Managing Student Engagement in a Virtual Learning Environment: A Case Study of Clustered Versus Dispersed Synchronous Virtual Learning

Abstract

Student engagement is perhaps the most important indicator of quality teaching and learning environment.  The responsibility rests squarely on the professor to ensure an active and productive student engagement in every class taught.  The unprecedent adoption of virtual learning platform in higher education across the globe is a legacy of COVID-19 pandemic.  While most institutions have returned to in-classroom teaching and some are still struggling to bring students fully back on campus after three years of the pandemic, almost all institutions are offering some kind of virtual learning.  Enthusiasm for technology sophistication and its application to education often obscures the impact on student engagement.  The purpose of this article is to examine the quality of student engagement in a clustered versus dispersed synchronous learning platform using a case study of a class taught at Beijing Wuzi University.  The article concludes that clustered synchronous learning platform is by far superior to dispersed synchronous learning platform.  Several recommendations are provided including the need for professors to state intentionally and categorically their student engagement plans in their virtual learning course syllabi.