Student engagement

Academics and university staff address what student engagement means to them and offer advice on boosting attendance, class participation and building a campus community.

Students discuss class material on university campus

Defining the student experience post-pandemic

As universities navigate a new study and work environment, they should be flexible and promote a shared responsibility for the student experience

Campus team

Campus

Hand stacking a column of blocks

Block teaching: what it is, how to do it and why

With its short, intense courses, is block teaching the way to boost student success and engagement? John Weldon gives seven tips for switching to the block model and examples of what it offers university educators

John Weldon

Victoria University

Naming students in online classes helps them connect and feel that their tutor is present

Naming students is even more crucial in online classes

Naming learners fosters a community in which the teacher is clearly all in and focused on individual members in the unique, shared space of the online classroom

Stone Meredith

Colorado State University Global

Image depicting ways to communicate effectively with students

Beyond the limits of the LMS: ways to communicate effectively with students

How to communicate with students in the online environment in effective and creative ways that go beyond relying on the learning management system, described by Kris Erskine

Kris Erskine

Athens State University

A teenager with street smarts, but university graduates will need to combine practical and academic skills to boost employability

Do our students need to be book smart or street smart? They need to be both

Employers want talent to jump right in and fulfil new tasks without a lot of coaching. Project-based learning will help prepare students for this new way of thinking and working

Lee Ann Walker

Colorado State University Global

Papparazzi. Bringing in an expert guest to your university classes can help with student attention

Tips on bringing expert professionals to class to support learning

Capturing students’ attention can be a challenge for teachers. We propose bringing the real world to the classroom through expert guests, say Gabriela Espínola Carballo and Mariana Elizondo

Gabriela Espínola Carballo, Mariana Elizondo

Tecnológico de Monterrey

An excerpt of Romeo and Juliet, a literary work which could be used to teach students career-based skills

Five practical ways the literature classroom can help student careers

Olivia Burgess offers five tips for using literature classes to explore workplace preparation and engage career-minded students

Olivia Burgess

Colorado State University Global

Creating interactive online learning that keeps students engaged

Boosting student engagement in an online learning environment

Lack of student engagement creates challenges when language learning moves online. Yuyang Zhao explains how to create an interactive environment that helps mitigate some of the key issues

Yuyang Zhao

Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University

Image of people learning in different modalities - online, in-person and hybrid learning

The evolution of activeflex learning: why and how

The evolution of activeflex learning as a way to keep students engaged online, and how to overcome problems when using this teaching model, by Mark Gale

Mark Gale

Athens State University

Sailing boat under stormy skies

Learning challenge and difficulty: calm seas do not make skilful sailors

Five strategies for university teachers to encourage students to use challenge, struggle and safe failure for effective long-term learning

Alexandra Osika, Stephanie MacMahon, Jason M. Lodge, Annemaree Carroll

The University of Queensland

Fake news and bias can infect social media feeds, so university teachers need to educate students on how to read their platforms critically

Students aren’t giving up social media, so teach them how to question it

Whatever our own opinions on social media, we must educate our students about locating bias and reading their preferred platforms critically, says Stone Meredith

Stone Meredith

Colorado State University Global

Cycling, running and other forms of exercise can be encouraged among university students by tutors who offer academic credits for exercise

Want students to exercise more? Make it part of their course

The body hears everything the mind says, so it is said. That is certainly true when teachers offer extra academic credits in return for physical activity, says Roberto Villaseñor-Roldán

Roberto Villaseñor-Roldán

Tecnológico de Monterrey

University teachers must work hard to ensure students become comfortable with the process of peer review

Fostering student collaboration rather than competition using peer review

When students are involved in peer review, they can more easily see the ‘problems’ with classmates’ writing – and this creates opportunities in their own work, too

James Meredith

Colorado State University Global

Red squirrel and hazelnut illustrating video about teaching statistics with storytelling

Using storytelling to make introductory statistics less scary: a contextualised approach

Carl Sherwood explains how imaginative, contextualised writing tasks can make mathematical concepts less abstract and more engaging for diverse student groups

Carl Sherwood

The University of Queensland

Tips for creating digital university modules

How to design and incorporate a digital module

Digital modules lend themselves well to competency-based training. Adela Vega and Laura Castillo offer a guide to designing and incorporating them into a digital learning experience

Adela Vega, Laura Castillo

Tecnológico de Monterrey

Immediacy cues such as eye contact can be critical tools for professors and lecturers when connecting to higher education students

Immediacy cues are a great starting point for fostering inclusive classes

Both verbal and non-verbal cues, such as pronouncing names correctly, smiling and making eye contact signal to students that they are welcome, respected and valued

Flower Darby

Northern Arizona University

Universal design for learning is a key framework for equity, diversity and inclusion among students in university settings

The case for using universal design for learning at your institution

Universal design for learning can be the answer when searching for true equity in our universities. Jacqui Whittle and Caroline Pike outline the how and why

Jacqui Whittle, Caroline Pike

Arden University

Making connections online is incredibly important for student motivation in universities

Top tips for establishing close relationships with students online

The quality of the connection between teachers and their charges is a true learning booster for students and can become a source of well-being for teachers, too

Rebeca Elizabeth Alvarado Ramírez

Tecnológico de Monterrey

Advice on applying user experience thinking to enhancing your student services in teaching and on campus

Are you optimising the user experience for your students?

