Ask the Right Questions: The Key to Creating Connections and Fostering Student Engagement in Class

Abstract

How can professors create a more engaging environment in our classrooms while also helping students connect more deeply with the course material? Current research in education, psychology, and cognitive sciencehas shown that students who experience a greater number of positive emotions like excitement and interest are also more cognitively activated and, as a result, engage more extensively with the course material. In this paper, I will discuss two methods I use on the first day of class to establish an encouraging, highly participatory environment that have proven effective during my 18 years of university teaching. Both strategies are centered on asking students specific types of questions that not only get them excited about the term ahead, but also acknowledge their role as collaborators in the course. The first involves creating a questionnaire that gathers both personal and academic information about each student. The second is to pose students questions that elicit their prior knowledge in the subject area. These two simple activities have a significant positive impact on student engagement, motivation, and learning for the rest of the term. I will also discuss how the concept of “positive emotional contagion” is an integral part of the success of the above methods. Simply put, we cannot underestimate the key role that a professor‘s enthusiasm, confidence, supportiveness, and sense of humour play in their students‘ learning process. The context of my teaching is in French language, culture, and film but these strategies can be adapted to be effective in any discipline.