It often feels like getting students to attend regularly, pay attention, and participate are the most difficult parts of teaching. Here we've outlined some tips for activating student engagement.

Establish authentic human connections 

• Keep in mind that your students are human beings with lives outside of class. 

• Display your own humanity; let your uniqueness and idiosyncrasies come through. 

• Model intellectual approaches and share your process of solving difficult problems. 

• Emphasize the classroom as a space of experiment and growth rather than a place to perform perfection. 

Foster curiosity 

• Pull students in with examples of unanswered questions and mysteries within your discipline. 

• Communicate your passion for your subject. 

• Recognize that emotions guide learning. 

Use variety to activate cognition 

• Vary activities and pedagogical approaches. 

• Switch between the students and you as idea generators. 

• Consider having students physically move, discuss with one another, pose and answer questions, or apply newly gained knowledge. 

• Incorporate flexibility within structure by offering students choices where possible. 

Build a sense of community and belonging 

• Emphasize the value each student brings to the learning environment. 

• Encourage study groups and shared documents. 

• Survey the students during Week 1 and ask what they want to get out of the course. 

Convey the relevance of the content 

• Integrate actual real-life examples. 

• Be mindful of representation in your course content, cases, and examples. 

• Explain the benefit of the lesson beyond the discipline. 

• Challenge students to connect the material to their own lives. 

Set the tone early, often 

• Consider all of these strategies when planning your course. 

• Use the first class period to model the type of engagement you want to see. 

• Explicitly communicate the value of attending class and participating in discussions. 

• Emphasize where the syllabus encourages attendance and participation. 

Take care of yourself 

• Get plenty of sleep, exercise, and healthy foods. 

• Be explicit with yourself and your students regarding the boundaries you have set (e.g., responding to emails only during business hours). 

• Don’t overdo these suggestions! Pick two or three to try this semester and slowly incorporate more of them over time. 

Want to talk out how to implement some of these ideas? Book an appointment with a CAT staffer or send us an email!