With the emergence of zoom (and other classroom recording technologies) and the ability for students to watch lectures without attending class, student in-person attendance and participation has been decreasing. Even with the incentivization of participation points, many students are still opting to watch recorded lectures instead of attending in-person classes.  

Instructors should consider how they can plan in-person class time in a way that motivates student attendance and participation and promotes student learning. In-person class time allows students to interact with each other and the instructor in a way that is not possible online or with recorded lectures. Learning as a socially constructed process has been theorized and researched in educational and learning sciences for decades (Tinto, 1987; Vygotsky, 1978). Meaningful social interaction with peers supports student learning (Endo and Harpel, 1982; Hurst, 2013) and may support on-time graduation rates (Kuh, 2003; Tinto, 2006).

Certain instructional approaches, such as active learning, encourage students to engage with the material in different ways. Active learning is when students are engaged in their own learning, rather than passive recipients of knowledge from the instructor (Bonwell and Eison, 1991; Hake, 1998; Prince & Felder, 2007). Active learning could be collaborative work with peers but can also include reflective work such as writing.In a traditionally taught classroom only a few students engage by asking questions, but with active learning strategies all students have the opportunity to engage with the material, through activities that could include discussion, collaboration, or writing. Giving students opportunities to actively engage in the course material and collaborate with peers, rather than passively listening online, can be motivating to students to want to attend and participate in class.

​Non-lecture instructional strategies can promote greater student engagement with course material and peers. Using active learning strategies can lead to greater student learning, provide instructors with immediate feedback, create community, and provide all students an opportunity to engage with the material. Active learning strategies can help incorporate the 6 different types of Fink’s taxonomy of significant learning (foundational knowledge, application, integration, human dimension, caring, and learning how to learn) (Fink, 2003).

Although some active learning strategies require a major shift in pedagogy, such as project based learning and using a flipped classroom, not all active learning strategies require a dramatic shift in pedagogy. There are many simple strategies that can be incorporated into lecture or any form of instruction and produce benefits of greater student learning and engagement. Active learning strategies exist on a spectrum of those that can easily be incorporated into lecture to those that are more complex and require a departure from lecture. 

To begin, instructors should consider what they are trying to accomplish by using active learning instructional strategies. In considering the purpose for implementing active learning strategies, instructors can select a strategy that best fulfills the intended purpose. Here are a few examples of some questions instructors may ask themselves:

• Are you looking to engage students more in the class? Are you looking for ways for students to participate who may not be comfortable raising their hand in front of the whole class?
• Are you looking for quick feedback on student learning? Are you looking for a way to formatively assess student understanding on a topic in order to be able to adjust your teaching?
• Are you looking to add in more collaboration and community in your classroom?

Next, instructors should consider what their current teaching style is and how they plan to incorporate a new instructional strategy into their classroom. 

• Are you looking for something low or no-tech that can be easily incorporated into an existing lecture format?
• Are you looking for a more complex strategy that would require a complete departure from lecture and may require more time or technology use?

Lastly, based on what instructors are looking to accomplish and their teaching style, they should choose a learning activity (see below for lists of ideas). In order to ensure that students are prepared to engage in this kind of learning environment, consider both the importance of establishing an accessible learning environment and the communication and assessment tips below. 

Checks for content preparedness

Learning activities can provide an opportunity for students to show they are prepared for class and completed their pre-course work. These activities encourage students to complete outside assignments prior to class and offer an additional opportunity for students to engage with the content in a more in-depth way. These activities do not need to be graded, but their completion encourages students to complete pre-course work that is connected to the major assessment.

Feedback on student learning

Learning activities can provide quick feedback on student learning with less work than grading a major assessment. It can provide a quick snapshot of how much students know on a certain topic and allows you to adapt your teaching accordingly. This can also communicate to students that you see their learning as important and an ongoing journey rather than an endpoint on the final exam. These quick checks on learning can be graded and provide an optional incentive for in-class attendance. There are several grading methods that do not require much additional time, such as completion or a simple +/check/- system.  

