If you have been noticing higher levels of student disengagement recently, you are not alone. A recent article in the Chronicle of Higher Education outlined common trends related to a larger “student disengagement crisis” that instructors across the country are facing including a combination of post-pandemic academic challenges, widespread mental health challenges, and a general lack of motivation. While there is no easy fix or quick solution to these complex issues, the following tips provide some insight and strategies for working collaboratively with your students to address these challenges:
- Keep a trauma-informed lens. Students are navigating many stressful life situations at any given time, just like we are. The culmination of these personal experiences along with global events and institutionalized inequities can greatly impact an individual’s ability to engage in learning the way they desire. This is a good time to (re)visit the UTLC’s trauma-informed teaching guide with interactive infographic that provides an overview of the prevalence of trauma, impact on learning and student success, and specific strategies to utilize in your teaching. Most importantly, we must keep a trauma-informed lens when evaluating student behavior by shifting our thinking to ask, “what happened to you” instead of “what is wrong with you.”
- Find points of connection. Disengagement often signals disconnection. If students are showing signs of disengagement such as infrequent attendance, distracted classroom behaviors, and missing assignments, they may feel a lack of connection in their learning environment. Another article by The Chronicle highlights the importance of making authentic human connections to address student disengagement. Building relationships with their peers and professors is essential, and students may also be seeking opportunities to make connections between course content and their personal goals. Perhaps you can find time at the beginning of class to post a question about the lecture topic and ask students to reflect with a partner on how this connects to their future plans. You can walk around the room during this time to further engage with students to foster connection and show how you can support their learning goals.
- Pull back the curtain. Some of the disengagement comes from students not having been explicitly taught how to do well in school (especially during the pandemic). While these strategies for success may have been assumed during our own time as a student, teaching with this level of transparency can help many more students be successful by addressing the hidden curriculum. This advice article from The Chronicle suggests that instructors should help to explain why students must attend class regularly, be alert and engaged in class, carve out time to do homework, complete assignments on time, resist digital distractions, take care of their health, and seek help when they are struggling. Taking a moment to address these aspects early and often in your course when they are most relevant can go a long way to support students to be engaged and successful in their learning.