Tips for Engaging Underperforming Students

In a recent study, the Technical University of Denmark reported that the average human’s attention span was decreasing. For instructors who need to keep their students’ attention for periods of up to 120 minutes each class, often using the medium of remote learning with lots of potential online diversions, this is not good news.

The push for student engagement and involvement is not a new challenge for Higher Education institutions. However, modern technology and ongoing social and personal concerns have created an atmosphere of distraction – which is spilling into the classroom.

Below are a few tips on how educators can engage students to ensure an environment of active learning and participation.

1. Provide instant and ongoing feedback

   In an age where social media continues to reign supreme, providing students with the ability to give instant and meaningful feedback about their learning can greatly increase motivation and improve achievement. In today’s classrooms, more and more instructors use real-time feedback software that borrows elements from platforms such as Facebook to better connect with students. A social feedback tool can give students the confidence they need to engage in a style that is familiar to them. Instructors can also track and assess their students’ comprehension and adjust their lessons in real-time.

2. Personalized learning

   We’ve all heard it before: one-size-fits-all is no longer effective in the 21^stcentury classroom. This is especially true for those who are struggling academically. With an increasingly diverse learning population, students expect and deserve more student-centered lesson plans to meet individual needs and learning styles. Personalized learning environments empower both the instructor and the student by giving them more control of the education experience.

3. Connect lessons to the real world

   It’s a simple concept: if you make it more interesting, they will respond. A subject becomes more meaningful when a student body can apply it to real life. It’s one thing to read about fossils and something else entirely to organize a trip to an archaeological dig site. The positive impact of delivering learning experiences in this fashion can be better grasped by using continuous listening tools, such as Bluepulse to encourage ongoing discussions between students about the experience they’ve just had with that topic, helping forge strong connections.

4. Incorporate movement in the classroom

   Students sit all day long, and sitting can become numbing both physically and mentally. In order to keep underachieving students engaged, instructors need to come up with ways to get them moving. It could be as simple as rotating group discussions. If the activity applies to the lesson, even the most unmotivated student will participate. Educators at Cochrane Collegiate used movement as part of their instructional strategy in 2013 and have reported an increase in student engagement with the lesson.

5. Lead with a question, end with a question

   This is a great strategy to ensure that everyone is on the same page at the beginning and end of class. A starter question sets the theme for the entire lesson, while a closing question gives students something to think about after class – ideally which they can respond to using an app-based tool. If the technology is available, instructors can take it a step further by asking students to post their answers. Likewise, instructors can choose to use a dynamic, easy-to-use product like BlueX to create a survey on a topical and relevant subject to pique interest. This approach allows educators to realize student-lesson progress and can assist them in planning for the next class.

6. Get students’ input on how they want to learn

   Getting students involved in feedback regularly can help educators understand how well students are comprehending the course material. It can also give unique insights into what teaching methods are effective and where they need to be adjusted. Finally, it can help engage students in their learning process by giving them a voice in how they are taught.

7. Start from day one

   The first day of class sets the tone for the entire semester. As an instructor, this is your opportunity to stimulate interest in the course and establish a framework for how the course will unfold. This will give your students a clear understanding of what they are expected to learn in order to succeed.

In adopting these approaches, instructors will be laying the groundwork for a more focused and successful student body. This will then be reflected positively in a future evaluation.

In our next blog, we look at tips for inspiring the overachieving student.

Learn how student experience management leads to a more engaged study body