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Student Engagement Techniques: A Handbook for College Faculty
Keeping students involved, motivated, and actively learning is challenging educators across the country, yet good advice on how to accomplish this has not been readily available. Student Engagement Techniques is a comprehensive resource that offers college teachers a dynamic model for engaging students and includes over one hundred tips, strategies, and techniques that have been proven to help teachers from a wide variety of disciplines and institutions motivate and connect with their students. The ready-to-use format shows how to apply each of the book's techniques in the classroom and includes purpose, preparation, procedures, examples, online implementation, variations and extensions, observations and advice, and key resources.
"Given the current and welcome surge of interest in improving student learning and success, this guide is a timely and important tool, sharply focused on practical strategies that can really matter."
?Kay McClenney, director, Center for Community College Student Engagement, Community College Leadership Program, the University of Texas at Austin
"This book is a 'must' for every new faculty orientation program; it not only emphasizes the importance of concentrating on what students learn but provides clear steps to prepare and execute an engagement technique. Faculty looking for ideas to heighten student engagement in their courses will find usefultechniques that can be adopted, adapted, extended, or modified."
?Bob Smallwood, cocreator of CLASSE (Classroom Survey of Student Engagement) and assistant to the provost for assessment, Office of Institutional Effectiveness, University of Alabama
"Elizabeth Barkley's encyclopedia of active learning techniques (here called SETs) combines both a solid discussion of the research on learning that supports the concept of engagement and real-life examples of these approaches to teaching in action."
?James Rhem, executive editor, The National Teaching & Learning Forum
"Given the current and welcome surge of interest in improving student learning and success, this guide is a timely and important tool, sharply focused on practical strategies that can really matter."
?Kay McClenney, director, Center for Community College Student Engagement, Community College Leadership Program, the University of Texas at Austin
"This book is a 'must' for every new faculty orientation program; it not only emphasizes the importance of concentrating on what students learn but provides clear steps to prepare and execute an engagement technique. Faculty looking for ideas to heighten student engagement in their courses will find usefultechniques that can be adopted, adapted, extended, or modified."
?Bob Smallwood, cocreator of CLASSE (Classroom Survey of Student Engagement) and assistant to the provost for assessment, Office of Institutional Effectiveness, University of Alabama
"Elizabeth Barkley's encyclopedia of active learning techniques (here called SETs) combines both a solid discussion of the research on learning that supports the concept of engagement and real-life examples of these approaches to teaching in action."
?James Rhem, executive editor, The National Teaching & Learning Forum
416 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2009
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January 4, 2018
I love this book! The first chapters give you some theory and research about teaching and learning that weave in the activities she spends the second half of the book explaining. This first part of the book also gives accounts from professors on how they structure their classrooms to incorporate active learning.
The back section is particularly useful because it mentions how easy or difficult it would be to adapt each of the activities to an online section, and how to go about it. This is particularly useful if your classroom is flipped at all, or if you are actually teaching entirely online.
The back section is particularly useful because it mentions how easy or difficult it would be to adapt each of the activities to an online section, and how to go about it. This is particularly useful if your classroom is flipped at all, or if you are actually teaching entirely online.
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July 14, 2014Background knowledge probe: example question is "Federalism: a. have never heard of this, b. have heard of it, but don't really know what it means, c. have some idea what this means, but not too clear, d. have a clear idea what this means and can explain it. Tell students the point of this exercise and ensure them it's not graded and they're not expected to know a lot of this stuff, just trying to figure out where they are with it.
Artifacts: "To start a discussion on European immigration and settlement in the United States during the nineteenth century, Professor Emma Grashon gathered a chart of statistics, exerpts from immigrant diaries, a photo of the Statue of Liberty along with a key to Bartholdi's use of symbols in the tatue, and a collection of photos (a starving family on a farm in Ireland, a village in ruins following a pogrom in Russia and so forth), and asked groups to answer a series of questions on a worksheet related to why people came to America."