Kevin Curtis provides an introduction to simple user experience (UX) techniques that can help when considering how students and staff engage with higher education services and their campus surroundings

Kevin Curtis

The University of Portsmouth

International team of people sitting around table, putting colourful puzzles together

How to enhance students’ participation in teamwork that is not assessed

Rebecca Wang outlines a learning structure that supports students who are new to team-based research projects

Rebecca Wang

University of Westminster

Synchronous or asynchronous university lectures are not the issue if students aren't focusing on either of them particularly well

We need to move beyond the synchronous versus asynchronous debate

Academics are agonising over the wrong elements of online education. They should be thinking about active versus passive learning, says Simon Chesterman

Simon Chesterman

National University of Singapore

Advice on breaking down student anonymity to build relationships when teaching online and in person

Unmasking the scientist: breaking down anonymity to build relationships when teaching online

Simple solutions to link students’ names to faces and build a rapport with individuals in your class when teaching online, by Kelly Edmunds and Bethan Gulliver

Kelly Edmunds , Bethan Gulliver

The University of East Anglia

Checklists are just one method by which university academics can encourage students to assess their own learning

How to plan an online learning-friendly assessment

Maribell Reyes explains how to create comprehensively designed learning assessment strategies for an online course

Maribell Reyes

Tecnológico de Monterrey

University students can benefit from immersive experiences such as carrying out real-life tasks in a virtual reality factory

Answering common questions about immersive experiences

Not sure about introducing extended reality? Gabriela Sánchez Castillo offers insights into developing immersive experiences that are useful for assessing real-world skills

Gabriela Sánchez Castillo

Tecnológico de Monterrey

The hologram professor project beams a life-sized video of university lecturers into classrooms

Missing face-to-face interaction? Try becoming a ‘hologram professor’

Beaming a hologram of lecturers into classrooms offers greater closeness than video systems, say Carla Victoria Ramírez López, Leticia Castaño Sánchez and Patricia Aldape Valdés

Carla Victoria Ramírez López , Leticia Castaño Sánchez , Patricia Aldape Valdés

Tecnológico de Monterrey

Giving university students word puzzles, quizzes and using games can be an excellent way for lecturers to engage them

Why interactive and game-based instruction beats lecturing every time

Going through the motions is easy for experienced lecturers, but we should all go the extra mile to make our classes interactive, challenging and fun, says Nancy Boury

Nancy Boury

Iowa State University

Using media such as Spotify or TikTok can help academics connect with university students

Ideas for using media to connect with students

Students need to be motivated and engaged to be successful, which is where podcasts, social media and music come in, say Esmeralda Niño-Perez and Angeles Carolina Aguirre-Acosta

Esmeralda Niño-Perez , Angeles Carolina Aguirre-Acosta

Tecnológico de Monterrey

We know that university students want to learn together

Let’s harness students’ desire for interaction to define the future of learning

We know that students want to learn together. That information should underpin how we allocate resources to best serve their needs, say Derfel Owen and Ant Bagshaw

Derfel Owen, Ant Bagshaw

UCL, Online Education Services

Santa goes online. But university students and staff seem to be conflating online and blended learning, when they are two separate entities

My Christmas wish? Wider recognition that blended is different from online

Following two years of disruption and jumping between modes of delivery, many students and staff seem to be – incorrectly – conflating blended with online, says Harriet Dunbar-Morris

Harriet Dunbar-Morris

The University of Portsmouth

Large amounts of data can now be collected on students in order to help improve their learning outcomes

Collecting data on our students is the only way forward

Ubiquitous data collection will give rise to large datasets, which can help improve outcomes for all students – especially those most in need, says Daphne Koller

Daphne Koller

Stanford University

Advice on developing students' identities as learners rather than consumers of their higher education

Building student identities as learners, not consumers, for better academic outcomes

Students who think and act like consumers have worse academic outcomes, research shows. Louise Taylor Bunce shares practical steps to help build students’ identities as learners rather than as consumers of education

Louise Taylor Bunce

Oxford Brookes University

Tips for university academics on how to transition to hybrid teaching

Ten useful tips for teaching a hybrid course for the first time

Laura Patricia Zepeda Orantes shares recommendations for delivering hybrid courses, especially for teachers who are new to this way of working

Laura Patricia Zepeda Orantes

Tecnológico de Monterrey

Perfectionism has long been an affliction in academia for students and faculty alike

It’s time to tackle perfectionism head-on in the classroom

Perfectionism has long been the norm in academia. To combat it, we must offer help before it has to be asked for, say Laura March and Maggie Melo

Laura March, Maggie Melo

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Universities can learn a great deal from the way Amazon embraced digital tech and constantly evolves

What can universities learn from Amazon?

