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Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal – Vol.7, No.7
Publication Date: July 25, 2020
DOI:10.14738/assrj.77.8528.
Hilliard, A. T., & Foose, R. (2020). Familismo: How can Educational Leaders Promote Greater Student Engagement Remotely During
COVID-19. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 7(7) 371-378.
How Can Educational Leaders Promote Greater Student Engagement
Remotely During Covid-19
Ann Toler Hilliard
Associate Professor, Department of Educational Studies
and Leadership, Bowie State University, USA
Renee Foose
Associate Professor, Department of Educational Studies
and Leadership, Bowie State University, USA
ABSTRACT
This study has been presented in order to share information as to how
educational leaders can promote a greater opportunity for student
engagement remotely during the COVID-19 crisis. Adjusting in more
ways than one during COVID-19 has been challenging for many students
and faculty members at universities globally. The leader sets the tone
while working and sharing with faculty members ways to engage
students at an adequate level to continue student learning experiences
remotely. Adaptability and adjustments that most students and faculty
members are making during this crisis have been notable by families
and community leaders. With educational leaders taking the lead, the
major emphasis for this study was to focus on best practices for
engaging students in the most productive ways during the COVID-19
crisis.
Keywords: Educational Leaders, Student Engagement, Remote Learning.
INTRODUCTION
Educational leaders had to take the lead with the collaboration of faculty and staff as how to best
support students remotely during this crisis. Supporting students remotely may be new for many
individuals in the educational environment, though some educators have been teaching remotely
online for a number of years. However, many face-to-face teaching universities have not had the
minority of faculty teaching online, but more and more university faculty members are now by not
having a choice are attempting to adjust to teaching online using various digital tools. For many
faculty members, the questions are how can I have quality instructional content and engage all
students to participate in the online process in a productive manner, especially when faculty
members are not at their highest comfort zone with online teaching and learning? Nevertheless,
now is the time for each faculty member at the university to be active in the online student
engagement by connecting students to various resources and digital tools and most importantly to
ensure students that they are cared about in this new remote experience. Remote student support
requires more than being attentive to one's email inbox, it will require being proactive and being
responsible faculty members to make every effort to locate and engage with students frequently
(Jang, 2008).
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URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/assrj.77.8528 372
Hilliard, A. T., & Foose, R. (2020). Familismo: How can Educational Leaders Promote Greater Student Engagement Remotely During COVID-19. Advances in
Social Sciences Research Journal, 7(7) 371-378.
Educational Leaders and Faculty
In order to engage students remotely, educational leaders and faculty members can use various
platforms digitally. Some common platforms for instruction to engage students are Blackboard,
Canvas, Zoom, Facebook, Duo, GroupMe, Twitter and other digital tools. Since faculty members
know their students, and would probably know which forums that students may use the most (how
do they normally engage with your office?). Students could be asked to go to those platforms
(whether on Facebook, GroupMe, Twitter, etc.) and make themselves available. During this health
crisis, it is important to reach out to students and ask them to engage with you, to ask questions,
express concerns, and share meaningful and needed support (Junco, Heiberger & Loken, 2011).
The chances are that most students are not going to come to faculty members initially. So faculty
members and educational leaders need to reach out to students during this crisis. You can do this
macro by saying hello students, I would like to make connect with you to see how you are coming
along with your classes and your research and how can I help you to be more engaged in your work
(Ahlfeldt, Mehta & Sellnow, 2005)? Do you have questions or concerns that you think that you would
like to share with me? We are all making adjustments to the COVID-19 crisis, but I want you to
know that I am here for you. When is the best time for us to connect to talk about your classes?
What is your favorite platform for instruction and activities for your course work in your opinion?
Also, try to interact with students weekly when it is convenient for students in a timely manner.
Reaching out to students is essential to let students know that they are valued and you respect their
time and wish to continue to work with them meaningfully. However, it may be difficult to reach out
to some students virtually based on their location residentially (Truong, 2020).
