"I Hate History": A Study of Student Engagement in Community College Undergraduate History Courses

Many instructors seek to improve student engagement, but determining how to achieve student engagement can be complex and complicated. The authors sought to explore how the implementation of active-learning strategies in undergraduate history courses at a metropolitan community college using graphic organizers and group discussion impacted student engagement. Surveys were distributed to students in five undergraduate history courses in order to elicit student perspectives on how active-learning strategies impact engagement. The survey data revealed that some active-learning strategies improved student engagement, whereas others did not. The authors report that a combination of implementing lecture and active-learning strategies was effective in fostering student engagement in their undergraduate history courses.