How To Increase Class Attendance
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The document provides strategies for increasing class attendance by addressing common student questions about why they should attend. It suggests relating course content to career goals, using a variety of teaching methods catering to different learning styles, incorporating short video clips and interactive activities to engage distracted students, and clearly communicating attendance policies and assessment requirements to motivate students. The overall message is that teachers must structure their courses in a way that compellingly demonstrates the benefits of attendance.
How To Increase Class Attendance
- 1. How to Increase Class Attendance GBS Teaching Community of Practice Tuesday, 5 August 2008 Peter Woods
- 2. Objective That participants will adapt teaching strategies that will improve class attendance
- 3. Why? Why should I attend if I just want to pass this course? Why should I attend if hardly anyone else attends? Why should I attend if my learning style is better suited to private study? Why should I attend if I am distracted during class?
- 4. Why should I attend if I just want to pass this course? Just passing is a wasted opportunity Expand career awareness in class – industry speakers, wage/ consultancy scales, input from industry seminars/ news Relate content to career goals Relate teaching and learning activities to professional realities (project teams, critically evaluating meeting ideas, presentations)
- 5. Why should I attend if hardly anyone else attends? Assessment reasons + personal benefit reasons Course outlines and class attendance categories – explain why attendance will be beneficial in outlines Tell stories of past student experiences Present previous course evaluations Avoid focussing on the complainers
- 6. Assessment Reasons Lecture/ workshop quizzes – very clear rules are needed, especially the ‘failure to attend’ rules, link to previous delivered lectures Reflective journals – limited number of submissions needed Case studies in exam – must make exam procedures very clear from the beginning Content structure – must tie in each week’s content to a content/ module structure, linked to learning objectives and assessment tasks
- 7. Why should I attend if my learning style is better suited to private study? Learning activities cater for all learning styles Develop learning activities that cater for a variety of learning styles (visual, audio, active, reflective) Lectures – application discussion groups, stories/ cases, problem-based discussions, ask hard questions Tutorials – How would a reflective learner benefit?
- 8. Why should I attend if I am distracted during class? Because most students find the lectures interesting: - Short video clips (5 mins) followed by discussion Use a central case study in each lecture Develop the art of story telling Break up lecture into 5min blocks Present latest research in class Provide an outline only in notes Manage class participation Control classroom noise
- 9. Why should I attend if I am distracted during class? Because most students find the tutorials interesting:- Produce a clear tutor guide with outlines and activities Train and meet regularly with tutors Record attendance and use student names (communicate regarding attendance) Use a variety of activities – games, debates, hypotheticals, quizzes, case studies Present information visually as well as verbally – record student ideas on power-point Expect preparation and separate the prepared from the unprepared
- 10. Conclusion Students ask ‘why should I attend?’ rather than ‘why shouldn’t I attend?’ Teachers must be able to provide clear and feasible answers to this question and structure class activities and content accordingly