Students shaping dialogue at college events: ideas for academic engagement.(Report)

Opportunities for intellectual exchanges outside of class are plentiful on college and university campuses, but these events are not fully integrated into the academic life of the college. Too often undergraduate students are motivated only by the prospect of earning extra credit to attend a campus event. This paper presents several ideas for actively engaging students in the extra-curricular academic life of colleges and universities.

Students:

Do you wish there was more space for choice and variety in your extra-curricular academic life? Do you need encouragement and incentives to take part in the intellectual life of your campus?

Professors:

Do you wish more students in your courses would participate in the Hunger and Homelessness Awareness panel discussion on campus? Do you hope they attend the Symposium on Global Affairs and stay for the question-and-answer?

I have been to many presentations on college and university campuses where undergraduate students have been required or encouraged by extra credit to attend. I have brought or sent students to a number of lectures and events, metaphorically twisting their arms or invoking general endorsements like "I hear it will be good" or "this could help with your research paper." Look around at the audience next time you attend a campus event and you too will see a range of facial expressions in the audience that range anywhere on a continuum from complete focus to mild interest to "Uh, why exactly am I here?" In a participant observation exercise for a sociology course, students recorded troubling evidence of sleeping, texting, talking, and excessive yawning throughout a multi-day lecture series at a New England public college campus.

Student engagement is crucial for learning (Weisz, 1990; Gray and Madson, 2007). While no one is guaranteed a stellar performance at an out-of-class event (1) (OCE) many of them turn out to be invaluable, thought-provoking and enriching. Campus speakers, discussion panels, brown bag lunch lectures, and academic conferences are some examples of academic events that cross disciplinary boundaries and take place outside of individual classrooms. Judging by those advertised on college and university web sites, there is no shortage of events. As professors, we can help students to engage in critical dialogue rather than sit passively and anonymously in an audience. We can also assist with sharing the knowledge gained in these exchanges more widely. When students have a voice in shaping events they are more likely to participate.