Student engagement is a central driver of student success and institutional vitality. It's more than just a buzzword; it's a strategic imperative that directly impacts student retention. A student who feels connected and invested is a student who is more likely to persist and graduate.
Here, we’ll outline the framework for understanding and implementing comprehensive student engagement strategies.
The three components of student engagement
At Genio, we believe in life long learning. Students should be leaving higher education not only with their degree and specialist knowledge, but equipped with the tools to continue to learn in the next stages of their life.
However, lifelong learning doesn't just 'happen', its' a skill. It's developed through positive learning experiences where students feel empowered by learning and asking questions, so that they can fully engage with the learning process. As a result, students feel encouraged to achieve their goals and expand their potential.
To create an engaging, inclusive environment, we must understand the core dimensions of engagement and how they directly influence a student's decision to persist with the learning process.
Everything we build at Genio is rooted in our learning principles: a research-backed model encompassing Mind, Heart and Action, which closely follows the three components of engagement.
Behavioral engagement: “I’m here!”
This refers to a student’s active participation (Action). When students are involved in academic and co-curricular activities, they feel more connected to the institution.
This involvement is a critical first step toward retention, as it builds habits, relationships that help to keep students on campus.
Cognitive engagement: “I’m thinking!”
This represents a student's intellectual investment (Mind). We know that when students are challenged with critical thinking and problem-solving, they feel their education has value.
This sense of academic purpose is essential for keeping students motivated and committed to their studies.
Emotional engagement: “I care!”
This is a student's sense of belonging (Heart). As demonstrated by Tinto's student integration model, and other studies, a student's feeling of social and academic inclusion is a powerful factor in their decision to persist and graduate.
Fostering this connection is perhaps the single most impactful strategy for improving retention.
As part of our learning principles at Genio, we recognize that learning is more than just cognitive processes, it also happens through doing (behavioural engagement) and requires confidence, agency, and enjoyment (emotional engagement) to build lifelong learners.
Practical teaching strategies to increase engagement
Empowering faculty with specific, actionable strategies can directly impact engagement and, by extension, classroom-level retention. Some avenues to explore include:
- Open-ended questions: Using questioning which promotes deeper inquiry fosters cognitive engagement and makes students feel their voices are valued, as well as ensuring they’re active participants of classes.
- Foster collaborative learning: Implementing activities like peer-to-peer modelling builds the social connections that are vital for emotional engagement and retention.
- Utilize low stakes assessments: The implementation of ungraded reflections or check-in assignments can reduce student anxiety and build confidence. By encouraging consistent engagement without the pressure of a major grade, this strategy can prevent students from disengaging and dropping out.
- Offer choice and flexibility: Building for the New Majority means offering flexibility and choice with how students engage in content and assessments. This approach accommodates diverse needs, making the academic experience more accessible and equitable for all students, thereby improving their likelihood of persisting.
Using technology to increase student engagement
The importance of technology in education continues to grow, especially for students completing hybrid or asynchronous courses, as many New Majority students are, but also for those studying in person.
Rather than technology being seen as a distraction, we see it as a driving force in promoting proactive participation. Genio Notes empowers students to move beyond passive listening by facilitating proactive participation during lectures which scaffolds towards active engagement . This means students are actively interacting with the content as it's being delivered, capturing their thoughts, and organizing information live in class.
Plus, having technology which can record lecture audio allows students to revisit their whole lecture, rather than their stand alone notes. Placing the recording responsibility in the hands of the students means attendance isn't affected, as they have to attend to get their recording.
Using technology to allow students to actively engage with their classes helps with cognitive engagement, they're not only present in the lecture but able to think about processes and concepts or ask questions as they're not getting caught up in writing down every word being said.
While Genio Notes doesn't do the engagement for students it provides the structured environment and tools that make it easier for students to reflect, connect ideas, and truly engage with the material after class.
Below, Kira shares how Genio Notes helped her be more present in her lectures, rather than being side tracked writing notes or struggling to keep up.
Key takeaways
A commitment to enhancing student engagement is a commitment to institutional excellence and, crucially, to student retention.
By embracing strategic frameworks and empowering faculty with practical tools, institutions can create an environment where students not only persist and succeed but also feel a deep sense of connection to their academic community.
