Faculty Club / Student Engagement

Student Engagement

Explore a collection of practical tips and strategies for creating a vibrant educational environment that fosters active learning, student participation, and a true sense of belonging.

Videos [11]

Video Assessments 101: Creating Video Projects for Your Students

Assistant Professor Cassie Whitt, PhD, shows educators how to make classroom assessments fun and creative with student video projects.

What Should a Culture of Caring Look Like in Higher Education? [Video]

Participants in this panel discussion explore strategies for building a culture of caring in higher education classrooms.

Elevate Your Teaching Productivity with GenAI

Jeremy Caplan explores AI tools and explains how they can can enhance productivity and improve student engagement.

3 Steps to Building a Digital Toolkit for Student Engagement

Using digital tools in the classroom can greatly enhance student engagement and create a more interactive and efficient learning environment.

Co-Creating the Classroom Experience with Your Students

Dr. Michael London reflects on his experience developing the “co-created classroom” concept and emphasizes the importance of creating ownership through discussions.

Promoting Student Mental and Physical Health in Any Discipline

Dr. Joab Corey discusses the importance of promoting student mental and physical health, particularly due to the lack of physical activity resulting from remote learning.

Cultivating a Sense of Belonging in Your Classroom

Dr. Lainey Sevillano discusses how a students’ sense of belonging in their academic environment can positively impact their psychosocial and educational outcomes.

Keeping Students Interested: Tips for Active Learning Online

Dr. Kosslyn discusses the importance of achieving clear learning objectives and using active learning.

How to Use Ungrading in Your Classroom

Dr. Emily Dosmar shares how you can implement ungrading principles into your classroom and empower your students for better outcomes.

Student-Centered Teaching: How Practice Builds our Hidden Learning System [Video]

Barbara Oakley’s session took place during Course Hero’s 2020 virtual Education Summit as a part of the general session.

Showing Up Online: A Workshop on Virtual Presence

This session took place during Course Hero’s 2020 virtual Education Summit, from July 29-31, as a part of the Professional Development and Well-Being track.

Articles [47]

How to Keep Classroom Discussions Productive this Election Season

Explore ways to address unplanned conversations on hot issues, and learn how to facilitate productive classroom discussions.

How to Make a Syllabus that Keeps Students Curious [Free Template]

Learn strategies to transform your syllabus into an engaging document that students will actually read.

How to Help Students Overcome Pandemic Learning Loss

Explore the scope of pandemic learning loss and learn practical strategies you can use to help your students overcome these obstacles.

How Faculty Can Help Protect Free Speech on Campus

In this piece, we explore the historical significance of college free speech and provide tips for how you can encourage self-expression in the classroom.

Motivational Strategies for Students: Why Small Wins Matter

In this article, we discuss how to motivate students in the classroom, emphasizing the power of small wins.

Building a Foundation: Nurturing Student Well-Being in the First Week

Dr. McNaughton-Cassill discusses how educators can nurture student well-being and make authentic connections in the first week of class.

5 Tips for Teaching Large Classes

This article explores ways to navigate large classes, including ways to improve student engagement and keep students’ needs front of mind.

Self-Determination Theory: How to Spark Intrinsic Motivation

Learn how to foster intrinsic motivation in students using the three basic needs of Self-Determination Theory as a framework.

5 Research-Backed Ways Teachers Can Connect with Their Students

Start the year off right by using these research-backed strategies to build authentic relationships with students.

How to Use Ungrading in Your Classroom

Dr. Emily Dosmar shares how you can implement ungrading principles into your classroom and empower your students for better outcomes.

5 Ways Students Can Stay Motivated in Online Courses

Dr. Angelita Howard shares 5 quick tips on how students can feel more connected and motivated in their online courses.

5 Ways to Improve Student Engagement with Co-Teaching

When business students seemed content to sit back in their seats, Dr. Michael London used co-teaching to improve student engagement and help them feel more connected to the material.

The Power of Role-Playing: Engaging Students in Soft Skill Development

To bolster emotional intelligence in a tech-minded generation, Virginie Kidwell, PhD, provides software-based practice problems in a workplace setting.

Start the Semester with These Study Tips from a Neuroscientist

Neuroscientist Nikki Sawyer, PhD, came up with “the ART of learning” to explain how the brain learns best—plus two tricks to help students study smarter.

6 Tips for Adding Value to Service-Learning Projects

Fernando Parra, PhD, shares how Service-Learning projects help his accounting students connect course objectives to community welfare.

6 Ways to Motivate Learning in Any Fast-Paced Course

Organic chemistry professor Abha Verma, PhD, shares evidence-based strategies that help students succeed in her 5-week summer course.

Create a Welcoming Space for Introverts and Extroverts

Dr. Staci Johnson shares how her prompts for self-reflection and group discussion help personalities of all types engage in complex classroom interaction.

