Student Engagement
Engaging students in meaningful learning requires intentional planning and thoughtful in-class strategies. The resources below are designed to help instructors strengthen student engagement at various points throughout a lesson and the semester. Whether you're delivering a lecture, facilitating a small group task, or wrapping up a class session, these videos and accompanying PDFs offer practical ideas to increase participation, motivation, and retention. Topics include establishing relevance, using active lecture breaks, promoting academic choice, and encouraging attendance. Each resource provides simple, research-informed practices you can incorporate into your teaching right away.
Delivering an Effective Lecture
Active lecture breaks help students process and retain important course content by creating space for reflection and engagement during class.
For more information regarding active lecture breaks, see Chapter 14 of Teaching at its Best: A Research-Based Resource for College Instructors available in the OSU Library.
Beginning a Lesson: Establishing Relevance
Boost student motivation by intentionally connecting the day’s lesson to real-world applications, prior knowledge, or course goals right from the start.
During a Lesson: Engaging Students
Introducing variety during a lesson keeps students mentally engaged and improves their ability to understand and retain the material.
Closing a Lesson: Purposeful Conclusions
Use the final minutes of class intentionally to reinforce key concepts, highlight takeaways, and help students reflect on their learning.
Facilitating Student Discussions
When students discuss important ideas, they mentally consolidate information, apply the language of the field, and often refine their own ways of thinking about a subject. Effective facilitation strategies will help you set the stage for productive conversations.
Facilitating Tasks for Small Groups
Well-structured small-group tasks encourage deeper thinking and help students build more sophisticated mental frameworks related to course content.
Encouraging Student Attendance
Student attendance is vital for success. Consider utilizing strategies that promote attendance in positive and authentic ways.
Help students connect more deeply with the material by clearly establishing the relevance of course content to their interests, goals, or real-life contexts.
Incorporating academic choice into the selection of course materials, engagement of content, and demonstration of learning can significantly increase motivation and intellectual curiosity.