Early Engagement Quick Tips (EEQT)

Review the course outline and get to know your students 

• Take time to review the course outline and help students navigate where important information is using the ‘who, what, how’ method: the ‘who’ section includes instructor and TA contact information and office hours; the ‘what’ section includes the course code, grade breakdown, course materials, assessment due dates and penalties for missed assignments; and the ‘how’ section provides information around accessibility and how students can navigate missed tests or assignments and avoid academic misconduct. 
• Ask students to introduce themselves and talk about what they hope to learn or gain from taking your course, then create a word cloud with all the thoughts suggested. This is a great way to tap into students’ motivation for the course. Make sure to post this somewhere where students can see and reflect on it (e.g., on your course homepage in LEARN). 
• Consider ice breakers as a way to humanize online learning and to build social presence.  

Establish expectations for in and outside the classroom, collaboratively 

• Instead of listing out a bunch of rules, get students to collaboratively participate in developing the expectations for in-and-outside the classroom. Take the lead by discussing the ‘essentials’ and the rationale behind them (e.g., completing readings, pre-labs, tutorial problems), and then use the rest of the time to facilitate a thoughtful discussion with your students on what else they may need to do in order to be successful in your course. This will allow students to take ownership of their learning. 

The student success literature supports early engagement efforts. You can find a full account of engagement and related strategies in CTE's Teaching Tip on Building Community and CEL’s Fostering Engagement: Facilitating Online Courses in Higher Education.

Questions? 

Connect with CTE Liaisons or CEL team (Teach Online Support – Jira Service Management for Agile Development Team Support).

Introduce students to resources to support their learning early on  

• Early on the semester, introduce students to the supports available to them and let them know you are here for them. Consider mentioning when and how you hold office hours, who the teaching assistant for the course is, and discuss the most commonly used supports (e.g., Academic Advising, AccessAbility Services , Campus Wellness and Student Success Office).  
• Help students take control over their learning, advocate for their needs as learners and see value in help-seeking. Answering these questions can help them to proactively plan for success: Who can I go to when I get stuck? What supports are available to me?  

Set the foundation for a more equitable and inclusive classroom  

• It’s important for all students to feel safe, seen, respected and know that they belong in your classroom. You can help foster this early on by: 
  • Sharing your own pronouns as a way to create space for students to share, if they feel comfortable (e.g., in your email signature).
  • Taking time to learn your students’ names, how to pronounce them, and then, of course, using their names to address them. If you have a large class, ask students to use a "name tent" (a folded card with their name written on it, then place on their desk or table).
  • Ensuring students know that their ideas, thoughts, and feelings are welcomed and valued, and that they can work within their comfort zones.
  • Helping students see themselves reflected in your course (e.g., instructional materials and media reflect all students’ racial, ethnic, and cultural identities). CTE's Nahannee Schuitemaker (Educational Developer, Anti-Racist Pedagogies) and Jessica Rumbolt and Madison Hill (both Educational Developers, Indigenous Knowledges) can offer guidance. 

For more actions to improve your teachings, review these resources for instructors.  

The student success literature supports early engagement efforts. You can find a full account of engagement and related strategies in CTE's Teaching Tip on Building Community and CEL’s Fostering Engagement: Facilitating Online Courses in Higher Education.

Questions? 

Connect with CTE Liaisons or CEL team (Teach Online Support – Jira Service Management for Agile Development Team Support).

Continue to support the development of students’ self-regulation skills 

• As the semester unfolds, identify opportunities to help students develop their self-regulation skills. Students need to see “learning as an activity they do for themselves in a proactive way rather than as a covert event that happens to them in reaction to teaching” (Zimmerman, 2002). You can do this by: 
  • Introducing students to the three phases of self-regulated learning: forethought, performance, and self-reflection. 
  • Providing space for students to set goals for their learning and reflect on how they will stay motivated in your course. If students feel comfortable, get them to share those goals/motivations with you — this will provide insight into what students expect in the course and their approach to learning. 
  • Having students organize their thoughts and discussing how theygot to answers that were asked in class and through discussion boards. 

