Engage the Disengaged: Strategies for Addressing the Expectations of Today's Online Millennials Free

College students enrolling in introductory classes and not participating in classrooms or learning communities have demonstrated a higher attrition rate and a lower completion rate (Briggs, 2012; Neal, 2009; Southerland, 2010) as compared to college students who were engaged and participated in learning communities; the latter academically out-performed nonparticipants (Lerma, 2010; Raftery, 2005; Wilmer, 2008). In order to increase student retention rates in web-based learning environments, colleges and universities need to look at how they are engaging students. Tighe (2008) stated that focus on retention should begin the moment the student signs up for classes, and mandatory orientation should be a part of every first year student's experience in undergraduate programs. College administration perceives student retention rates as indicators of academic quality and student success (Tighe, 2008). Today's students are reliant upon technology, surrounded with computers, video games, and MP3s. Educators observe that the students they teach today are confident in the positive value of technology, have something that they are really good at and something that has an engaging, creative component to it (Teo, 2013).

The first year can be overwhelming for many students, especially when transitioning from high school to college level or if returning back to school after a long gap. Investing in first-year student engagement programs can help students feel more connected to the institution, and in turn, may help increase retention efforts (Cazabon, 2009; Clounch, 2010). Higher education institutions must focus on student success and determine predictors of student retention (Fike & Fike, 2008). Administrators within higher education institutions need to find ways to train staff and faculty on student engagement initiatives and to monitor how the established initiatives are supporting students achieve academic success (Alward, 2012). Higher education institutions must also find ways to engage students to help them feel appreciated and motivated.

Factors that contribute to students’ persistence and academic success for today's generation include; student engagement (Alward, 2012; Cazabon, 2009; Clounch, 2010; Fike & Fike, 2008; Fruzzetti, 2011; Kress, 2007; Lerma, 2010; Southerland, 2010; Willekens, 2009), improving student motivation and influencing learning strategies (Khan, 2009; Vanthournout, Gijbels, Coertjens, Donche, & Peter, 2012), faculty and peer mentoring (Corella, 2010; Forbess, 2007; Meyers, Silliman, Gedde, & Ohland, 2010), authentic learning (James, 2011; Keeley, 2011; Lombardi, 2007) and college support personnel (Schreiner, Noel, Anderson, & Cantwell, 2011). This article focuses on exploring ways instructors engage students in virtual classrooms through various engagement factors for millennials and stresses the importance of keeping students engaged for retention and academic success.

According to Astin (1985), rather than judging educational excellence on the basis of institutional reputation and resources, it should be judged according to the intellectual and personal development of students. Astin's theory of involvement focuses less on what the educator does and more on what the student does, leading the student to be an active participant in the process of learning. The most basic principle of Astin's “Theory of Involvement” (1985) is that the more students learn, the more actively they are engaged in the academic and social aspects of the collegiate experience (Hutley, 2008).

With the growing popularity of online and blended learning, there has been an increase of literature related to effective online teaching and learning practices, much of it focusing on the value of deep or “significant learning” strategies (Fink, 2003). Some recent studies further suggest that deep learning theory involves a variety of learner-centered approaches that are designed to encourage students to use higher order thinking skills and to work directly with information, thus promoting deeper, more significant levels of understanding (Fink, 2003; Floyd, Harrington & Santiago, 2009; Majeski & Stover, 2007). In today's digital age, it is necessary for online students to be information literate and know how to navigate, search, analyze, and use information to be successful in an academic environment as well as preparing for the workplace (Zachery, 2010). Some students seem to have very specific technology skills. For instance, they may know exactly where and how to download the latest version of their favorite video games, or how to post an album or movie on Facebook, but have limited skills in searching for academic articles in an online college library required to write a paper. Successfully integrating technology into the instruction by actively engaging college students within the college environment is a crucial concern for improving student success and learning in the first-year undergraduate programs.

Student engagement is generally viewed as the degree to which a student feels involved or connected in a variety of educationally related activities (Southerland, 2010). If student involvement or engagement is related to learning objectives, students tend to be more engaged with their educational activities and connected to their institution (Cazabon, 2009). Creating student engagement tools and resources is important as many new students encounter obstacles in their transition into college, including inadequate academic preparation, lack of an educational plan or clear goals, psychological or social adjustments to college, unfamiliarity with the institution, finance challenges, and other outside responsibilities (Clounch, 2010). Student engagement activities that have been found to create a positive student outcome include participation in collaborative learning activities, interacting regularly with staff, faculty and other students, and taking a genuine interest in completing meaningful academic work (Lerma, 2010).

