Strategies for Engaging Students in Online Learning
by Jeff Wells
1. Research-based Learning
1.1. Assignments that require students to engage with the material and research sources that build on the content, as well as teach valuable skills such as how to evaluate the credibility of sources, how to use library resources, and how to document resources with pertinent documentation styles (APA, MLA, Turabian). Examples include literary criticisms, historical research papers, case law reviews, lab reports based on lab research assignments, and tracking a bill before Congress and evaluating its impact.
2. Team-Building
2.1. Assignments that require work in teams. These are going to be related to project-based learning and collaboration. These types of assignments include group presentations, group investigation projects, mock trials or mock sessions put on by students.
3. Collaboration
3.1. Assignments that ask students to work in teams that require collaborative efforts help students forge relationships and help them learn how to approach projects where they are not the only stakeholder.
4. Project-Based Learning
4.1. Assignments that require students to not only collaborate, but also to plan, organize and execute teach valuable skills that not only help increase learning but also prepare students for their programs and later on, their professions. Examples include planning a defense in a law or criminal justice course, or even designing a lesson plan and teaching it in an education course.
