Abstract

Why do we care about engagement? As educators, we would like our students to be successful and we know part of that is for them to care about their courses and program of study. The more your care about a topic, the more likely you are to stick with it. Traditionally, engagement has been defined in three ways with respect to a single course: peer-to-peer, learner-to-material, learner-to-teacher but there are other types of engagement that can be considered in parallel that can improve the classroom experience.

There is engagement with the degree, the institution, technology, emotional and social engagement, and more. Add to this, the changing nature of the "student body" with increasingly diverse learners and non-traditional students (online, international, older, employed), a one-size-fits-all approach to student engagement no longer works.

But the good news is that research has offered some approaches to increasing engagement in any type of classroom for any type of topic. And most of these techniques are low- or no-cost and just take a bit of planning to implement.

The references below offer some insight into the techniques that will be discussed in the workshop. While the Edutopia (Pino) pieces are often from the perspective of K-12 learning, the approaches are applicable to many learning situations. This piece highlights the basics of engagement. The Wyatt and Zepke references (with associated review articles) focus specifically on techniques for online and adult learner engagement.

In this workshop, techniques, including use of technology, will be described and employed in the workshop to demonstrate engagement. Attendees will brainstorm ideas with their colleagues about how to increase engagement specific to their area of education. Attendees will also be provided with resources they can use after the workshop for course planning.

References:

Pino-James, N. 2014. Golden Rules for Engaging Students in Learning Activities. Edutopia.

https://www.edutopia.org/blog/golden-rules-for-engaging-students-nicolas-pino-james

Wyatt, L. G. 2011. Nontraditional Student Engagement: Increasing Adult Student Success and Retention. The Journal of Continuing Higher Education, 59(1), 10-20. Review article that references research: https://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/online-education/student-engagement-how-to-help-students-succeed-in-the-online-environment/

Zepke, N., and Leach, L. (2010). Improving student engagement: Ten proposals for action. Active Learning in Higher Education, 11 (3), 167-177. Review article: https://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/effective-teaching-strategies/10-ways-to-promote-student-engagement/ 

Objectives

• Identify reasons for including engagement activities in your course
• Discuss engagement strategies for your course
• Explain a specific engagement strategy for your field

Presenter

Stacey S Cofield, PhD, UAB SPH Biostatistics
Dr. Stacey Cofield, Associate Professor of Biostatistics, is Chair of the Online Education Committee in the School of Public Health (SOPH) at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and the SOPH representative on the UAB eLearning Advisory Committee and the Graduate Dean's Advisory Committee. Dr. Cofield has been teaching blended courses for 15 years, and online for over a decade. As technology has advanced, Dr. Cofield has ventured to incorporate the use of social media, learning management systems, and interactive platforms into her online and on-the-ground courses. In addition to implementing QM in her own courses, Dr. Cofield is a certified QM Master Reviewer.