.

What is student engagement?

 “Student engagement is a rendezvous between learning and the digital tools and techniques that excite students.” ~Educause Quarterly  “Student engagement refers to the degree of attention, curiosity, interest, optimism, and passion that students show when they are learning or being taught, which extended to the level of motivation they have to learn and progress in their education.” ~Glossary of Education Reform  “Students who are engaged exhibit three characteristics: (1) they are attracted to their work, (2) they persist in their work despite challenges and obstacles, and (3) they take visible delight in accomplishing their work.” ~Phil Schlecty

Benefits of Engaging Students  Learning improves when students are inquisitive, interested, or inspired, and learning tends to suffer when students are bored, dispassionate, disaffected, or otherwise disengaged  Positive impact on students understanding course content  Increases motivation (active, attentive, involved, etc.) in the learning process  Impacts course completion rates and retention

Challenges in the Online Classroom  Due to the lack of nonverbal cues, faculty cannot directly observe student behavior (especially disengagement, frustration, or lack of enthusiasm), evaluate attitudes, or motivation levels  Faculty and students cannot express or share emotions easily  Anonymous feeling makes it easy for students to withdraw, participate minimally, or completely disappear  Students without required technology skills can become discouraged  Social isolation occurs if a student gets lost, is unfamiliar/uncomfortable with needed technology, unable to get immediate help, or unable to feel instructor presence in class

Techniques and Strategies to Encourage Engagement

Motivating Students  Include specific feedback (beyond right/wrong)  You: Good job on your presentation but I think you are going to have to re-do it.  Student: I’m not sure what I am supposed to do. What should I do different? I have no idea. I’m lost.  You: Your presentation went well. There are a few things to note to make your presentation even better next time. I think you could have stopped after slide #6, and I think you could have made the points on slide #4 graphically.  Student: Thanks for the feedback. I’ll work on that.

Where can I provide feedback in Falcon Online?  Dropboxes  Quizzes  Discussions  Gradebook

Motivating Students  Offer encouragement/praise and positive reinforcement  Nice job explaining…  I really like how you used deductive reasoning to answer that question  You did a great job on your essay  That was a wonderful paragraph you wrote because…  Your studying really paid off  Great job! Way to go!

Motivating Students  Provide opportunities to connect with other students and instructor  Get to know your students through class introductions – Introduce yourself and learn about your students  Provide opportunities for students to participate in the learning experience  Promote social exchanges for learning among peers  Let students know you are interested in their success and are available to support them by providing them ample ways to get help

Instructor Behavior  Include a welcome to the course  Provides a sense of your enthusiasm, your approach, your attitude, and your willingness to help  Clearly communicate class expectations and continue to manage these expectations  Set the tone: be the first post of each new discussion topic, post weekly overview, post reminder announcements, etc.  Respond to questions in a reasonable timeframe  Shows you are active, interested in what students have to say, and dependable  Respond to discussion postings  Shows interest and keeps topic on track and moving

Instructor Behavior  Use a consistent timetable with predictable deadlines  Provide timely, specific and personalized assessments  Provide FAQs and class strategy tips  Saves time in answering basic questions  Promote active learning

Pedagogical Design  Use engaging course pages (with imagery, video, audio, interaction, etc.)  Include interactive presentations (use of animation, etc.)  Use videos, real-time data, case studies, peer groups, etc.  Offer 'Extra Resources'  Shows connection to real world and importance to students/relevance to their lives

DSC Initiatives  Rubric for Online Class Delivery  Time on Task, Collaboration/Interaction, Content and Delivery Design, Accessibility and Support, Feedback/Assessment and Progress, Active Learning and Critical Thinking  Syllabus Template  How to proceed through the course, Handling of assignments, Communication, Interaction, etc.

Evaluating Student Engagement  Examine the time and effort students invest in class and related activities