Get the semester started with active learning  

• Active learning helps students move beyond listening in lecture to engaging in activities that help to promote deeper learning. You can help foster this by: 
  • Putting students into think-pair-share scenarios, where you ask a question/post a problem, get students to pair-up and discuss the question/problem, and then invite them to share with the larger class. If you're using the Teams platform, consider making breakout rooms for student discussions.  
  • Implementing "quick quizzes" that help students recall what was previously taught. 

For additional instructional strategies, review Bloom’s Taxonomy of Learning Activities and Assessments. 

The student success literature supports early engagement efforts. You can find a full account of engagement and related strategies in CTE's Teaching Tip on Building Community and CEL’s Fostering Engagement: Facilitating Online Courses in Higher Education.

Questions? 

Connect with CTE Liaisons or the CEL Agile team.

Set clear expectations for upcoming assessments   

• Around this time in the term, you likely have upcoming assessment(s) in your course. Consider having an open discussion with your students and address any questions they raise. Ensure the information shared verbally in class is also made available to students in a written format and in a central location to help accommodate different learning preferences and needs. 
  • This is also a good time in the term to talk about policies around submissions, late work and academic integrity. If appropriate, use this time to clarify expectations for assessments that involve group work. 
  • For large assessments, consider breaking assessments into smaller, manageable components for students. This will help reduce stress and procrastination and it will also allow students to strategize their approach and manage their time. If this is not possible for your course, encourage students to use a Backwards Plan and/or other tools to break up deliverables into smaller, manageable components and to plan their time accordingly.  

Incorporate different instructional strategies  

• Using a variety of instructional strategies helps to keep all students in your course engaged and actively involved in their learning. This could include: flipped classroom, interactivities and inquiry-based learning to name a few.  

• Consider reviewing Aligning Outcomes, Assessments, and Instruction for faculty-specific instructional tips!  

The student success literature supports early engagement efforts. You can find a full account of engagement and related strategies in CTE's Teaching Tip on Building Community and CEL’s Fostering Engagement: Facilitating Online Courses in Higher Education.

Questions? 

Connect with CTE Liaisons or the CEL Agile team.

Gather feedback through mid-course evaluations  

• Week five is a good point in the term to engage students in a discussion around teaching and learning. Getting feedback from students allows you to gain insight around what’s working and what’s not, and allows you to adjust your teaching practices, where necessary. Some strategies to help you get feedback from students include: 
  • Muddiest point—This strategy allows you to gain better insight around where students are having difficulties with understanding. Consider setting aside time and getting students to reflect on the "muddiest point" in a specific lecture, using Mentimeter or the Discussions tool in LEARN. Prompts can include: What was unclear? What was confusing? What did you not understand? 
  • Open-ended Questions – This strategy will enable students to provide detailed context around specific areas you want more feedback on. For example: “Explain how the last few lectures have contributed to your learning around x”; “Which reading was most valuable to your learning and why?”

Provide space for students to reflect on their learning 

• While you may be getting students to provide you with feedback on your teachings, this can also be a good time for students to engage in self-reflection and self-evaluation of their own learning. Questions to help with this process include: 
  • How do I know I’ve learned? 
  • Can I explain/teach this concept to a peer? 
  • Where are my strengths in learning and where do I need to improve? 

The student success literature supports early engagement efforts. You can find a full account of engagement and related strategies in CTE's Teaching Tip on Building Community and CEL’s Fostering Engagement: Facilitating Online Courses in Higher Education.

Questions? 

Connect with CTE Liaisons or the CEL Agile team.

Plan for a successful Reading Week 

• Winter Reading week takes place in February and information about the specific dates can be found on theuniversity's important dates calendar. Students are encouraged to use this time to prepare for the rest of term, which may include studying for midterms, catching up on readings and assignments, and taking time for rest and personal wellness. This week: 
  • Ask students to intentionally reflect on and evaluate what they need from their Reading Week. This might look different for every student. You can say to students… “based on how you are feeling at this point in the term, reflect on what you need from your Reading Week by using this four step self-assessment.” 
  • Let students know your availability during Reading Week and the resources available to them; Share 1-2 things about your course that you want them want to keep mind. 