Engagement in lecture

Learning activities can provide students with more opportunities to engage with the course content which may lead to students feeling more inclined to attend class. Students may feel less anonymous in a large lecture. Students may realize that class time offers them an opportunity to engage in the course content more than watching a recorded lecture. In addition to encouraging attendance, engagement during lecture can lead to increased student understanding and motivation.

Peer to peer engagement

Learning activities can provide students with more opportunities to collaborate with other students. Peer to peer engagement helps build community and build a student’s sense of belonging in the classroom. Students who have a higher sense of belonging are more likely to demonstrate higher gains in learning. A classroom community with peer to peer interaction encourages student attendance and helps them feel less anonymous in the classroom. 

Supporting student study skills

Learning activities can be used to support the development of student study skills. Many students come to college knowing very little about how to learn and need built-in activities that help teach them how to study, manage their time, or monitor their learning. Learning these skills can improve conceptual knowledge and have long term effects throughout their college career, particularly for first generation college students.

The K. Patricia Cross academy provides an extensive list of active learning activities and instructional videos of how to implement them: https://kpcrossacademy.org/active-learning-online/.

228 Interactive techniques: https://foundationccc.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Active-Learn-Strat.pdf

Bonwell, C. C., and Eison, J.A. (1991). Active learning: creating excitement in the classroom. ASH#-ERIC Higher Education Report No. 1, Washington, D.C.: The George Washington University, School of Education and Human Development.

Büchele, S. (2021). Evaluating the link between attendance and performance in higher education: the role of classroom engagement dimensions. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 46(1), 132–150. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2020.1754330  

Endo, J. J., & Harpel, R. L. (1982). The effect of student–faculty interaction on students’ educational outcome. Research in Higher Education, 16(2), 115–138. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00973505 

Fink, D. (2003). A Self-Directed Guide to Designing Courses for Significant Learning. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Freeman, S., Eddy, S. L., McDonough, M. J., Smith, M., Okoroafor, N., Jordt, H., & Wenderoth, M. P. (2014). Active learning increases student performance in science, engineering, and mathematics. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 111(23), 8410–8415. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1319030111

Hake, R. R. (1998). Interactive-engagement versus traditional methods: A six-thousand-student survey of mechanics test data for introductory physics courses. American Journal of Physics, 66(1), 64–74. https://doi.org/10.1119/1.18809

Harris, R. B., Mack, M. R., Bryant, J., Theobald, E. J., & Freeman, S. (2020). Reducing achievement gaps in undergraduate general chemistry could lift underrepresented students into a “hyperpersistent zone”. Science Advances, 6(24). https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aaz5687

Hurst, Beth, Randall Wallace, and Sarah Nixon. “The impact of social interaction on student learning.” Reading Horizons (Online) 52, no. 4 (2013): 375.

Kuh, G. D. (2003) What we’re learning about student engagement from NSSE, Change, 35(2), pp. 24-32

Lund, T. J., & Stains, M. (2015). The importance of context: an exploration of factors influencing the adoption of student-centered teaching among chemistry, biology, and physics faculty. International Journal of STEM education, 2, 1-21. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40594-015-0026-8

Prince, M., & Felder, R. (2007). The many faces of inductive teaching and learning. Journal of College Science Teaching, 36(5), 14–20.

Theobald, Elli J, Mariah J Hill, Elisa Tran, Sweta Agrawal, E Nicole Arroyo, Shawn Behling, Nyasha Chambwe, et al. 2020. “Active Learning Narrows Achievement Gaps for Underrepresented Students in Undergraduate Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math.” Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 117 (12): 6476. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1916903117

Tinto, V. (1987). Leaving College: Rethinking the Causes and Cures for Student Attrition. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.

Tinto, V. (1997) “Classrooms as Communities,” Journal of Higher Education 68:6 (1997) 599-623 

Tinto, V. (2006) Research and practice of student retention: What next? Journal of College Student Retention, 8, pp. 1-19.

Vygotsky, Lev (1978). Mind in Society. London: Harvard University Press.