How to Effectively Facilitate Your Online Course to Drive Student Engagement | Elizabeth Mays

We interviewed Biology Professor, Elizabeth Mays of Illinois Central College about building student engagement in your online course.

How would you recommend a new faculty member get started?

"I think transitioning to an online environment requires a concerted effort on the part of the instructor to create a connection with students which is often done much more easily in the classroom. To get started, it's important to give a personalized introduction to your students–let them get to know you! You can do this with a recorded video or in text format (including pictures–because let's be honest, our students are curious about what we look like!).

This video or text is a great way to give them insight not only into your personality, but it is also time to set out clear expectations for the course and their interactions with the content.

In a non-majors course, so many of our students are taking it "because they have to" and look to it as a barrier to their "actual" goals. We need to keep this in mind as we introduce our class and also as we design content. Prioritizing relevancy in a non-majors course through course design is critical to engagement, in my experience. I also know that so many of our students think they are not "good at science.” Incorporating content that EVERY student can relate to, such as cancer and how it's really mitosis gone awry, gives these students a foothold on content that they may have thought was beyond their understanding."

What are some of the standards you need to keep in mind?

"Communication is key. Instructors need to provide a clear communication pathway for their students, whether it's email, discussion boards, online meetings, or other avenues. Clear expectations for the course need to be set and upheld. Instructors need to demonstrate clear concern for student issues and success throughout the course and be responsive to student difficulties and needs. Instructors need to encourage students when they are struggling and promote student interaction to generate a sense of community.

Instructors should also be mindful that they don't mistake engagement for content overload. I think it's easy to believe that the more content we give our students, the more engaged they'll be. We need to make sure that content, discussions, and assignments are meaningful and aligned with our course outcomes. It's also very helpful to "connect-the-dots" for our students–"We're using this activity so that you can understand [insert learning outcome]." Students will be more invested in the work and class if they know *why* they are doing something."

What specific Connect tools would you recommend using?

"For engagement, I always recommend the Relevancy Modules in McGraw Hill Connect (along with the associated content in the Question Banks). The Relevancy Modules are short, engaging readings on relevant topics such as cancer, antibiotic resistance, and climate change. These have been a game-changer in my classrooms, whether in-person or online. They are written in a style that pulls in the reader, while at the same time, addressing the learning outcomes that so many of us struggle to reach with our non-majors. They have also acted as a springboard for me to search out simple ways to incorporate relevancy into every chapter I present, especially the ones that students struggle with. The BioNow videos are also wonderful, showing how science and biology are all around us and are tangible in our own backyards.

I also think the Virtual Labs are fantastic for engagement. Because the students are manipulating materials, recording data, and in some cases graphing results, they learn the content and interact with it at a much higher level than a passive video or reading on the same topic."

What is your favorite tool in Connect for biology to drive student engagement?

Hands-down, the Relevancy Modules as I've mentioned, in conjunction with SmartBook® assignments. Because I assign content in SmartBook before I lecture, the students are more prepared for lecture (in whatever form that may be). Therefore, I can spend more time on making connections between content and their lives using things like the Relevancy Modules. Making these connections has improved student outcomes.