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 : 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.
@VCDavila : I feel it's essetial to keep the student engauged by making the classroom experiance fun, exciting and informative.
@ssanders000 :This is very true. It's also about keeping their attention on the subject matter. Students cannot learn if they are not paying attention. As a result, it's important to keep them interested and engaged.
@VCDavila :I agree with this. It keeps their attention and get them involve with the lecture.
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.
@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?
@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 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.
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 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 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, thanks for your views
@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 :
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
@VCDavila :Teaching them time management skills is important too.
@VCDavila :It also makes the class more exciting and rich in experiences brought in by the students.
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.
