Increasing Student Engagement with Tech-enabled Teaching Tailored to Diverse Learning Styles: A Theory and a Case Study at BCC

Presenter:

Neil Hwang, Assistant Professor, Business & Information Systems, Bronx Community College

Abstract:

While students’ level of engagement in class has been found to be a significant factor in determining their overall performance in the course, achieving and maintaining a certain level of engagement has been elusive for many educators at community colleges. On the bright side, there have been several advances in theory of motivation that received much empirical support across cultures and disciplines. Self-determination theory (SDT), in particular, has received much attention and widespread following in recent years for the seeming universality of its principles and the profundity of its implications. In this talk, the presenter will first present a brief overview of SDT as it relates to higher education, and highlight certain course design principles and tech-enabled teaching strategies that are necessitated by SDT. In addition, the presenter will discuss the relevance of personality theory and students’ diverse learning styles in the context of SDT, and then delve into a case study based on the accounting classes taught at BCC for the past two semesters, illustrating specifically: (1) how SDT was applied; (2) what design changes were made in course delivery and instruction tactics to increase engagement; (3) what resources and technology tools were used to tailor content and discussion to diverse learning styles of students; and (4) the results in terms of student engagement and performance. The audience will be able to take away several ideas to immediately apply SDT to their own classes regardless of discipline and specific technology tools that enable much of SDTinspired teaching.