There have always been students who are more likely to participate in class and those who are not, but in online education courses, many students (even those who usually participate) are less likely to be a part of discussions, raise their hands, or comment. This can be due to a range of reasons, from feeling more anonymous online to discomfort with technology, audio lags, and more.
But instead of focusing on the problem, Instructional Connections provides tips on how to gain higher participation in your online education courses!
Tips to Increase Participation in Your Online Education Courses
Make Guidelines Clear
Make sure your class knows what is expected of them, participation, and engagement wise. Perhaps you think ‘participation’ means three to five comments in each discussion, but maybe the student thinks one will suffice. Make sure this disparity is taken off the table and explained so there are no misunderstandings.
Set your students up for success by providing clear guidelines at the start of the online education course. Define participation and your expectations, explain your grading, and lay it all out transparently for your students.
Start By Answering:
- How often do your students have to be online?
- Do you require formal or informal language in written discussions and responses?
- How long does an answer or discussion response need to be?
- What are the due dates for discussions and responses?
Use Chats to Check Understanding & Increase Participation
Every online platform has a chat feature, which means every online education course can use chat features to check for understanding of concepts to ease the class into speaking, discussing, and participating.
You could ask students to type a question or response into the chat, or even something as simple as a scale from 1-5 for understanding, interest, or a grade for the course lesson.
Utilize Small Group Discussion
It’s easy to hide in a large class, especially when it is distance learning online. But it is much more difficult (and less intimidating) to speak to a small group. You can keep the same small discussion groups every week, or mix it up so everyone in the class gets a chance to be in groups with every other student, but either way – smaller groups help facilitate better discussion and participation and prevent shyer students from staying silent.
Small self-led groups of three to five are often the best, as they naturally persuade everyone to improve their individual engagement levels.
Think, Pair, & Share
By giving a prompt, breaking the class into discussion pairs (even smaller than a small group), and then allowing them to discuss in their two-person pairs, it takes a lot of the pressure off and can make students more comfortable with each other, even without ever meeting in person.
Of course, as the professor cannot be with each breakout pair, ask each duo to write notes on a Google Doc to be sure they understood the prompt and discussed the topic.
After having all pairs return to the larger class, a volunteer from each group can share their answers in a lower-pressure ‘read’ format from their document notes.
Provide Actionable Feedback, Every Time
If you do not provide feedback (both in-depth and actionable) to improve your students’ work, then they may not see the point in turning in their work, or they may feel there is no way to improve or understand why they are receiving the grades they are.
Take the time to respond to assignments promptly and with actionable feedback that is more than a number grade. Give in-depth feedback that will help the student improve with their next submission, and lets them know you are truly reading each assignment and thinking of how you can help the student better absorb the material.
Comment on essays by section, discuss finer points of observations or discussion threads, and really dive deep into questions they may have misunderstood or only partially answered. Comprehensive, actionable feedback will give your students something to go back to and check before their next assignment or posting, and motivate them to remain engaged and keep reaching for a greater and deeper understanding of the topics.
Follow-Up & Check-In Often
If a student has a question, follow up. If they are struggling or received a poor grade, follow up. If they particularly enjoyed a lesson or topic, follow up. This may be more time consuming for you as the professor, but it will do wonders for classroom participation.
Be as involved in your online education courses as you can be, and if you need additional help due to time constraints – then reach out to Instructional Connections and our online academic coaches to help lift some of the burden of replying, commenting, long-form grading, and checking-in with each student.