Quotes: Rather than have students draw quotes out of a hat or bucket, have them draw concepts, which after a few minutes, they will need to describe to the class.
Stations: Have different stations at which students can find pictures, quotes, short pieces of writing, etc. and have to answer a question or questions. Students move from station-to-station in groups of 2-4. You can use websites to create virtual exhibits. Well-designed exhibits can help students make connections between theory and practice, understand principles and concepts at a deeper level, and be an interesting and enjoyable change of pace.
Classify: While not a great fit for history, this could work. Gather artifacts, have student gather and group them. Perhaps you could take a batch of photographs with tape on the back, and have students assemble them on a Venn Diagram drawn on the board. Have students explain why they're placing things where they do. "If the classification system is not compelex enough, this activity may feel like busywork."
Frames: Provide a general outline for an essay and have students complete it. For example, "The author's main point in the essay is________________. The evidence she provides to support her view is______________________. On the other hand, others argue that_________________. To support their views, they point out that__________________. Collaborative writing where your collaborator is the teacher.
Believing and Doubting: Have students read a text twice, first empathetically, making a sincere and conscious attempt to identify with and understand the author's feelings, beliefs, and values, and making a list of as many points as they can with which, from this empathetic viewpoint, they agree with the author. Second, after you feel that most students genuinely understand the text, ask them to reread it, but this time from a doubting perspective, making a new list of everything they can find that, when viewed from this critical perspective, they suspect may not be true, likely, or genuine. Come up with points again (likely as a pair or group). After each reading create a cumulative list as a class. "Conclude the discussion with why it is important to resist being passive consumers of the written word and instead become critical readers and thinkers." "Because this SET requires students to engage by viewing knowledge, information, and opinion critically, it is a useful tool for helping them learn to evaluate information on the internet. The internet is often the first source of information used by students in their research.
Book Club: The teacher selects 3-5 books (or articles?) on core course topics and develops reading guides with discussion questions specific to each book. Students are allowed to choose th book they wish to read and then join a 'Book Club' of 5-7 students that meet to discuss the book. When finished, each book club gives a formal presentation to the whole class, using their responses to the reading guide as the basis for a synthesis of what they learned. Can be something you do over 1-2 class periods if you use an article. "Use a unifying theme when selecting books. Themes may be genre-specific (such as biographies, historical fiction) or offer different perspectives on a single topic."
Small Group Tutorials: Students write essays in preparation to meet with the teacher in groups of 4-6. As each student reads his or her essay, the teacher interrupts at will to make points or ask questions. "In addition to learning from the interchange between the teacher and the other members of the group. This SET also provides students with more personalized and meaningful contact with their teachers." Perhaps do this while the rest of the class works on their papers. Take groups 5 or so at a time and do a mini-workshop. Paper-writing groups. "Take care to offer candid feedback but not to engender defensiveness, to allow students to ask questions but to discourage them from being dependent, to maintain an appropriate degree of authority and control but still relate to the students as adults, and to encourage students to be independent but offer guidance and help when needed."
Class Book: "Toward the end of the course, individual students submit an essay assignment that they believe represents their highest quality work. Submissions are collected and bound together as a 'class book' that will be available to future students in the same course. This SET offers an opportunity for students to create a record of their cumulative course experience, motivates students to strive for personal excellence, and provides students in subsequent classes with models of quality work done by their peers." You can do this with their final papers. "Although the first time he implemented the assignment the students produced a simple, spiral-bound document, subsequent classes were motivated to outshine the previous classes and use desktop publishing software to produce high-quality, hard-covered editions that included a preface and photographs with short bios of the students. The cumulative Showcase editions are displayed in the English department office." "Have students develop a class memoir that is included as the preface or introduction to the book. This memoir can encourage students to reflect on their learning experiences, build class community, and offer advice to subsequent students on how to learn the most and be successful in the course." Web-based magazine instead?
