You’re struggling to track student engagement in Higher Education. What’s the best way to stay on top of it?

I have students complete a "jotter" assignment worth a few points. To guide their jotting, a reflection prompt and a story prompt are provided. An example jotter is about Intrinsic Goal Orientation, the perception that the student is participating in the course for reasons such as challenge, curiosity or mastery. REFLECTION PROMPT: Why or why not is the most satisfying thing for you in this course trying to understand the content as thoroughly as possible? STORY PROMPT: At the current time, what in this class are you most curious about learning? By skimming through the jotters, I can determine which areas the students are most curious about, which usually indicates what content they are most likely to engage with.

In my opinion, attendance and assignment completion do not reflect the student engagement, they’d rather become the compulsory components of the assessments. Open discussion during classes or online forums through providing meaningful comments might be a better indicator to measure the student engagement on their study. In addition, opportunities to provide constructive feedback to the institution or their classes would also be helpful in both parties (student can provide direct comment or complaint and institutions can review their ‘performance’ from student’s point of view).

Engagement indicators are metrics used to measure the level of interaction, participation, or involvement of individuals with a particular activity, platform, or content. These indicators provide insights into how effectively an entity (such as a website, social media page, or educational program) is capturing and retaining the attention of its audience. By tracking and analyzing these engagement indicators, organizations can assess the effectiveness of their strategies, identify areas for improvement, and optimize their efforts to better engage their audience.

To effectively track student engagement in higher education, utilize a combination of digital tools and strategies. Implement learning management systems (LMS) that offer analytics and reporting features to monitor student participation, such as login frequency, assignment submissions, and forum contributions. Utilize online communication platforms like discussion boards and chat rooms to encourage interaction and collaboration among students, while also providing insights into their engagement levels. Additionally, conduct regular assessments and surveys to gather feedback on the learning experience and identify areas for improvement.

Providing students with the opportunity for choice has always been a keystone of differentiated instruction. In my classroom, I provided kids a menu or choice board where they chose the product they wanted to create as evidence of learning. For instance, in English language arts instruction, students could choose to demonstrate comprehension of a novel of their choice by writing another chapter in the novel or developing a different ending, comparing the protagonist to the antagonist, illustrating the setting or creating a storyboard detailing the conflict.

Harnessing online platforms to monitor student engagement is an excellent practice in understanding student behaviors in virtual contexts. What content are students accessing the most? Why? What story is that telling us? What content is most meaningful in the learning experience? What links are being used most? What content is viewed and for how long? Asking questions about engagement helps us to designate indicators to review that demonstrate patterns of student behavior.

LMS is a great tool to utilize for student engagement because activities, time spent on content, forums, discussion participation can be monitored through LMS. Also, specific indicators can be set to see students progress so that if they are failing behind they can be marked and a professor can reach out to these students to figure out how to best support them.

Implement a learning management system (LMS) that provides comprehensive analytics on student participation, such as attendance, assignment submission, and forum activity. Utilize engagement tools like polls, quizzes, and discussion boards within the LMS to encourage active participation. Regularly survey students for feedback on their learning experience. Incorporate classroom engagement software that monitors real-time participation and provides insights into student understanding. Regularly analyzing this data will help identify patterns and areas needing intervention to boost engagement.

Using analytic tools is key and most LMS systems have that function built in the classroom. In the first week, most students will participate but I think it is important to use the reports starting on the 2nd or 3rd week and look to see who is participating in the discussion and who is completing assignments. Once you see that a student has not participated, it is important to reach out right away to let the student know that you are there to support them. I teach online so it is so easy for students to feel like they are not "seen" because they are not in a physical classroom but as faculty we can alleviate that by reaching out to them and providing personal assistance.

One way to keep students engaged is to help them gain ownership of the course to the extent possible. Regular polls and surveys taken during class time has provided me with student feedback to modify/ tweak/ improve in-class activities immediately rather than for the next student cohort.

