Tag: active students

The fourth episode of the “Engaging Students Online” series explores students’ and teachers’ wellbeing.

Introduction

Several studies suggest that teachers’ well-being is closely linked to more effective teaching and better student outcomes (see links above). However, perhaps we don’t need studies to realize this – just a bit of self-reflection. If we’ve had a good night’s sleep, didn’t argue with somebody in the morning, weren’t stressed by traffic, and didn’t feel rushed – maybe even dressed in our favorite jeans – chances are our class went really well.

An example

Some students in our International Management program are learning Chinese, a decision that aligns well with the demands of today’s globalized world. The course carries the same 3 ECTS credits as courses in Spanish or other languages. You might wonder how anyone can learn Chinese in just 75 hours per semester. It’s certainly a challenging task – perhaps as difficult as mastering complex technical concepts in a 3-ECTS course. The Chinese teacher of this student group has a strategy that makes learning easier by enhancing the students’ well-being.

As a cheerful and optimistic person, this teacher gently wakes her students at 8:15 a.m. through light physical exercises, incorporating Chinese counting or by giving instructions like jumping or turning in Chinese language. After 10 minutes, the students are awake and in good spirits, as there was some laughter while performing the physical exercises. This approach fosters a supportive and encouraging learning environment.

When students become tired after working on challenging Chinese phrases for a while, the teacher pauses the lesson. Sometimes, she invites them to play a Chinese memory game or engage in calligraphy. In this way the group gains confidence to master the Chinese lessons. Every student successfully completed one semester of learning Chinese after another.

Instructional Method

We know that the start of a course is important for fostering good learning.

Waking Up, Settling In: When students are tired, whether due to the early hour or having already finished work, why not give them time to wake up and mentally settle into the course? This could be achieved through physical exercises, conducting a survey – such as using the Emotions Wheel – or allowing them to chat in groups about how they are feeling in the moment. It requires little time but has a significant impact.

Creating Meaningful breaks: After a period of intense work, students need a break. If teachers provide engaging ideas for this break, students stay connected to the course. Small, quirky games that make participants laugh are particularly well-suited. They also help to restore energy.

Example Emoji Gesture Activity: Each students says a sentence and makes a simple gesture connected to an emoji. To help students remember the emojis, an image with emojis can be shared.

Hello, I’m Jutta 👋!” (waves) “Hello, I’m Max 👍! Jutta waves 👋. (This is a very simple sentence; teachers could, of course, foster their creativity and explore other types of sentences.)

This simple game works well in the chat, where students write text and add an emoji. It’s also a lot of fun when students turn on their video and perform a gesture matching the emoji. Students might ask to repeat a familiar method for promoting well-being in the next class.

Rules for us teachers

• Prepare a few small exercises or games for the next class.
• Have the courage to try them out!
• Teachers could include a short survey at the end of the class to confirm that students learned effectively, even while incorporating some games or physical activities.
• And: Teachers shouldn’t forget to take time for their own well-being while students are occupied with activities like games or exercises!

Framework

• This approach is useful in all teaching
• If you have any questions, ask Jutta Pauschenwein.
• Independent of the used Platform

Further information

Previous posts in the Engaging Students Online series.

• How to integrate student moderators into the classroom (1st episode)
• How to assign students the task of revisiting content from the previous class. (2nd episode)
• How to activate students through questions (3rd episode)

Links

• Wartenberg, G., Aldrup, K., Grund, S. et al. Satisfied and High Performing? A Meta-Analysis and Systematic Review of the Correlates of Teachers’ Job Satisfaction. Educ Psychol Rev 35, 114 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-023-09831-4
• Lavy, S., Bocker, S. A Path to Teacher Happiness? A Sense of Meaning Affects Teacher–Student Relationships, Which Affect Job Satisfaction. J Happiness Stud 19, 1485–1503 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-017-9883-9
• Pap, Z., Maricuțoiu, L., Vîrgă, D. et al. Happy teacher, healthy class? Linking teachers’ subjective well-being to high-school and university students’ physical and mental health in a three-level longitudinal study. Soc Psychol Educ 26, 811–831 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-023-09768-0

The third episode of the “Engaging Students Online” series explores how to activate students through questions.

Introduction

Engaging with students is often a challenge, whether in a face-to-face course or an online setting. In this series, you’ll find small pedagogical strategies to foster student engagement in online teaching, which can also be adapted to face-to-face classes.

Instructional Method

While discussing student engagement with teachers from the Content Strategy program one of them wrote:

What I’ve come to learn over the years is to lead with simple questions that are clearly formulated, and which anyone can answer from their own experience. Once the students are warmed up (and engaged), it’s easier to get them to respond to more thought-provoking questions and for the quieter ones to enter the discussion. (Ben Croker)

Starting with easy questions as a warm-up works well. Ben’s idea of asking questions that students can answer based on their own experience is a great approach, as it ensures every student can at least think of a response. This helps students build self-confidence, which is the number one predictor of academic achievement and success (according to a post by the University of the West of Scotland). One of the crucial needs in the Self-Determination Theory, a psychological framework for understanding human motivation, is the need to feel competent.

Our feeling of competence is derived from a series of successful experiences and the positive emotions we derive from them. (Elizabeth Perry, 2023).

Students discuss questions

From observing student groups (whether online or face-to-face), we know that some students are eager to discuss any question, while others remain silent. People have different competencies and preferences. Therefore, teachers could implement a brief group activity with the “clearly formulated question” (Ben) and add some words about the result they expect from the group work. The result could be a definition, two descriptive sentences, a picture, keywords, …

Sending students to breakout rooms is incredibly easy nowadays, and in face-to-face settings, students could simply move around to form small groups.

In these groups, students nominate a person to briefly present the result.

Rules for us teachers

• Formulate clear and simple questions that are broad enough to allow diverse input but focused enough to guide the discussion.
• Set clear expectations for group work by explaining the result of the group activity and providing an example.
• Support group formation and roles, as presenter or note-taker.
• Ensure each group has the opportunity to present their results briefly.

Framework

• This approach is useful in all online courses with discursive elements
• If you have any questions, ask Jutta Pauschenwein.
• Plattform: MS Teams, ZOOM

Further information

Previous posts in the Engaging Students Online series.

• How to integrate student moderators into the classroom (1st episode)
• How to assign students the task of revisiting content from the previous class. (2nd episode)