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Student Engagement

Engagement can mean many things related to students and learning. While emotional engagement focuses on relationships and social presence, cognitive engagement and behavioral engagement have to do with students’ investment in learning and the Rigor and Relevance components of the 3-R (Rigor, Relevance, and Relationships) educational framework.

According to researchers Bundick, et al. (2014), content that’s relevant to learners’ lives, their future goals, and to their identities resonates with students. Further,students appreciate opportunities to choose how to complete assignments and value the chance to exercise some control over their own learning (Lake, 2017). As a result of this personalization, learners are often able to construct their own understanding based upon their previous experiences, and instructors can use feedback to increase their visibility and to boost student engagement (Martin & Bollinger, 2018).

Develop positive learner experiences and retain students with engaging material and activities. Read on for ideas of how to increase engagement in your courses.

Research and practical articles

Bundick, M. J., Quaglia, R. J., Corso, M. J., & Haywood, D. E. (2014). Promoting student engagement in the classroom. Teaching College Record, 116(4).
Deschaine, M. E., & Whale, D. E. (2017). Increasing student engagement in online educational leadership courses. Journal of Educators Online, 14(1)
Lake, B. (2017). Engage your students with the 6 C's of motivation. Retrieved from https://teachonline.asu.edu/2017/11/engage-students-6-cs-motivation/
Martin, F., & Bolliger, D. U. (2018). Engagement matters: Student perceptions on the importance of engagement strategies in the online learning environment.Online Learning Journal, 22(1), 205-222. doi:10.24059/olj.v22i1.1092

Using Visual Elements to Engage Students

Credit: M. Wherley. © Penn State University, is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Everyone knows the expression, “a picture is worth a thousand words.” Consider how much more value can be added to a picture if you can interact with it. Research indicates that “Although useful, static visualizations may still fall short of being able to engage students in exploratory activities that are conducive to positive learning experiences” (Sedig et al., 2010).

Building Student Engagement by Adding Relevance

decorative image. fitting a blue block in the center of a 3 x 3 grid of white blocks

Credit: © Stuart Miles / Adobe Stock

Have you ever heard these words: “Will this be on the test?” or “When am I ever going to use this?” It could be that students are really asking for help in seeking the connection between course content and their perceived value of the course. In other words, though it is usually clear to faculty that certain content and activities are important, students are trying to figure out for themselves if an activity or concept is worth their time and effort. Bundick et al.

Encouraging Durable Learning with Retrieval Practice

hand with index finger pointing up with red yarn tied in a bow around it.

Credit: © vladimirfloyd / Adobe Stock

Retrieval Practice is the "act of calling information to mind rather than simply rereading, re-listening, or passively studying it. The idea is to produce 'an effort from within' to induce better retention" (Roediger and Butler, 2011).

Building Student Engagement with Discussions

Overhead view of students sharing at a round table.

Credit: ScreenFlow, under license agreement by Jane Sutterlin

Whether for a resident course or online, cultivating a human-centered classroom community takes time and effort. Discussion forums can help. Content-delivery discussion forums help students interact when considering content-related questions and topics, but other kinds of discussions can help create an interactive community of learners who share and get to know each other outside of the realm of course content. Consider the following:

Building Student Engagement with Faculty Presence Using Video

man standing with oil tanks in the background

Research shows that faculty presence and perceived connection in an asynchronous, online course can increase student satisfaction, motivation, and retention and reduce student feelings of isolation and confusion. Including weekly video announcements and/or lesson introductions is one way to accomplish this.

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