Promover maior engajamento dos estudantes no ensino superior exige um compromisso contínuo com a coleta e análise de feedbacks. Esta abordagem orientada por dados e focada no aluno permite a adapta??o e melhoria constantes do processo educacional, garantindo uma experiência de aprendizado mais rica e satisfatória. A coleta de dados pode ser realizada por meio de diversos instrumento, como por exemplo, questionários de avalia??o que devem ser cuidadosamente projetados para capturar dados qualitativos e quantitativos significativos. As perguntas abertas s?o particularmente valiosas, pois incentivam os alunos a compartilhar suas opini?es, experiências e sentimentos de forma mais profunda e reflexiva.

Collecting feedback from students is crucial for enhancing engagement and tailoring the learning experience. Surveys and polls provide structured insights, while open-ended questions encourage deeper reflections. Actively using this feedback ensures continuous improvement in course design and delivery.

Definitely!! The same for activities outside of classrooms. We created in Students card, a way to check how many times students use our services, such as a Math lab, English lab, the academic skills center, advising, library and many services around campus so, we track our students experiences!

Em consulta a algumas personas de um Projeto que estamos modelando dentro da Startup Academy identificamos que para esta gera??o de jovens candidatos ao ensino superior a velocidade de aprender tem que estar associada a oportunidade de transformar conhecimento em prática. Ou seja, há um desafio importante entre o modelo tradicional de educa??o superior e a forma de aprender onde o conteúdo está disponível a um click, precisa ser útil e aplicada para fazer sentido.

I think interaction as a mentor will help you build a strong connection with the students at the higher education level. Also, you will be successful when you will be solving the problems of the students at individual level. You have to encourage students for skill development and also involve yourself in the projects with them so that they feel that you are part of their team and they can share their issues and concerns.

Engaging students through interactive methods is crucial for fostering collaboration, communication, and a sense of community within the learning environment. Employing diverse tools such as video conferencing, chat platforms, and email enables personalized and group communication. Additionally, utilizing discussion boards, blogs, and social media cultivates peer-to-peer learning and knowledge sharing. Incorporating gamification elements like badges and rewards further motivates and acknowledges student participation, enhancing overall engagement and learning outcomes

Fostering interaction is essential for cultivating a vibrant learning environment. Utilizing diverse communication tools like video conferencing and chat enhances connectivity, promoting collaboration and community building. Platforms such as discussion boards and social media platforms facilitate peer-to-peer learning, encouraging knowledge exchange and collaboration. Incorporating gamification elements like badges and rewards incentivizes engagement, motivating students to actively participate and excel in their learning journey. This multifaceted approach to interaction nurtures a dynamic and engaging learning experience for students.

Interaction can be challenging, especially in an online setting. One thing that has been really helpful in my courses is the use of breakout groups where students are paired together to discuss questions/concepts related to the weekly topic. This allows students to get to know each other and helps them develop relationships because they are paired with a different student each week and they are able to get different perspectives and share their own. Since I work with doctoral students, I also assign each student an accountability partner who they can work with throughout the program. This is a huge source of support for students and it allows them to feel that they are not alone on their dissertation journey.

Student engagement initiatives should be dynamic and ever-changing to remain special, unique, and student-focused. Given the constant evolution of student populations, particularly in the face of national or global events, it's crucial to invite students to provide input and actively participate in the evaluation process. This approach ensures that initiatives are centered around current student needs and can thrive. Personally, I find value in facilitating a semester review with student leaders, employing exercises like Start-Stop-Continue to gather insightful feedback and drive improvements.

Una buena práctica para promover la interacción es llevar a cabo sesiones sincrónicas donde los estudiantes puedan presentar algún trabajo que haya realizado como parte del curso. Luego sus pares deberán proveer retroalimentación (críticas constructivas) siguiendo una rúbrica y aplicando las normas de Netiqueta del curso. Hago esta actividad con frecuencia con mis estudiantes y además de que les gusta mucho, es excelente para promover la interacción y mantenerlos motivados.

In OL courses, I consider engagement completing homework and replying to emails. When students miss 1 week of homework, I email them. When they miss 2 weeks, I send an email of concern with the next steps. Further, different colleges I worked at had success coaches for students who were on the verge of failing. I provide them with the student’s information, allowing someone else to check in with the student. I taught mostly freshmen and sophomores. In this case, it is essential that the instructor reach out because many students are unsure of how to handle teacher-student correspondence. Many students I taught told me previous profs wouldn’t respond to emails and they were thankful I did; it opens the door for communication and engagement.