Student Engagement in Class: Increasing Learning and Persistence

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Student Engagement in Class Increasing
Learning and Persistence

• Linda B. Nilson, Ph.D.
• Director, Office of Teaching Effectiveness and
  Innovation
• Clemson University, 445 Brackett Hall, Clemson,
  SC 29634 USA
• 864.656.4542 nilson_at_clemson.edu
  www.clemson.edu/OTEI

Developed for Innovative Educators
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Participant Outcomes

• By the end of this webinar, you will be able to
  plan and manage your classes to gain and maintain
  your students attention and engagement, thereby
  enhancing their motivation, learning, retention
  of the material, and persistence in college. The
  engagement techniques reviewed here will also
  enhance students satisfaction with your course
  and your teaching.

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How do you decide what to do in class ?

• By your student learning outcomes
  what you want your students to be able to do by
  the end of the class or week.
• Activities Assignments (in-class, homework)
  Their Learning Experiences
  Your Teaching Methods
• Choose the best tools (methods)
  for the job (outcomes).

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Lecture when you want to

• Pique students curiosity, inspire, motivate
• Model style of thinking, problem solving
• Give unique organization to the material
• Adapt high-level material to students level
• Add your own viewpoint or related research
• Present background summary or up-to-date material
  not currently available in print

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Lecture is ineffective when you want students to
be able to

• Examine and possibly change attitudes
• Explore controversial or ambiguous material
• Transfer knowledge to new situations
• Develop critical thinking or problem-solving
• Develop/improve writing or speaking skills
• Learn performance or procedural techniques
• Retain knowledge or pursue more after course

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Do NOT lecture the readings!

• If you do, students wont even try to do the
  readings.
• Rather hold students accountable for the readings
• Better learning and retention

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Common Ways to Engage Students in Class

• Dynamic and Interactive (Student-Active) Lecture
• Group Work/Cooperative (Collaborative) Learning
• Discussion (Recitation)

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• When you lecture, make it engaging and
  motivating.

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Challenge of the Lecture

• Students attention span 10-20 minutes at one
  time, depending on
• students prior interest (given)
• lecture delivery
• draw of content

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1. Delivery to Get and Keep Students Attention

• Energy, animation, humor, drama
• Stories, anecdotes, examples
• Good public speaking skills
• Dynamism and Charisma

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Lecture Delivery - Elements

• Voice
• Body language/gestures
• Language
• Instructional organization
• Emotions projected
• Appearance/dress
• Preparation rehearsal 

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Pre-Class Exercises to ? Your Dynamism and
Charisma

• To make yourself larger, looser, more relaxed
• Breathe slowly and deeply from diaphragm 3-4
  times.
• Stretch in every direction while standing.
• Send energy into your outstretched hands.

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Pre-class exercises continued

• To increase your vocal variety, richness,
  projection
• Sing scales.
• Alternate high and low pitches (QA).
• Read childrens books aloud.

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2. Increase Draw of Content

• Simple vocabulary new terms and symbols defined
• Concise explanations, but rephrased and
  elaborated
• No side-tracks (w/o explanation)
• Pauses for comprehension, note-taking
• All elements in graphics, demos explained
• Examples (many) tied back to concepts

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Draw of Content continued

• Inject drama, surprise, and suspense with humor,
  exaggeration, unexpected results, amazing facts,
  intriguing anecdotes and examples, case studies,
  paradoxes, and puzzles
• Inject own viewpoint and background
• Inject cultural aspects of material and
  discipline
• Inject student-active breaks

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Add Activities That Engage Students

• Interactive (Student-Active) Lecture
• Group Work
• Recitation and Discussion

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• When you lecture, do it interactively.

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Interactive Lecture

• Lecture with student-active breaks short
  student activities (2-10 minutes) every 10-20
  minutes
• Compensates for short attention spans
• Increases class attendance, learning, and
  retention
• Raises your student ratings

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• Poll How many of you already lecture
  interactively?
• Almost every class
• Some classes
• A few classes
• Never have

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• If you have already lectured interactively in
  some or almost all your classes, how did it work?
  

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Student-Active Breaks

• Select/design activities to meet 2 objectives
• Students apply/use content youve been lecturing
  about get practice performing your learning
  outcomes.
• You find out how well/much they understand
  (classroom assessment).

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Possible Student-Active Breaks

• Lecture note review, fill in, elaboration
• Above in pairs
• Periodic writing of most important point(s), with
  pair or group sharing
• Multiple choice question (conceptual)
• Problem to solve (indiv, pair, group)
• Quick case study (indiv, pair, group)
• Discuss open-ended question (pair, group)
• List examples of key concept

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• Reach consensus on a difficult or complex
  question or issue (pair, group)
• Worksheet/exercise (indiv, pair, group)
• Concept map, graphic organizer, matrix of lecture
  material (indiv, pair, group)
• Question for future test (indiv, pair, group)
• One-sentence (or longer) summary of lecture
• CATS muddiest point, one-minute paper
• Reaction/reflection paragraph

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Informal (ad hoc) Groups

• Great for student-active lecture breaks
• Set up on the fly with neighbors
• Pairs or small groups of 3 or 4
• Short-term for class period, exercise
• No peer evaluation or other feedback
• Easy for instructor, except must hold groups
  accountable

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Challenging Tasks

• Task beyond what students have learned
• Must require synergy to perform.
• Specific task with written product to be
  group-signed and submitted
• Tight time limit requiring focus
• Call on groups and their members randomly (for
  individual accountability).

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• Take some time for discussion or
  recitation.
• Whats the difference?

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Learning Outcomes Recitation Serves Well

• Recalling and restating knowledge, terms, and
  facts
• Demonstrating understanding by expressing in own
  words
• Speaking the language of the discipline
• Practice/drill through repetition

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Learning Outcomes Discussion Serves Well

• Developing higher-order/critical thinking skills
• Developing problem-solving skills (e.g., case
  debriefing)
• Exploring controversial/ambiguous material
• Examining, possibly changing attitudes/beliefs
  (mind-broadening)
• Transferring knowledge to new situations
• Developing motivation to learn more

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Answer one of these questions in a pod.1. What
problems arise for you during a discussion?

• 2. Why do you think some students dont
  participate?
• 3. What obstacles to participation can we as
  instructors remove?
• 4. What do the questions posed thus far have in
  common?

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Types of Questions

• 1 right answer
• Quiz Show Y/N, 1-3 words
• Programmed Answer longer
• OK for recitation and test-review games (e.g.,
  Jeopardy, Millionaire)
• No clear right answer Fuzzy
• Multiple respectable answers
• Best for discussion

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Types of High-Response Questions

• Interpretation high-level comprehension
• Novel Application far-transfer knowledge
• Analysis compare/contrast identify assumptions
  deduce implications
• Synthesis make connections, identify
  relationships
• Evaluation assess validity select defend

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Eliciting Broad, Active, and Respectful
Participation

• Combat shyness, break down social barriers.
• Motivate students to prepare to participate.
• Warm up students minds to subject matter.
• Provide security blankets.
• Moderate to keep the ball rolling.
• Motivate students to pay attention.
• Control disruptive students.

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• Which of the following concrete actions have you
  been taking?
• Which of the following actions would you be able
  to take and would like to take in the future?