Ethical Dilemmas: Choose one specific ethical issue or question to focus on. Locate or create a short case that poses the essential dilemma realistically. Write two or three questions that require students to take a position on the dilemma and to explain or justify that position. Ask students to write short, honest, anonymous responses. Allow enough class time for students to write responses, or make this a take-home assessment exercise. You can do something like this when exploring a question like, "When is a revolution justified?" Describe a real scenario, for instance, the Haitian revolution, and see what students would do.
Post-test Analysis: Two-state process. First stage occurs after students have completed an exam but before they submit the exam to the instructor. At this stage, students predict their score, list their study strategies, rate their effort, and identify what was easiest and what was most difficult for them about the exam. After they get back their graded exams, students are asked to write about their response to the score, compare their score with their prediction, and then go through the exam analyzing each exam question for the thinking skills it required and the source of the question. Helps students identify strengths and weaknesses. Could adapt this for written, other assessments. Ideas on how to structure post-test analysis on p. 337-338.
In-class Portfolio: Students collect and organize lecture notes, essay responses to prompts presented during class, summaries of small- and whole-group discussion, personal reflections, and so forth into a portfolio and submit these for evaluation two or three times per academic term. This SET provides teachers with a mechanism to help students stay focused and attentive during face-to-face class sessions. Students know that they must take complete and accurate notes, listen carefully to discussions, participate thoughtfully during group work, and think deeply about instructor- developed prompts so that they can summarize or synthesize what they learned in their portfolios."
Resource Scavenger Hunt: "Identify encyclopedias, dictionaries, journals, and Web sites that students should be familiar with to effectively complete course assignments. Find at least one specific fact within each resource that is beneficial for learners and construct a corresponding question. Create additional follow-up questions that challenge students to process the information. Craft final questions that require students to use their knowledge of the resources to evaluate which resource would be best for a specific task." Make this a paired or team activity.
Crib Cards: Allow students to use them for the first test or one of the first tests?
Student-Generated Rubrics: "Teachers provide student groups with three examples of outstanding course work such as an essay, research paper, etc. Student analyze the works to determine the common characteristics and then develop assessment rubrics for the assignment that include a list of the most important traits and a corresponding scoring scale. The teacher facilitates a whole-class discussion to reach consensus on a set of rubrics that will be used to assess future assignment submissions. This SET helps teach students how to identify the features of excellent work and internalize the meaning of high standards. It also results in a set of grading rubrics that contain explicit criteria and standards. This, in turn, guides students as they do their assignments and makes grading more effective and efficient." Perhaps present model rubrics that will give students ideas? Have them create rubrics in pairs then come together as a class?
Artifacts: "To start a discussion on European immigration and settlement in the United States during the nineteenth century, Professor Emma Grashon gathered a chart of statistics, exerpts from immigrant diaries, a photo of the Statue of Liberty along with a key to Bartholdi's use of symbols in the tatue, and a collection of photos (a starving family on a farm in Ireland, a village in ruins following a pogrom in Russia and so forth), and asked groups to answer a series of questions on a worksheet related to why people came to America."
Quotes: Rather than have students draw quotes out of a hat or bucket, have them draw concepts, which after a few minutes, they will need to describe to the class.
Stations: Have different stations at which students can find pictures, quotes, short pieces of writing, etc. and have to answer a question or questions. Students move from station-to-station in groups of 2-4. You can use websites to create virtual exhibits. Well-designed exhibits can help students make connections between theory and practice, understand principles and concepts at a deeper level, and be an interesting and enjoyable change of pace.
Classify: While not a great fit for history, this could work. Gather artifacts, have student gather and group them. Perhaps you could take a batch of photographs with tape on the back, and have students assemble them on a Venn Diagram drawn on the board. Have students explain why they're placing things where they do. "If the classification system is not compelex enough, this activity may feel like busywork."
Frames: Provide a general outline for an essay and have students complete it. For example, "The author's main point in the essay is________________. The evidence she provides to support her view is______________________. On the other hand, others argue that_________________. To support their views, they point out that__________________. Collaborative writing where your collaborator is the teacher.
