Engaging Students in Online Courses

Discussion of strategies for engaging students and creating active learning experiences in online courses.

Important information about UWF students for online instructors:

• UWF Seniors who work more than 20 hours /week off campus – 54%
• UWF Seniors who are providing some care for dependents living with them – 62%

What Employers Say They Most Need and Effective Practices for Engagement Related to Those Needs

• Teamwork Skills – 44%
• Learning Communities
• Collaborative Assignments and Projects
  (Ground Rules for Working in Groups)
• Internships
• Critical Thinking/Reasoning – 33%
• Internships
• Active Learning
• High Expectations
• Oral/Written Communication – 30%
• Writing-Intensive Courses
• Time on Task
• Cooperation among Students
• Prompt Feedback
• Ability to Assemble/Organize Information – 21%
  • Collaborative Assignments and Projects

Assembled from:

• (Report from the National Leadership Council for Liberal Education and America’s Promise:
  College Learning for the New Global Century)
• Effective Educational Practices , Good Practices in Undergraduate Education (Chickering &
  Gamson, 1987; Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005)

Complete Presentation Handout