Northcentral University

ENGAGING STUDENTS TEACHING TIPS In the last edition of the SSBS Faculty Newsletter, I read some informative teaching tips on how to engage students in the online environment by connecting with them on an individual level. In this edition, I want to discuss how we can anticipate common issues that impact students throughout their courses, and how to offer support to students as they navigate these issues. I teach six different classes for NCU, so it's important for me to stay organized and cognizant of the design of each class, and the potential issues that students might encounter. I also need to stay aware of tasks that I need to complete throughout the class. Here are some examples Claire Clifford, PhD Adjunct Faculty, Department of Psychology Student Tasks: There are certain steps that students need to take throughout the course, of which they may not be unaware or forget to complete. For example, adding an NCU coversheet to their assignments, submitting assignments to Taskstream, etc. Faculty Tasks: At least one assignment in each class needs to be run through Turnitin. There are certain assignments that better lend themselves to plagiarism evaluation, so it is useful to set up a reminder for each specific class. Assignment Issues: After teaching classes for a period of time, we become aware of assignments that are more difficult for students, or guidelines that are commonly overlooked or misinterpreted. Rather than reading the same errors again in assignments, I like to do a pre-emptive strike. In other words, before certain assignments are due, I reach out to the student to emphasize specific guidelines. It is an opportunity to remind them to focus on aspects that are often overlooked or to further explain concepts that have previously proven problematic. Additional Resources: There are specific skills that students need to perform well on certain assignments, such as synthesizing, which is the difference between summarizing and critically evaluating, etc. I keep a list of resources that I have found online, which are useful to students (e.g. a PowerPoint on synthesizing articles, examples of the difference between describing and analyzing, etc.). If I see students struggling with these skills, I refer them to these resources.

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