Identify early indicators of performance  

• Following Reading Week, review students’ progress in the course. Consider, reaching out to: 
  • Students who are performing well in your course. Provide words of encouragement and let them know they are on the right track. Use phrases that help build momentum and facilitate a growth mindset: “You’ve worked hard and have put so much effort into this term thus far. Reflect on the strategies/approaches you took to learning a difficult concept and use this approach for the next assessment.” 
  • Students who are not performing well and provide them with resources to help them get back on track (e.g., connecting them with their academic advisor, encouraging them to visit the Student Success Office). Give feedback to students that helps to foster a growth mindset: “It’s common for students to experience difficulties with this test. Know that mistakes happen and it’s an opportunity for us to learn and grow. Reflect on the approach you took to studying (what worked/didn’t work) and set up a new plan for the next test. If you’re stuck, connect with me for additional support/resources.” 

The student success literature supports early engagement efforts. You can find a full account of engagement and related strategies in CTE's Teaching Tip on Building Community and CEL’s Fostering Engagement: Facilitating Online Courses in Higher Education.

Questions? 

Connect with CTE Liaisons or the CEL Agile team.

Set clear expectations for students early on

• Setting clear expectations is vital for student success, but even more so now, given the various teaching and learning approaches (e.g., blended, online and in-person). During the first week, discuss the course modality/meeting schedule (if relevant), and orient students to important information (e.g., course schedule, assessment details, course outline, where to go for support, and how to prepare for different learning formats). Ensure that students have a clear roadmap of what’s expected of them (during and outside of class) and provide space for questions.
• Talk to students about how they can connect with you (e.g., email, online office hours, or in a discussion board for their questions), and encourage them to use this time to talk to you informally, clarify and ask questions about the course content, review graded work, and get support. If possible, set aside a block of time during the week to meet with students.
• Share your own insights around student success (e.g., logging into LEARN, attending class, asking questions, managing time, keeping up with course work) and help students cultivate agency and believe in their success.

NOTE: It’s important to reiterate your expectations at certain points in the semester (e.g., during peak points, before/after Fall Reading Week).

Introduce yourself, get to know students and help them build peer relationships

• Consider posting an introductory video or a bio and photo of yourself in LEARN, as a way to welcome students and help them see you as a real person. Mention to students why the course is important, why you love teaching it, how it can impact their future careers and talk to them about how much you look forward to teaching them!
• Encourage students to introduce themselves by sharing something about themselves (e.g., an activity they enjoy, personal goals for taking the course, something they are looking forward to this fall term).
• Create a learning community by having students in small groups introduce themselves to their peers using a planned icebreaker.

Help to build a sense of community and positive classroom climate

• Set time for community-building activities early on in the semester as a way to help students feel comfortable and connected to your classroom and with their peers.
• Shape your classroom climate in a positive way by demonstrating supportive behaviors like nodding, calling students by name, utilizing probing questions and summarizing responses — model the type of interaction that you expect from students!
• Ensure students feel like they are a part of the classroom community early and over the course of the semester (even when students join your class later in the term!).
• For online and remote courses, consider these types of interactions:
  • Student to student– Foster collaboration and success in online group work assignments by guiding students through each stage (e.g., group formation, group meetings, group deliverables, and other milestones).
  • Student to content– Encourage students to complete course activities by highlighting their benefits (e.g., valuable practice for preparing for assessments, deeper learning of concepts etc.). This type of formative feedback can be a diagnostic tool and address any issues or bottleneck concepts as they arise.  
  • Student to instructor – Actively participate in discussion boards, post videos, and make announcements to guide students through course materials. Follow along with them reinforcing key concepts/learning outcomes and providing formative feedback along the way. Don't be afraid to let your personality shine through or to use humour!   

Familiarize students with the tools used in your course

• Create a list of tools used in your course and discuss with students how to use/access them, and where to go to get help. Post this information prominently in your course.
• Allow students to practice using your course tools, without losing grades and engage with students using these tools to help model your expectations. When students are confident and comfortable with the tools in your course, they are more likely to use them.