Believing and Doubting: Have students read a text twice, first empathetically, making a sincere and conscious attempt to identify with and understand the author's feelings, beliefs, and values, and making a list of as many points as they can with which, from this empathetic viewpoint, they agree with the author. Second, after you feel that most students genuinely understand the text, ask them to reread it, but this time from a doubting perspective, making a new list of everything they can find that, when viewed from this critical perspective, they suspect may not be true, likely, or genuine. Come up with points again (likely as a pair or group). After each reading create a cumulative list as a class. "Conclude the discussion with why it is important to resist being passive consumers of the written word and instead become critical readers and thinkers." "Because this SET requires students to engage by viewing knowledge, information, and opinion critically, it is a useful tool for helping them learn to evaluate information on the internet. The internet is often the first source of information used by students in their research.
Book Club: The teacher selects 3-5 books (or articles?) on core course topics and develops reading guides with discussion questions specific to each book. Students are allowed to choose th book they wish to read and then join a 'Book Club' of 5-7 students that meet to discuss the book. When finished, each book club gives a formal presentation to the whole class, using their responses to the reading guide as the basis for a synthesis of what they learned. Can be something you do over 1-2 class periods if you use an article. "Use a unifying theme when selecting books. Themes may be genre-specific (such as biographies, historical fiction) or offer different perspectives on a single topic."
Small Group Tutorials: Students write essays in preparation to meet with the teacher in groups of 4-6. As each student reads his or her essay, the teacher interrupts at will to make points or ask questions. "In addition to learning from the interchange between the teacher and the other members of the group. This SET also provides students with more personalized and meaningful contact with their teachers." Perhaps do this while the rest of the class works on their papers. Take groups 5 or so at a time and do a mini-workshop. Paper-writing groups. "Take care to offer candid feedback but not to engender defensiveness, to allow students to ask questions but to discourage them from being dependent, to maintain an appropriate degree of authority and control but still relate to the students as adults, and to encourage students to be independent but offer guidance and help when needed."
Class Book: "Toward the end of the course, individual students submit an essay assignment that they believe represents their highest quality work. Submissions are collected and bound together as a 'class book' that will be available to future students in the same course. This SET offers an opportunity for students to create a record of their cumulative course experience, motivates students to strive for personal excellence, and provides students in subsequent classes with models of quality work done by their peers." You can do this with their final papers. "Although the first time he implemented the assignment the students produced a simple, spiral-bound document, subsequent classes were motivated to outshine the previous classes and use desktop publishing software to produce high-quality, hard-covered editions that included a preface and photographs with short bios of the students. The cumulative Showcase editions are displayed in the English department office." "Have students develop a class memoir that is included as the preface or introduction to the book. This memoir can encourage students to reflect on their learning experiences, build class community, and offer advice to subsequent students on how to learn the most and be successful in the course." Web-based magazine instead?
Ethical Dilemmas: Choose one specific ethical issue or question to focus on. Locate or create a short case that poses the essential dilemma realistically. Write two or three questions that require students to take a position on the dilemma and to explain or justify that position. Ask students to write short, honest, anonymous responses. Allow enough class time for students to write responses, or make this a take-home assessment exercise. You can do something like this when exploring a question like, "When is a revolution justified?" Describe a real scenario, for instance, the Haitian revolution, and see what students would do.
Post-test Analysis: Two-state process. First stage occurs after students have completed an exam but before they submit the exam to the instructor. At this stage, students predict their score, list their study strategies, rate their effort, and identify what was easiest and what was most difficult for them about the exam. After they get back their graded exams, students are asked to write about their response to the score, compare their score with their prediction, and then go through the exam analyzing each exam question for the thinking skills it required and the source of the question. Helps students identify strengths and weaknesses. Could adapt this for written, other assessments. Ideas on how to structure post-test analysis on p. 337-338.