Statement of the Problem
A qualitative approach was used to lead this study. The major problem was: How can educational
leader promote more student engagement in learning remotely during Covid-19.
Purpose of this Study
The purpose of this study was to share information on how educational leaders can collaborative
with faculty to ensure that all students have access to needed digital support or otherwise to keep
students engaging in productive learning experiences in an illustrative manner while students are
residing at home during the COVID-19 crisis.
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
During this COVID-19 crisis, educational leaders have been put into a position to rethink about the
total university environment. Current events have caused colleges and universities to increase their
capacity to provide student services online. While faculty move expeditiously to transition their
course content online, student affairs professionals must think of creative ways to support, engage,
and nurture students through their virtual college experience at all levels currently by: 1). Ensuring
Continuity of Programs and Services; 2). Hosting Virtual Career Services; 3). Offering Virtual
Registration Services; 4). Providing Mental Health and Well-Being Services from a Distance; 5).
Using Social Media to Stay Connected with Students and Engagement in Teaching and Learning
(Bryson & Hand, 2007).
In order to engage a student, it may take on a different meaning or focus depending on the context
of one's goals, course preparation, or the delivery process. For some, the goal may be to understand
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Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal (ASSRJ) Vol.7, Issue 7, July-2020
early on in the course preparation phase what fundamentally motivates students, whether
intrinsically or extrinsically, to acquire new knowledge and skills? For others, the focus may be
relative to a specific lesson or activity during which capturing and retaining a student's attention
"in the moment" is the most immediate concern. Despite these foci being at two different points in
a course design and delivery process, whether in the context of developing an understanding of the
individual's frame of reference and learning preferences or within the context of the actual teaching
and learning activities, themselves, these are some key factors to successfully engage students as
follows: 1). offer a mix of content and activity to present information; 2). seek activities that help
students to have higher order thinking skills by analyzing, evaluating and creating relevant
information; 3). making the process relevant to the students own life experiences; 4). help students
to build on existing knowledge and being creative; 5). offer time for students to reflect on what has
been learned; 6). help to create an environment for sharing ideas; 6). encourage students to take on
a leadership position in executing an activity (Cearley, Burke, Smith, Jones and Chandrasekaran,
2020).
Student engagement in higher education has been an area highlighted consistently as having
significant influence on student outcomes, including the successful completion of studies (Troisi,
2014). Chen, Lambert, and Guidry (2010) suggested that student engagement in learning has a more
significant impact on learning outcomes than who students are or where student enroll to study. As
universities have increased their online presence and provided more opportunities for fully-online
studies especially since Covid-19, student engagement in this mode requires further investigation
and consideration according to (Coates, 2009).
An online engagement framework for research in the past has “devoted relatively little attention to
online learning” (p. 66), a view supported by others (e.g., Robinson & Hullinger, 2008), and
Hampton and Pearce (2016) noted that being focused and engaged in course work as an online
student is critical for success in courses today. In addition, research has indicated that the majority
of online learners are now non-traditional students who are balancing the competing demands of
family, work, life, and study commitments and elect to study online for the convenience it offers
(Chen, Lambert, & Guidry, 2010; Thompson, Miller, & Pomykal Franz, 2013). These external
commitments and pressures have resulted in higher rates of student attrition (Meyer, 2018) and, as
such, online student engagement continues to be a pressing area for further exploration. Pittaway
and Moss (2011) also communicated the important of faculty and staff engagement, which “is
essential before students can engage” (p. 141).
LITERATURE
According to a survey data conducted by Inside Higher Ed (2020), maintaining student engagement
right now is a top priority and is recognized as a leading challenge in most educational
environments A new way of being and thinking is a key observation virtually. But keeping current
students engaged in a COVID-19 world does not require a tectonic shift in thinking or approach nor
does it have to be expensive for the university or the student. It is more about being creative and
innovative in the delivery of instruction and activities for students. The key here is to follow a few
common-sense suggestions and to leverage various digital technology tools to make things happen
by having students more engaged in their own learning experiences (Cavanagh, 2020).