Remind first year students about Waterloo Ready Modules

• Waterloo Ready provides students with the support and resources they need for a successful transition into first year at Waterloo. Students will have access to their faculty-specific Waterloo Ready modules and resources throughout their first year.

Begin to enhance student engagement in your course

When it comes to student engagement, there are three key areas that are essential to student success: cognitive engagement, emotional engagement, and behavioural engagement (Trowler, 2010). Below are examples of how you can foster each area:

• Cognitive engagement — encourage students to actively participate in their learning by setting goals for their learning, monitoring their progress, reflecting on the outcomes of their efforts and adapting their strategies after learning.
• Emotional engagement — remind students that you care about their progress and learning and that your classroom is a safe space to ask questions and offer opinions; show appreciation for the learner’s efforts early and send messages that are personalized.
• Behavioural engagement— talk to students about how much time they should invest in your course (before, during and after class), and encourage them to reach out for support when they need it.

Direct students to resources and services 

There are a range of resources and services available to students during their time at Waterloo. It can be helpful to:

1. Identify afew that are relevant to yourcourse and applicable to all students (e.g., Campus Wellness, Student Success Office, Academic Advising etc.).
2. Post this information as an announcement and in the resources section of the course on LEARN.
3. Remindstudents of these resources and services during peak times in the semester (e.g., before midterms and before and after Fall Reading Week).

Conduct a check-in with students

At this point in the semester, four weeks of teaching and learning has passed, and it’s an opportunity to check-in with students to hear how the course is going and for you to gain practical insights on what is/is not working. Below are examples on how you can survey students:

• Stop/Start/Continue:Ask studentswhat you as an instructor and what they themselves can stop/start/continue to support their learning.
• Anonymous survey:Have students provide midterm feedback using an anonymous survey that includes a few open-ended questions. If possible, award students points for completing the survey.
• Email check-in: Send a personalized email to students showing genuine care. You can mention, “It’s been four weeks of teaching and learning, and I just wanted take the time to check-in with you to see how you are really doing.”

Convey expectations for upcoming assessments

During week four, you may be approaching your first assessment. If this is the case, reiterate and provide students with clarity around expectations. Consider:

• Posting an informal, short video that describes what students are being asked to do, and that clarifies some of the more commonly asked questions.
• Writing down what you expect students to do or know for a test/assignment (in a more conversational tone) and encourage students to send questions to their TA.
• Reminding students of Academic Integrity and the university’s expectations, where possible.

This is also a good time to remind students of the resources available to help with their learning (e.g., the course Teaching Assistant, tutoring support, academic skill building support, writing and communication support, etc.).

Discuss the upcoming Fall Reading Week 

Fall Reading week takes place in October and information about the specific dates can be found on the University's important dates calendar. Ask students to reflect on and evaluate what they need from the break; this might look different for every student.

• Sample message: “Fall Reading Week is a chance for you to recharge, regroup, or reset. With the current pandemic, you need to care for yourself and your loved ones more than ever. Some of you may use the break to catch up on studies, self-care, caring for loved ones, engaging in activities you enjoy, or just catching up on sleep. Consider what YOU really need."

Set expectations for Reading Week communication and share things to keep in mind about the course.

Acknowledge mid semester slump and help motivate students

Around week five, you may be noticing changes in student motivation. Given that motivation has a direct impact on student success, here’s a few strategies to help increase student motivation in your course:

• Make your lectures more participatory or include/enhance your discussion boards with activities like "conversational roles" (e.g., Brookfield, 2006, p.8) that require the learner’s participation.
• Remind students of the value and relevance of the course content and help them make connections with their learning in a meaningful way.
• Help students to take ownership of their learning and experiences by directing them to relevant resources and services to help them get back on track.

