{"id":2212,"date":"2019-06-28T10:19:40","date_gmt":"2019-06-28T09:19:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/digital-learning\/?p=2212"},"modified":"2023-05-31T14:34:00","modified_gmt":"2023-05-31T13:34:00","slug":"three-ways-to-create-an-engaging-and-effective-learning-experience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/digital-learning\/2019\/06\/28\/three-ways-to-create-an-engaging-and-effective-learning-experience\/","title":{"rendered":"Three ways to create an engaging and effective learning experience"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Struggling to capture students\u2019 attention? We live in a world where most, if not all of us, use technology all day every day. No matter what subject you are teaching, it\u2019s probable that written or verbal information alone won\u2019t get your message across. So how can we create a more engaging and effective learning experience for students? Studies conducted by Petty and Cacioppo (1981) demonstrated that the likelihood of effectively processing information is strictly related to how motivated individuals are to logically elaborate information. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Student<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

But what is the best way to motivate students while\ninteracting with them? Below are three easy ways to make lectures more engaging\nand avoid seeing students falling asleep. <\/p>\n\n\n

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Three simple tips to create an effective learning experience for students <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

1. Get students to actively engage: Traditional Lectures and Vevox<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Getting\nstudents to actively engage during lectures helps them better understand and\nstore information in their long-term memory. But, what is the best way to\neffectively interact with students? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some of you may think that calling on students when they haven\u2019t volunteered can be an effective way of keeping higher levels of attention amongst students. Similarly, sometimes it can be taken for granted that whenever a topic is not clear to students, they will just interrupt and politely ask questions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, it is important to consider that not everyone\nhas the confidence to stand up in huge lecture theatres to present their points\nof view in front of hundreds of peers. Also, there are several factors that may\nstop students from asking questions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Firstly, it goes without saying, students may think that the question they would like to ask may not be appropriate or \u201csmart enough\u201d to interrupt an ongoing lecture. Alternatively, students might just simply be too shy or afraid of public speaking. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, the question is: how can we encourage interaction while not pressuring students into public speaking? <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

We can all agree that public speaking and developing\ncommunication skills are part of those learning outcomes that belong to the\nlarge majority of higher education courses. However, as shown by a recent\nresearch study conducted by Raja (2017), these traditional teaching practices\nmight have a negative impact on students\u2019 learning experience. What is worst,\nit has been found that students tend to avoid modules that require them to\nspeak in public. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In order to address this issue, the University of Southampton has invested in a site license for Vevox<\/a>. This tool enables students to post and view live questions and comments without having to deal with the anxiety of standing up and talk in front of huge audiences.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Further to this, students can vote on live polls, ask questions and even \u2018like\u2019 other comments to show their approval or agreement. Having tested the app here at the University of Southampton, lecturers and students have provided us with very positive feedback. Some of them even told us that their classes and meetings have been transformed by Vevox, as it made them more involving, more democratic and also more fun!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Feedback from Anya de Longh, Patient Educator at the University of Southampton<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

2. Focus on What is Relevant <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Attention is at the core of any learning experience. In today\u2019s digital world, people are constantly bombarded by a wide variety of information through the internet and social media. Against this background, it is becoming increasingly challenging to capture students\u2019 attention. Within Higher Education, lectures tend to last around one hour and often include a variety of content spread over a number of slides, depending on the subject. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, even if you do manage to successfully capture students\u2019 attention, how do you maintain it throughout the whole lecture? <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Indeed, talking for an\nhour straight can be exhausting for any speaker and listener regardless of how\nenjoyable the topic is. Thus, a solution to the problem could be the use of\nregular breaks to allow students to stretch, change positions and talk to\nothers. Similarly, as suggested in the previous section, another solution is to\nkeep students engaged by using interactive tools such as Vevox. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, academic literature and research studies on attention span conducted by Davis and Wankat seem to agree that while student attention is high at a start of a lecture, it has reached a low point only after 10 to 15 minutes. Similarly, Hartley and Davies found that notetaking also tends to decline consistently with \u201cattention\u201d decline while having an impact on student fatigue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following from this, it may be helpful to upload lectures slides in advance in order to allow students some time to familiarise themselves with the content. Research conducted by Babb and Ross (2009) found that attendance and student engagement increased when slides were available before the lecture. Nonetheless, this study also showed that exam performance was determined by more than just whether or not students had lecture slides available for their notetaking. Other factors involving attention and how effectively they can store what they learn during their lectures. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What tools can be used to enhance student engagement?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Introduction to Panopto<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

At the University of Southampton, we\u2019ve been promoting the use of Panopto<\/a>, a tool that allows lecturers to record their lectures or even make extra recordings, which can be made available to students at any time before or after the lecture. This way, students will no longer worry about taking note of everything they hear, but they can focus more on what is actually relevant. Similarly, lecturers are also able to spend more time on the most relevant topics and face to face interactions while adding extra video content that students can watch in their own time (Babb and Ross, 2009). This introduces the concept of \u201cflipped\u201d classroom, which can be simply described as teachers delivering lectures at home and students doing their homework in class.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What are the benefits of using Panopto? <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

If you are not familiar with Panopto<\/a>, below are some reasons why we think you should give it a go:<\/p>\n\n\n\n