One of the biggest issues within my cohort, is attendance. On my way trying to find solutions I came across this publication by Elisabeth Moores, Gurkiran K. Birdi, and Helen E. Higson, where they examine other pieces of research that have explored the factors that influence attendance to understand how and whether Higher Education Institutions can improve attendance rates. As they say, many psychological factors can influence attendance in college or university. One important factor is feeling like you belong at your school. This is a well-known idea in education and has been shown to help students stay in school and succeed academically.
Should we record lectures? Should we provide slides?
Having lecture recordings available can reduce overall attendance, but not all students who don’t attend lectures are necessarily watching the recordings. Not providing recordings may encourage those who struggle with attendance and academic achievement to come to class.
According to research by Emily Nordmann and colleagues, lecture capture might give students access to course materials and let them catch up on missed lectures, it can also result in lower attendance and lower participation during live lectures. However, they discovered no proof of a detrimental impact of recording use or a connection between attendance and recording use. In order to increase attendance and engagement, they advise using lecture capture technology in addition to other approaches including interactive teaching techniques and encouraging learning environments. The focus should be on enhancing the overall learning environment for students.
In ‘A study exploring the impact of lecture capture availability and lecture capture usage on student attendance and attainment’ Martin R. Edwards and Michael Clinton, showed that making the material available decrease attendance and student engagement levels. And they argued that this can lead to students struggling to keep up with course content, not being aware of assessment expectations, and potentially negatively impacting grades. However, students appreciate having access to lecture capture, and it is a heavily used tool. To make lecture attendance valuable beyond recorded substitutes, enhanced student interaction and participation during lectures or small formative assessments can be encouraged. It is important to communicate to students the danger of relying solely on recorded content and the potential negative impact of low lecture attendance on their attainment.
Should we actually monitor attendance?It is interesting that Bowen and colleagues, found that 75% of students they surveyed believed that monitoring attendance was important. They felt that this showed their university cared about their success and well-being.
Also to help with engagement and attendance:
Fostering belonging and compassionate pedagogy.
https://www.arts.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0019/223417/AEM3_FBCP.pdf