Connect with all students in a meaningful and personalized manner

Fall Reading Week has just passed, and this is a good opportunity to take a moment to review student’s progress in the course. Consider:

• Reaching outto students who are showing improvement and/or performing well. Let them know they are doing well and that you appreciate their dedication and hard work! You can also refer students to opportunities that can help enhance their student experience.
• Reaching out to students who are facing academic difficulties. Declining grades, absences (i.e., not logging in), missed deadlines, and other indicators of disengagement can be signs of a broader problem. You can reach out directly with a short, informal email that expresses care and concern and provides your availability and willingness to help, or you can email the student’s academic advisor with the student name, ID number, and details about your concerns.

Collect and use midterm feedback

The feedback you receive in the middle of the term may look different than what you received in week four.  Students can share insights and reflect on changes that they might need to make to their own strategies. You can act on student feedback where possible, to improve the learning experience, and explain why some requests may not be feasible, leading to better understanding all around. To collect midterm feedback:

1. Choose the way you want to collect feedback — see examples of how you can collect midterm feedback.
2. Prepare the class for the feedback (e.g., set aside 10-15 minutes at the beginning of the class and mention the goal of the midterm feedback)
3. Summarize and share back what you learned from students’ feedback

Clearly communicate your expectations

• For a successful learning experience, orient students to what the experience is meant to be and each key role in that experience.
• Advise your students on how to connect with you (e.g., email, online office hours, discussion board) and what kind of response time to expect from you.
• Point students to key course information (e.g., course schedule, assessment details, syllabus).  
• Aim to provide assignment instructions at the start of term if possible as this can help alleviate student anxiety.

Orient students to the tools used in your class

• Take your students on a guided video tour to help them understand the different content, activity, assignment, and communication tools that you'll be using in your course.

Involve students in a community-building exercise

• Use the discussions tool in LEARN to help students engage with you and their classmates.
• Create and use a course-relevant icebreaker.
• Model friendly social discourse, show students how to subscribe to a discussion forum and topic.
  • Email your CTE Faculty Liaison if you'd like help with icebreakers, discussion rubrics, or ways to structure discussions.
• Encourage students to get to know at least one of their classmates and explain why supports like this matter (e.g., Bettinger et al, 2016).

Guide students to resources and services available to them

Students need to know where to go for help. Remind them of available supports if they are facing challenges.

• Identify a few resources that are relevant to yourcourse. Make sure to include some resources/services that will be applicable to all students (i.e. Campus Wellness, Student Success Office, Academic Advising etc.).
• Post this information as an announcement and in the resources section of the course on LEARN.

Foster social presence online

Social presence is a feeling of positive connectedness. Achieve it by interacting with students and projecting yourself in a way that helps students see you as a real person. 

Here are a few ideas

• Be present by carving out consistent time in your schedule to connect and communicate with students  
• Reply to student inquiries in a personalized, encouraging manner 

• Provide video or audio feedback to student work
• Add a social profile or photo to LEARN 

Consider automating (some) check-ins with students

Used sparingly, and with your own follow-up, Intelligent Agents can help you monitor student progress and course activity. You can use the information to proactively check in, offer support and encouragement. 

With Intelligent Agents you can:

• Set up automated emails to students
• Receive reports on students who score grades below (or above!) a certain level, or who haven’t logged into the course in a certain period of time.

The Teaching and Learning team can help you set up Intelligent Agent for your course, if you’re interested.

Students’ course experiences  

It’s been four weeks of teaching and learning online. You want to know how you can improve students’ course experience now, while there is still time to do something about it. For example, you can say:

“What should we stop doing in this course? What should we start doing in this course? What can we continue doing in this course?”

You also want students to know that you care for their general well-being. You may consider sending students individualized email messages and respond to their feedback personally. Try a message like this: “I want to be intentional about checking-in on your wellbeing because I know this is a difficult time for everyone. I’m wondering how you’re doing in general?”

Build rapport, model engagement, and humanize remote learning

Instructor-student interactions are essential to the online learning experience. The way you interact and communicate with your students sets a tone within the course. Consider:

• Building rapport with an atmosphere of understanding and respect by maintaining an online presence, getting to know students outside of the classroom, and expressing genuine care and interest.
• Modeling engagement for your students as most learning occurs through observation.
• Humanizing remote learning by seeing, acknowledging, and respecting students as individuals. This can be accomplished by creating opportunities for informal interactions with students, viewing things from a student’s perspective, using humor, or sharing personal stories during your teachings.