In-class Portfolio: Students collect and organize lecture notes, essay responses to prompts presented during class, summaries of small- and whole-group discussion, personal reflections, and so forth into a portfolio and submit these for evaluation two or three times per academic term. This SET provides teachers with a mechanism to help students stay focused and attentive during face-to-face class sessions. Students know that they must take complete and accurate notes, listen carefully to discussions, participate thoughtfully during group work, and think deeply about instructor- developed prompts so that they can summarize or synthesize what they learned in their portfolios."
Resource Scavenger Hunt: "Identify encyclopedias, dictionaries, journals, and Web sites that students should be familiar with to effectively complete course assignments. Find at least one specific fact within each resource that is beneficial for learners and construct a corresponding question. Create additional follow-up questions that challenge students to process the information. Craft final questions that require students to use their knowledge of the resources to evaluate which resource would be best for a specific task." Make this a paired or team activity.
Crib Cards: Allow students to use them for the first test or one of the first tests?
Student-Generated Rubrics: "Teachers provide student groups with three examples of outstanding course work such as an essay, research paper, etc. Student analyze the works to determine the common characteristics and then develop assessment rubrics for the assignment that include a list of the most important traits and a corresponding scoring scale. The teacher facilitates a whole-class discussion to reach consensus on a set of rubrics that will be used to assess future assignment submissions. This SET helps teach students how to identify the features of excellent work and internalize the meaning of high standards. It also results in a set of grading rubrics that contain explicit criteria and standards. This, in turn, guides students as they do their assignments and makes grading more effective and efficient." Perhaps present model rubrics that will give students ideas? Have them create rubrics in pairs then come together as a class?
February 26, 2020
I read this handbook to get inspiration for university faculty development initiatives and workshops. Specifically, I was looking for ways to foster integrated learning and to facilitate better student engagement in discussions (both synchronous and asynchronous).
Barkley uses Part I to construct a conceptual framework for understanding student engagement and to explore the the theory and research related to engagement, active learning, and motivation. Barkley concludes Chapter 1 with the following definition: “Student engagement is a process and a product that is experienced on a continuum and results from the synergistic interaction between motivation and active learning” (8).
I skimmed Chapters 2-5, as I’m familiar with the science of teaching and learning. In Chapter 6, instructors explain how they have utilized student engagement tasks (SETs) and the tips and strategies (T/S) that Barkley later describes in Parts II and III. Throughout the instructor descriptions, Barkley indicates the specific corresponding SETs and T/S in brackets. Here’s an example: “Students submit a portfolio [SET 45, “Face-to-Face In class Portfolio”]…” (57). I was a bit distracted by the markers pointing to resources I hadn’t yet reviewed, so Chapter 6 was more useful to me after I read Parts II and III.
Parts II and III are great. Part II, focused on T/S, is formatted as an annotated list with a brief introduction. I love the annotated list format in a faculty handbook; I’m able to quickly determine if I’m already familiar with the tip, and if I’m not, take short notes.
Part III, focused on SETs, is also list-like, but more space is given to each SET than T/S. Barkley explains the purpose of the technique, lists steps for implementation, provides instructor examples of how to use the technique in different disciplines, and notes key resources. I also appreciate the "Online Implementation" section of each SET description, in which Barkley explains how to adapt (if possible) the SET for online classes; all handbooks should use this move. Still, I would like to see more inventive approaches to adapting the activities. Most of the adaptations focus on the use of threaded asynchronous discussions, and this may be a limitation related to the handbook's publication date.
Some of the other reviewers indicate that they’ve seen the T/S and SETs in other handbooks or resources. I would like to know if anyone has ever found a handbook with *entirely new* recommendations. If so, I would love to read it! Some of the SETs and T/S were familiar, but I finished with a list of two of each that I will confidently build into future faculty development efforts (and flagged others for future consideration).
Barkley uses Part I to construct a conceptual framework for understanding student engagement and to explore the the theory and research related to engagement, active learning, and motivation. Barkley concludes Chapter 1 with the following definition: “Student engagement is a process and a product that is experienced on a continuum and results from the synergistic interaction between motivation and active learning” (8).