From putting the customer first to the buzzword that is ‘fulfilment’, there’s much to be gleaned from the way Amazon and its ilk embraced digital technology, says Peter Vervest

Peter Vervest

Erasmus University Rotterdam

Student using laptop

Enabling innovation to flourish in the online and blended learning space

From medicine to business, digital platforms enhance the learning experience for students

insendi

insendi

University lecturers should use reverse grading to turn the grading process on its head

Turn the marking process on its head by using ‘reverse grading’

Davita Günbay explains how reversing the narrative between ‘what I got’ and ‘what I was given’ can help learners engage and take responsibility for their learning

Davita Günbay

Near East University

Young African women wearing headphones in a university cafe - reconnecting after the pandemic

Reopening and reconnecting: how to establish connection with first-years studying in the new normal

Agnes Chikonzo offers three key ways that university services can engage students and give them a sense of belonging back on campus

Agnes Chikonzo

The University of Zimbabwe

Profound learning can be a revolution for your university

Classes need less focus on employability and more on profound learning

Classes are sometimes the least transformative elements of what students experience at university. We need to change that, say Davin Carr-Chellman, Ali Carr-Chellman and Michael Kroth

Davin Carr-Chellman , Ali Carr-Chellman, Michael Kroth

University of Dayton, University of Idaho

Cancel culture, difficult conversations

How to be comfortable with uncomfortable conversations

Ruth Woodfield outlines steps that academics, students and university staff can take to support and work through the discomfort of difficult discussions

Ruth Woodfield

University of St Andrews

Advice on creating equitable pathways to better engage all students regardless of background or prior knowledge

Co-creation and empowerment: pathways to better student engagement

Effective approaches universities can take to promote equity and improve student learning outcomes and employability, shared by a team from the University of Salford

Sara Namvar, David Greensmith, Niroshini Nirmalan

University of Salford

Watch parties are a variation on the flipped learning model used in universities

In praise of the ‘watch party’ – an update to the flipped learning model

Many new students struggle with the amount of self-directed learning at university. Perhaps it’s time to introduce watch parties, say Emily Nordmann and Carolina Kuepper-Tetzel

Emily Nordmann, Carolina Kuepper-Tetzel

University of Glasgow

Universities are creating pre-prepared, fully complete courses called shells

How I stopped worrying and learned to embrace pre-prepared courses

I was shocked when first told I had to teach a ‘shell’ prepared by a colleague a few years ago, but I’m actually growing from the experience, says George Justice

George Justice

Arizona State University

Advice on why and how to build a sense of identity and belonging among students for better learning outcomes

Building identity and belonging among students

Proactively building students’ sense of identity and belonging is vital for positive learning outcomes, explains Blake McKimmie. In this video, he gives advice on how it can be achieved

Blake McKimmie

The University of Queensland

Research backed advice on managing different national cultures to encourage engagement with learning technology

How does national culture affect the adoption of learning technology?

Na Li, Xiaojun Zhang and Maria Limniou offer tips to counter the hidden cultural and social factors that reduce acceptance of virtual learning environments, based on their research

Na Li, Xiaojun Zhang, Maria Limniou

Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University

How to ensure online teaching benefits the education of sustainability issues

Engaging students in applied research to tackle Sustainable Development Goals

Jen O’Brien describes a pedagogical project that engages students in applied research carried out in partnership with external organisations, related to the Sustainable Development Goals

Jen O'Brien

The University of Manchester

In the new normal we might forget the technology and focus on motivating human beings again

Forget the tech – in the new normal, let’s focus on human beings

The key to making learning effective, now and in the post-pandemic world, is focusing on motivation, says Grace McCarthy

Grace McCarthy

University of Wollongong

Webinar discussion how to reduce student drop out rates in the context of the pandemic and online learning

Capturing students’ attention in the classroom: does listening equal learning?

Four teaching academics discuss effective approaches to keeping students focused and engaged inside and outside the classroom

Flower Darby, Steven Mintz, Kara Monroe, Constanza Pacher

Northern Arizona University, University of Texas at Austin, Ivy Tech Community College, MacEwan University

Advice on why and how to use podcasts to supplement your online teaching

Listen to this! Using podcasts for online learning

Emily O’Reilly explains why and how to use educational podcasts to supplement your online teaching

Emily O'Reilly

The University of Edinburgh

Advice on using popular social media platforms to support your university teaching and academic research

Fake news, educated views and how-tos: social media for teaching and research

Terese Bird shares her ideas on how to use some of the most popular social media platforms to support your teaching and research

Terese Bird

University of Leicester

Advice on explaining to students why they should keep their cameras on during online classes

Stay in the frame: how to persuade students to keep cameras on in lessons

Paul Moss shares advice on how to convince students that making themselves visible during online classes is in their own interest and will aid learning outcomes

Paul Moss

University of Adelaide

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