#miBUG – Engaging At-Risk Students

Jessica Hale, Washtenaw Community College

This session will feature tips to help you engage your at-risk students in your online classrooms. Using data from online sections, you will learning about how to structure assignments for success, tips for communicating with your students, grading practices that encourage persistence, as well as outreach and intervention techniques.

At-risk – Students who have a higher probability of failing or dropping out of college due to a variety of potential issues.

Teaching online? Do you know who and how many students are considered “at-risk” in your courses?

Keys to Engaging At-Risk Students Online

1. Supportive Faculty & Staff – Outreach and intervention techniques: needs assessment, success coaching, Blackboard Retention Center tracking. Tips for communicating with students: immediacy makes a difference, demonstrate care, attend to positive performance
   
2. Access to Technology – Addressing access issues: identify technology issues early, provide free access to required software, prepare students to troubleshoot
3. Individualized Instruction – Grading practices that encourage persistence: create auto-graded, untimed assessments with multiple attempts, provide frequent and detailed feedback through the Blackboard gradebook, permit resubmissions
4. Instruction that Promotes Mastery – Structuring assignments for success: focus on formative assessment, employ low risk assignments, require cooperative work, provide opportunities for reflection

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Learn more about the Blackboard Retention Center