STRATEGIES FOR EFFECTIVE STUDENT ENGAGEMENT DURING ONLINE CLASSES

As it was mentioned in the previous article (on effective student engagement in traditional classes),  student-engagement in class is very important because it helps teachers to assess students’ level of understanding of a particular subject. It is also an indication of the fact that students are excited about learning. This write-up focuses on how teachers can increase student engagement during online class sessions.

Covid-19 pandemic presents the world a unique opportunity to grow aspects of education using digital media. Compared to the traditional classroom setting, online classes presents novel challenges and this is due to the separation of the teacher from the student. In this regard, it is important for teachers to continue using active learning and incorporate varied ways that promote better teacher-student interaction  and require students to interact with their colleagues.  The major reason why teachers need to pay much attention to student engagement during online classes is because as education keeps on evolving, online education is growing in leaps and bounds, this is to say that the number of institutions that provide online education and students who take online lessons are increasing every day. Therefore, it is imperative for teachers to develop strategies to maintain the same level of engagement they see and feel in their face-to-face classroom sessions.

Teachers can employ the following ideas to increase student engagement during online classes:

• Teachers can increase student engagement during online classes by engaging their students in interesting activities to start the class.
• Teachers should endeavour to create discussion boards that promote conversational style of teaching to discuss topics.
• Teachers should set objectives and present to their students at the beginning of the class, what is expected of them and what  is hoped to be achieved. This would help know the steps to take in order to reach the course outcomes.
• Students use a wide range of social media platforms so to increase engagement during lessons, it would be good to deliver lessons using aspects of social media. For instance, you can form discussion groups on Facebook, present quizzes to them and share ideas on twitter; also, you can post tutorial videos on Youtube and ask the students to watch and present reports on them.
• To ensure a high level of engagement, you need to provide effective and timely feedback. Incorporating feedback into your delivery helps the students do self-assessment.

Practical student engagement strategies improve participation and help students to be more invested in discussions on topics. Therefore following these tips will help teachers to ensure increased online student engagement and successful learning outcomes.