Motivation is another key factor mentioned regularly in the literature for students to achieve academic success by participating in college support programs. Studies on retention of college students (Ke, 2010; Khan, 2009) indicate that students who enter college with a desire and strong motivation to graduate with a college degree are more likely to persist. College institutions should provide workshops, resources, tutorials, and other student aids to help keep students engaged in their academic program (Collins, 2011). Students who are highly involved in their institution and education tend to spend more time studying, utilize resources provided by the institution including workshops and extracurricular activities, and have more frequent contact with staff, faculty, and other students (Clounch, 2010). Similarly, the most successful first-year college students are the ones who have a strong support system (Collins, 2011; Cruz-Johnson, 2012). Institutions who invest in support programs and student resources geared to accommodate the adult learner will likely see increased student retention and successful degree completion (Southerland, 2010; Wilmer, 2008).

The process of becoming socially and academically integrated into the institution via peer and faculty support is important for students, especially in the first year of their college education, and has proven a significant factor for student retention (Clounch, 2010). Faculty and peer mentoring programs are commonly used within higher education institutions to help integrate first-year college students to the institution. Peer mentoring programs are very effective within higher education institutions for building connections with other students (Corella, 2010; Forbess, 2007; Meyers et al., 2010; Willekens, 2009). Students are generally more comfortable going to another student rather than their instructor to ask questions or seek clarification on subject matter material. Student-to-student or peer support groups help provide support to students, especially throughout the first year of college experience. These peer groups are offered through the college services (Corella, 2010) for students in their first-year degree programs, thus offering social and emotional support while students acclimate to college and seek help with any course difficulties.

Authentic learning is built on the concept of learning-by-doing and focusing on real-world applications. Authentic learning is seamlessly integrated or implanted into meaningful, real-life situations (Jonassen, Howland, Marra, & Crismond, 2008). By engaging learners in authentic activities, learners’ motivation increases, and they develop skills that they can immediately apply on the job. On-the-job training without the job is the essence of authentic activities. This performance-based instructional strategy engages, enlightens, and intrigues the learners. When educators do not effectively integrate technology into educational process, students are not fully engaged and miss out an authentic learning experience emphasizing collaboration, creativity, and innovation (James, 2011). This may leave students unprepared to be productive digital age citizens and participants in the highly competitive, global, digital workplace. ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education, 2011) believes the convergence of technology, coaching, and building community is essential to model learning and teaching effectively in a connected, global society. To develop a transformational learning ecosystem, the most effective professional development for teachers to teach effectively in a globally connected, digital society should be technology rich, delivering via a coaching model, and enhanced by the power of community and social learning. Students learn best when they are faced with genuine challenges, choices, and take ownership for their learning. It becomes the responsibility of the educator to provide a curriculum that is authentic and engaging. Learning should be experiential and provide the social activity that helps students make connections between knowledge and societal issues or problems (Starratt, 2008). Also, the presence of communication tools alone is not enough for effective online learning; knowledge is constructed through social interactions, reflection, feedback, and authentic real-life activities (Ruey, 2010).

Adult learners, young or middle-aged, attending a higher education institution for the first time will undergo a dramatic role adjustment to their new environment (Southerland, 2010). However, this adjustment is often complicated as many 4-year institutions focus on online learning today. For instance, there are more services offered for online students at 4-year institutions including creating a college culture, student activities, and extracurricular events including clubs and organizations (Collins, 2011).

Though college support programs recognize that each student comes with different learning requirements, the key to student success depends on how much involvement the students show in academic activities and also outside the classroom for other college activities. The most successful students are those who actively participate in collegial activities, not only focused on their academics, but also in student support groups and peer tutoring, and have constant communication with faculty for academic success and in enhancing their skill set (Klem & Connell, 2004). Recent reports indicate that the skills that are most important to employers when hiring recent college graduates are: teamwork skills (44%), critical thinking and reasoning skills (33%), oral and written communication skills (30%), and the ability to assemble or organize information (21%) (NLC, 2011).

Interactivity can be achieved through integrating technology as the major component and a striking characteristic of web-based learning environments (Chou, 2003). An interactive web-based learning environment often involves four types of interaction: learner-content, learner-learner, learner-instructor and, learner-interface (Wang, 2007). Most of the web-based simulation games being used in the higher education field today aim at developing core knowledge of the course skills with situated problems using collaborative learning. On the most practical of levels, one of the great advantages when using computer-based strategy games in the classroom is that these games are so familiar to the students who have grown up using them (Proske, Narciss, & Körndle, 2007). Once the students are engaged, the graphical user interface of the game presents the critical learning material in windows and pop-up screens that require no training or a user guide. The flow of the game and the navigational schemes are entirely intuitive and familiar to the gamer generation. Interactive video games and newer web 2.0 tools should be seen as a complement to, not a replacement for, other teaching tools and methods (Ghergulescu & Muntean, 2010).

Thus the most common factors mentioned in the literature to engage the disengaged students in online and blended learning environments can be achieved through: student engagement, collaboration between students and instructor for community-based learning, peer-mentoring to help with course difficulties, authentic learning, and enhancing student motivation. These key elements help students to build a sense of confidence to actively engage in the classrooms, as well to participate in other college activities that promote learner satisfaction and academic success.