Engaging the students
Getting students to participate in class is about engageing with them. Encourage them the answer questions and repeat things that were discussed in class.
@VCDavila : Engaging students to the classroom discussions and activities is seemingly easy but not with all students especially with a large class say in a lab type setting. It may be hard to observe and reach every student but is a challenge I enjoy and welcome because it is a good way to (test) the students skills and confidence.
@corpatrick : One of the reasons why Instructors should engage their students is to reinforce what they learned. In addition, students' improve on their critical thinking skills.
Joe, I absolutely agree that relevance is key. The key is called employment, which is the reason the student invested in his/her future. I also feel that the institutions need to present the "key of employment" starting at the 2nd month in their program with Career Services. The student needs to stay focused each day and every month on their new career. Each day the lesson plan needs to show how relevant the material is to the student's new career.
@melissaalex :True. To be engaged, students need to feel that what they are studying or doing is relevant to their life, career, etc.
Engaging students is at times very difficult. Especially when the informations given is more memorization than not. Using theABC go fish activity will be of great hel[p to make things more interesting.:
Student engagement is crucial in an on-line environment because there is no face to face, verbal and nonverbal communication present. Therefore, the instructor must have good writing skills to effectively communicate the expectations to the students. The correspondence must include motivating and encouraging comments to inspire the students to perform well.
In addition the instructor should post their office hours / hours of availability to allow the students the opportunity to ask detailed questions.
Usually when the students know that the instructor is present and available to assist they tend to be engaged in the course.
@VCDavila :It also makes the class more exciting and rich in experiences brought in by the students.
@VCDavila :Teaching them time management skills is important too.
@VCDavila :
Hi Victor- I certainly agree, but it is a tough thing to do. I have some students who simply do not engage until the last minute. I write to them, and they don't respond. Any suggestions??
Terry Weaver
@wcarbley : I totally agree. I see that the more interested the students appear during lecture, the more information they retain. They also compliment me and state how much they enjoyed class.
@VCDavila :I agree, thanks for your views
I too use case studies to tie the content to real-life experiences. This helps build critical thinking, keeps them interested, and helps prepare them for one of the licensing exams which involves computer simulated clinical patient treatment questions.
@VCDavila :I agree especially when the material you are presenting is fairly dry and has a lot of detail for them to take in. I tried using case studies to help them see the relvence of the topic to their career.
I agree that students will engage if they feel as though the instructor knows who they are, this connection is important for online and residential students.
@VCDavila :I agree completely and this is always a challenge especially in an online environment. I try to always relate to students as personally as possible by referring to them with there first name, providing individual encouragement and comments on their work as well as providing timely feedback. I had a student once tell me that she couldn't wait to go to the discussions everyday to see what I had posted, which was very nice.
@heatheraustin :I have the student bring up a clinical experience and have them describe what they observed. Then I have them relate this to a personal experience of their own. I follow up with how they "expierienced" the event for themselves. Sometimes my approach is to have them "visualize themselves on the receiving end" of what they are doing.
@VCDavila :I agree that we need to encourage our students to answer questions, but how? What are some methods you all use to get your students engaged and motivated?
I agree. The information (Anatomy and Physiology) I lecture is sometimes complicated and 95% of my students have no clue on the subject matter. I find questions, diagrams, and short activities make the most lasting impact in a 2 hour lecture.
