Megan Piotrowski

Instructors can facilitate critical thinking by:

Encouraging students to find relationships between pieces of information;
Asking students a question and let them mull over their ideas and responses for a few days;
Asking students to justify and explain their positions;
Encouraging exploration of new ideas and materials to share with the class; and
Asking open-ended questions instead of closed-ended questions like yes/no.

As the course and comfort with the instructor/peers/materials progresses, the instructor should include more critical thinking activities. 

It is really important for the instructor to set learner expectations from the beginning, provide opportunities for reflection, and consider barriers to engagement. 

What are some best practices for facilitating a course where you have low engagement?

There could be some pushback when incorporating active learning into your teaching. Setting expectations early and revisiting them may help with the adjustment to this new style of learning. 

Active learning is a movement away from the traditional "sage on the stage". Instead, students will participate in the learning process through various approaches: reflection, discussion, dyad/triad projects, etc. The instructor facilitates learning by gently guiding students through and to the important material.