2.7 Promoting Student Attendance & Supporting Engagement

Learning Outcomes

Describe ways to promote attendance and support student engagement in the classroom

Promoting Attendance

Students in a classroom with laptops and a screen
Fig. 2.7.1 The Modern College Classroom by Todd Van Hoosear, CC BY-SA 2.0

Students are more likely to attend scheduled class sessions if they are:

  • told in advance what will happen in class
  • reminded how attending class will benefit their learning
  • welcome no matter how ready they are for class
  • told how they may enter class quietly and without disruption if they are late
  • aware that attendance will be taken

Attendance has a positive impact on student success. That’s why it’s a good idea to encourage attendance and take attendance in each class. There are many benefits to tracking attendance in your classes:

Benefits for students

  • Builds familiarity with students in class
  • Motivates students to attend class when they know they will be missed
  • Promotes accountability

Benefits for faculty

  • Saves time in repeating lesson content
  • Prevents disengagement issues from becoming a problem at a later date
  • Reduces challenges with technology and assignments
Did you know? Faculty should not withhold materials from students who do not attend class. Nor should faculty give extra materials to students who attend class. All learning materials should be available to all students.

The Course Delivery Procedure specifies that professors must choose a way to take attendance for each course. It also requires that faculty reach out to low attendance/at-risk students one-quarter of the way into the course (or as soon as a concern is noted).

Ways to Take Attendance

Meeting room with table, four white chairs, and screen.
Fig. 2.7.1 Small meeting room by Elan Paulson is CC-BY

One of the best ways to promote class participation is to take attendance. There are many different ways to take attendance, depending on the mode of delivery for your course. You may wish to use a combination of methods to ensure your records are accurate. Attendance should be flexible and non-intrusive in-class lesson time.

You can use the updated class list in the Employee Portal or eConestoga to record attendance each lesson or week.

In-person attendance-taking

  • Role call (usually the first week only)
  • Printed sign-in sheet (use a different coloured pen for late entrants)
  • Name placards (can be collected each week)
  • A Microsoft Form, using the QR code to have students open on their phones and confirm attendance.

Synchronous online attendance-taking

  • Zoom or MS Teams report (see video tutorial below)
  • Screenshots of the Participants’ window
  • Text chat or Poll to which all students respond

Confirming Students’ Identities for Assessments

onecard with features listed.
Fig. 2.7.2 ONECard

If you need to confirm the identity of a student in your course, especially for an exam situation, you may ask to see the student’s ONECard in an in-person or online synchronous class. New and returning students will be provided with instructions to upload their photos. Information is also available on the ONECard website. Email ONECard for more information.

Did you know? The Evaluation of Student Learning Policy states that at Conestoga “attendance is not used as an evaluation component.” Unless your program provides professionalism grades, in which attendance is evaluated along with other rubric items, students may not be given “bonus” attendance grades or penalized with grades for not attending a class.

Promoting Asynchronous Online Attendance

What if you are teaching a course that has no classes? You can encourage students to complete asynchronous work if they are given plenty of instructions and feedback so they learn from their mistakes.

Asynchronous Online attendance-taking

  • Progress reports
  • Page views
  • Discussion board posts
  • Assignment submission
  • Surveys and polls
  • Checklists

When Students Miss Class

It is reasonable to expect that students may miss class from time to time. Faculty should ensure all learning materials are available on eConestoga and be available for consultation. Faculty are not expected to re-teach lessons outside of scheduled class time. 

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Supporting Student Engagement

Learning is more likely to occur if students are meaningfully engaged during class. Retention improves and students think more positively about the course. Here are some ideas to foster student engagement.

Group of students using mobile phone
Fig. 2.7.3, Students looking at an iPhone, iStock
  • Be welcoming, approachable, and open;
  • Take an interest in your students – learn about who they are;
  • Avoid assuming that your students don’t know English if they seem to have difficulty following you;
  • Provide clear, non-threatening instructions for classroom tasks and circulate them to help students make sure they are on the right track;
  • Invite students to share their perspectives and ideas, if they seem confused or in disagreement;
  • Let students engage through questions or by seeing things from a different perspective;
  • Find opportunities for learners to share their responses anonymously or in writing if they seem hesitant to share in class;
  • Acknowledge when there may be worldview, cultural, historical, or geographical differences in perspectives and ideas on a topic;
  • Avoid dismissing, disrespecting, shaming, or aggressively disagreeing with students;
  • Step up as a trusted leader – empower students but also advocate for them;
  • Refer students to supports, services, and resources available to them;
  • Let your care for students shine through! If students feel that you have compassion for them, they will feel more connected to the learning experience.

Use any student engagement as an opportunity to build rapport, show appreciation for their engagement, and encourage learning.

Asking Questions in Class

Text document with 2 red question marks
Fig. 2.7.4 Question marks icon. CC0

Asking effective questions is one of the simplest ways to promote engagement and learning. The questions you ask should depend on what types of learning outcomes you have for students. Questions can be used to:

  • Activate prior knowledge;
  • Stimulate interest;
  • Pre-assess current knowledge;
  • Deepen thinking and problem-solving;
  • Assess what knowledge was gained/confirm understanding;
  • Encourage thinking about thinking (metacognition).
Use our infographic, the Spectrum of Effective Questioning, to learn more about the different types of questions that may be asked depending on the learning outcome you wish to achieve.

Engagement Beyond the Classroom

Engagement can also include in-person or online synchronous meetings or office hours, depending on the course mode of delivery. As well, engagement with students can include email exchanges. Students who are taking a fully synchronous or asynchronous course should not be expected to come to campus for in-person meetings.

In accordance with the Email, Voicemail and Corporate Calendar policy, please share your Conestoga email address with students and respond to their emails within 2 business days. It is a good practice to let students know the hours between which you will respond, and if, in exceptional cases, you will be away from your Conestoga email.

Pause buttonSection 2.7 Review

Please pause and answer these six practice questions to review and check your learning!

 

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