Creating Student Engagement in Online Leadership Programs

• In Event: Explorations of Online Leadership Learning

Short Description

What are the keys to meaningful engagement and participation of students in online leadership programs? While online programs are not able to connect students and faculty directly within a classroom setting, there are many exciting opportunities for connection by leveraging emerging technologies and intentionally created learning experiences.

Detailed Abstract

According to recent data collected by the National Center for Education Statistics (2015) over 7 million students take at least one course on-line as part of their undergraduate or graduate studies. This number has been growing every year as the number of for-profit and not-for-profit programs increase. This increase is consistent the ILA theme of this year’s conference of Leadership in Turbulent Times. With fast-paced, dynamic, changing world of work, on-line education has been an opportunity for folks to further their education and development where traditional in-residence programs simply aren’t viable.
With this increase in on-line delivery of education, it’s important to take a pause and examine the efficacy of such programs. In a traditional course, the instructor is in a position to see their students and determine engagement based on student participation. In the on-line environment where the instructor and the student never “meet,” how can the instructor know if they are getting through to the student or if the student is even engaged with the course? In a domain like leadership (which is inherently relational), this engagement is even more critical. It is one thing for students to know about leadership, it is entirely different for them to understand and participate in the leadership process. Simply put, as leadership educators we have an increased responsibility to make sure that students are active participants in their leadership education and development.
During this workshop, participants will discuss what student engagement looks like in the on-line environment and share best practices from their own programs or programs that they have been a part of. Questions will include (but will allow for roundtable participants to ask questions):
1. What is student engagement?
2. Why is it important for students to be engaged?
3. How can you measure student engagement in an on-line environment?
4. How does engagement in an academic course translate to leader development?
5. How can you utilize technology to encourage and increase student engagement?

The presenter will facilitate the discussion and create a list of best practices that will subsequently be provided to the participants. It is envisioned that this roundtable will be the first step in creating a community of interest among the participants with respect to on-line leadership education.

Participant

• Douglas Lindsay, Penn State