I skimmed Chapters 2-5, as I’m familiar with the science of teaching and learning. In Chapter 6, instructors explain how they have utilized student engagement tasks (SETs) and the tips and strategies (T/S) that Barkley later describes in Parts II and III. Throughout the instructor descriptions, Barkley indicates the specific corresponding SETs and T/S in brackets. Here’s an example: “Students submit a portfolio [SET 45, “Face-to-Face In class Portfolio”]…” (57). I was a bit distracted by the markers pointing to resources I hadn’t yet reviewed, so Chapter 6 was more useful to me after I read Parts II and III.
Parts II and III are great. Part II, focused on T/S, is formatted as an annotated list with a brief introduction. I love the annotated list format in a faculty handbook; I’m able to quickly determine if I’m already familiar with the tip, and if I’m not, take short notes.
Part III, focused on SETs, is also list-like, but more space is given to each SET than T/S. Barkley explains the purpose of the technique, lists steps for implementation, provides instructor examples of how to use the technique in different disciplines, and notes key resources. I also appreciate the "Online Implementation" section of each SET description, in which Barkley explains how to adapt (if possible) the SET for online classes; all handbooks should use this move. Still, I would like to see more inventive approaches to adapting the activities. Most of the adaptations focus on the use of threaded asynchronous discussions, and this may be a limitation related to the handbook's publication date.
Some of the other reviewers indicate that they’ve seen the T/S and SETs in other handbooks or resources. I would like to know if anyone has ever found a handbook with *entirely new* recommendations. If so, I would love to read it! Some of the SETs and T/S were familiar, but I finished with a list of two of each that I will confidently build into future faculty development efforts (and flagged others for future consideration).
December 17, 2019
Subtitled A Handbook for College Faculty, this is an excellent resource in identifying and developing processes to connect effectively with students. After a brief explanation of the importance of and a passionate statement for the importance of engaging students, and tips and strategies for motivation, active learning, community, challenging, and holistic learning, this book provides an extraordinary library of 50 SET’s (Student Engagement Techniques) for consideration. Each SET provides examples and step by step instructions as well as reporting on essential characteristics: Primary Mode, Activity Focus, Duration of Activity, and Online Transferability. The 50 SET’s address skills and knowledge, analysis and critical thinking, synthesis and creative thinking, problem solving, application and performance, attitudes and values, self-awareness of learners, and learning and study skills. The appendices provide a key to courses and professors in examples, cross references, and extensive references.
An exceptional resource for any teacher who wants to improve student engagement in the learning process.
An exceptional resource for any teacher who wants to improve student engagement in the learning process.
November 17, 2018
A very practical compendium of both theories of student engagement and specific classroom activities/techniques to apply those theories in college classrooms. I found several ideas for immediate application in my library instruction.
June 28, 2025
Great Resource for creating your teaching plan and seminars. It has examples with different topic classes like biology, computational, and literature. The activities are divided by objectives, reflection, consolidating, gathering resources, critical thinking, etc.
November 4, 2021
Great guide for those who are looking to teach or those starting their teaching careers.
May 14, 2023
Great resource for new classroom techniques to up your student engagement in class.
February 26, 2013
This book contains a collection of techniques for teaching. The suggested techniques here are suitable for colleges/schools. Some of them can be adapted to university courses, but very few are applicable for natural sciences.
December 10, 2011
Had some good information, but nothing really ground breaking. Much of it was covered in at least one of our other texts.
March 9, 2013
Nothing new here. There's an overview of the literature and suggestions, but nothing earthshaking.
October 5, 2013
Amazing resource for facilitating learning experiences in and outside of the classroom. Bought my own copy because I see myself using this every time I design a course.
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October 31, 2014378.125 B256 2010
October 1, 2016
A great book, strongly suggests to be read by all Ishik and Salahaddin University teaching faculty.
January 3, 2015
Rất nhiều mẹo vặt. Đủ dùng cho 5 năm đi dạy.
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