How do I keep students interested and engaged with me and their education? originally appeared on Quora, the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world. You can follow Quora on Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus.

During this crisis, I was able to raise student engagement in my class to a 100% participation rate and a big part of that was because I created opportunities for students to stay engaged with their learning before, during, and after class.

Before class

Pre-lecture content: I created short interactive pre-lecture videos that piqued student interest and made it easy for them to get actively involved with their learning. This content highlighted essential concepts of the upcoming lecture topic, and incorporated assessments and discussion questions focused on identifying the content areas that require more clarification. This was very well-received by the students.

Lecture prep: I looked at students’ responses to the assessments just before the lecture to gauge their level of understanding. Depending on how well concepts are understood, I either slowed down, continued as planned, or accelerated my lecture materials.

During class

Lecture: My advice here is to be live and accessible during the lecture — don’t rely on recorded videos. Set some ground rules for the live chat, monitor the conversation, and respond to questions during the live lecture.

In-class participation: Utilize the polling or quiz function provided by your educational software (like Top Hat) or streaming service (like Zoom) during the class. As a general rule, one assessment question every 15-20 minutes is a good balance.

Breakout rooms: Use the breakout room function to facilitate group discussions. For example, assign questions that stimulate critical thinking and let students discuss in small groups before sharing with the larger class when the breakout session closes. Another way to use breakout rooms is to let them work on group assignments together and contribute to a document in real time. When the breakout room closes, a speaker from each group can present their contributions to the class.

After class

Assigned readings and other assignments: Engaging with lecture materials outside of class time requires student commitment and time, so make these assignments meaningful. Keep them short, relevant, and interactive, and consider allowing for an incentive, such as allocating a small percentage of the overall course grade to these activities.

Just-in-time interventions: Track student progress and performance throughout a course, and follow up with those who struggle along the way. Provide dedicated individual office hours for students to request help and clarification.

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