Tips for Teaching Biology to Non-Majors

To spice up biology topics, Gloria Miller, PhD, sends students on a series of quests that help them educate themselves—and the wider world.

6 Tips for Encouraging Connection and Student Learning

Students and educators may not see eye to eye on what works best in the classroom, but Dr. Barbara Frank offers techniques to bridge the gap.

How to Make Classic Literature More Relatable for Students

When English composition students struggled to connect with characters from Shakespeare, Milton, Tolstoy, and more, Melissa Long, MA, made them relatable.

Use This Note-Taking Template to Spark Dialogue with Students

Biology professor Kayla Rihani has adapted a tool from the mid-20th century to get students to share their thoughts and questions more freely.

How to Get Students Motivated to Learn

By tapping into the affective domain, English professor Cristy Lopez-Bowlin, MA, has turned reluctant writers into highly engaged students.

6 Exercises for Building Community in the Classroom

A community sculpture, breathing exercises, and a clever acronym help Dr. Anastasia Prentiss inspire communication students to engage and bond.

6 Engaging Strategies to Supplement Dry Science Textbooks

To help make complicated medical topics more engaging, Dr. Sandy Westerheide uses a variety of attention-grabbing textbook alternatives.

Do This, Not That: 5 Student Engagement Strategies

Biology lecturer Dr. Shereen Sabet shares her views on the pitfalls of modern teaching trends and when traditional methods can be more beneficial.

How to Improve Critical Thinking Skills in Students

Dr. Michael Starbird—a professor of math and deep thinking—loves helping students become open to changing their minds. Here is his effective 4-step plan.

5 Writing Exercises to Engage Science Students

Iona Baldridge, EdD, advocates creative prompts to build critical thinking among biology students, using a low-stakes Q&A, a 27-line paper, and more.

How to Get (and Use) Candid Feedback in Course Evaluations

Biologist Dr. Mike Trombley shares why he uses anonymous short-essay course evaluations and how he gets honest answers anyway.

Flipped Classroom Tricks to Fight Short Attention Spans

When Dr. Christine Shannon saw that her math students were frustrated and unfocused, she spiced up “old” drills with new flipped-classroom tricks.

The Sequential Group Project: A Real-World Approach to Case Studies

Dr. Andrew David’s research background inspired this project in which student groups work consecutively (not simultaneously) to solve a parasite mystery.

Use Mindfulness Writings to Boost Study Skills in Any Course

Biologist Kristin Picardo, PhD, uncovered a secret to improve learning outcomes: Require students to consider whether what they are doing is working.

How to Get Undergraduate Students Excited About Doing Research

Mathematics researcher Dr. Mohamed Ait Nouh builds confidence in underserved students by inviting them to collaborate with him on publishable projects.

How to Help Students Set SMART Goals

Dr. Andrea Woodson-Smith spends a semester on SMART goals and vision boards to show her kinesiology students how to get what they want in life.

7 Ways to Put Study Abroad Within More Students’ Reach

For first-generation, low-income, and/or minority students, the barriers to travel can be prohibitive. Judon-Monk, DHSc, has removed many of them.

5 Tips for Crafting—and Asking—Class-Opener Questions

How to help students engage with tough material and each other? The answer from criminology professor Talia Moore, EdD, begins with a question.

Class Participation: 6 Expert Tips to Grab—and Hold—Students’ Attention

Ten Course Hero educator partners share how they encourage class participation by engaging and energizing students.

4 Big Benefits of Brief Collaborative Quizzes

Quizzes that lessen math anxiety? Yes, please! Dr. Michel Mallenby shares her research-based formula for administering them every class.

Q&A: A Researcher’s Notes on Building Rapport with Students

Dr. Lisa Burke-Smalley shares her findings on how authentic interpersonal relationships facilitate students’ learning.

6 Actions to Help Students Develop a Growth Mindset

Dr. Kimberly Mulligan shares her adaptation of the DAPPS goal-setting system that helps biology students see—and seek—their own potential.

How to Connect with Students by Showing Your Human Side

To help her students succeed, Dr. Samiksha Raut shares her life story, struggles, lunches, and personal interests—with impressive results.

6 Tactics from Business Leaders to Boost Student Engagement

Immunology Professor Dante Descalzi-Montoya has student engagement down to a science, thanks to business-style background checks, work-review check-ins, and more.

7 Heartfelt Ways to Support Nontraditional Learners

Debra Jackson, PhD, teaches adults about their learning style, time management tips, and study tricks—and the basics of anatomy and physiology, too.

5 Collaborative Learning Strategies from a Teamwork Researcher

To build the soft skills that businesses seek, Professor Kevin Engellant uses a series of exercises that foster communication and cooperation.

4 Ways to Create Fun in the Classroom with Active Learning

To foster active learning, Dr. Tom Philippe uses paper airplanes, blocks, beads, and balls to solidify skills in listening, teamwork, and problem solving.