Reiterate expectations for upcoming assessments

At this point in the term, there may be an assessment coming up in your course. It will be important to clearly reiterate expectations and remind students of supports available to them (e.g., virtual office hours, TA support). Consider unique ways you can help students with understanding such as:

• Posting an informal, short video that describes the test or assignment and helps to clarify some of the more commonly asked questions.
• Writing down what you expect students to do or know for a test or assignment (in a more conversational tone) and encourage students to send questions to their TA.

Reiterating expectations and responding to student concerns early, can help to reduce student anxiety and eliminate confusion.

Reflect on course progress

By now, you may have had a chance to see students’ work and provide feedback. Take a moment to reflect on course progress to date:

• What are students struggling with?
• Are they communicating with you and each other?
• Are they showing interest and effort?
• Are you noticing anxiety, stress or confusion in your students?

If you're not sure, find out by asking lots of questions.

Be encouraging and open by sharing a bit about yourself and what you’re enjoying or struggling with. This can help students warm up and do the same. Adjust your efforts to meet student needs. A piece of well-timed advice can go a long way to change a student’s trajectory at this stage in the course.

Offer congrats to students to celebrate their successes

Students respond well to praise and encouragement, especially from their instructor. Sending kudos helps with their sense of belonging, competence, achievement and can help ensure continued successes. Identify opportunities to:

• Reach outto students who are engaging in positive student behaviours (e.g., demonstrating leadership, showing improvement, performing well on midterms). Let them know they are doing well and that you appreciate their dedication and hard work!
• Referstudents to opportunities that can help enhance their student experience (e.g., leadership opportunities).

Offer support to at-risk students

You can discuss strategies to get struggling students back-on-track and offer to connect them to further resources or supports. Declining grades, absences (i.e., not logging in), missed deadlines, and other indicators of disengagement can be signs of a broader problem. If a student is facing difficulties, consider:

• Reaching out directly with a short, informal email that expresses care and concern and provides your availability and willingness to help. 
• Referring the student to other University supports. Reach out directly, or email the student’s academic advisor providing the student name, ID number, and details about your concerns.

Discuss the importance of mental health

Midway through the term, stress levels can be high. This is an opportunity to discuss the importance of taking care of our mental health with your students. Being physically, emotionally, and/or mentally drained makes students more prone to burnout and other mental health concerns.

Validate and normalizestudent experiences (e.g., “I know this is a stressful time in the term for you. Online learning can be challenging for students.”) and remindstudents aboutsome of theresources that are available to them:

• Campus Wellness (e.g., Online workshops/seminars, 1-1 appointments, Empower Me)
• Student Success Office (e.g., Peer Success Coaching)
• Faculty-specific resources (e.g., academic advising)

If you’re comfortable and you have time, carve out 10 minutes to do a guided relaxation exercise with your students. Share your availability and how you can offer support. We’re all in this together!

Help support student motivation for learning

Motivation directly impacts how students learn and perform. According to expectancy-value theorists, students feel more motivated if they see value in a subject/task and believe they can accomplish it. To help increase student motivation as the course proceeds, instructors can:

• Continue to maintain enthusiasm for learning through body language, tone of voice and by showing genuine interest in the subject manner. You can also participate, encourage, share new things, and/or express excitement when students engage or accomplish something.
• Offer tips and consult with students about their study habits, time management, and wellness.
• Incorporate interactive activities that help to encourage critical and reflective thinking (e.g., case studies).

There are additional strategies to help boost student motivation.

Ask for midterm feedback on the course and student's learning

Student feedback supports engagement in two ways:

• Students can share insights and reflect on changes that they might need to make to their own strategies. You can act on student feedback where possible, to improve the learning experience, and explain why some requests may not be feasible, leading to better understanding all around.
• Try using an anonymous survey in LEARN. Summarize the responses and feed the information back along with any small changes that can be made.
  • What canIkeep, stop, and start doing in support of your learning?
  • What can you keep, stop, and start doing in support of your ownlearning?