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School’s IN for Summer: Engaging Students All Summer Long
Originally published May 1, 2026
As Winter term ends and we look toward the Spring, Summer and Intersession terms, now is a great time to consider how best to engage with students who are taking classes during the warm, sunny (and often distracting) seasons. With intentional planning and delivery in mind, creating an environment where students are thoughtful and eager to learn can result in engaged, productive learning experiences throughout the summer for students, and an enjoyable term for instructors.
Supporting Attendance, No Matter the Mode
Attending classes can be a struggle for students during the warmer months. Creating a sense of excitement at the beginning of the term will help your students to see the value of attending class. Some ideas include:
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Explicitly connecting attendance to student success in the course. What will students gain from attending class that they won’t learn on their own? Explicitly share the value and purpose of showing up and engaging in the class and how it aligns with their success on related assessments. Remind students that attendance is critical to their ability to stay up to date on content and learning. Consider providing students with information about the benefits of learning time management strategies from Student Success to support their development of accountability in attendance.
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Particularly due to the accelerated nature of 6-week Intersession and Summer courses, missing too many classes can quickly hinder students’ ability to link theory to practice and to engage with peers in the learning process. Consider building in flexibility to your class so that students can miss a day or two and still be successful. For example, offer a free absence without a participation grade penalty to help mitigate attendance tensions in your class.
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Creating virtual asynchronous lessons on foundational content that students can work through it at their own pace, while providing a follow-up session to provide activities and space to have questions answered and confusion cleared up.
Fostering Community
Providing students with an opportunity to create community in the classroom is a great way to create a strong, and authentic learning environment where everyone can learn and grow. Building classroom communities can take time and intentionality, but when done authentically and with an eye to relationality there is value in creating space to get to know your students. Creating space for your students get to know each other and for your students to better understand you and how/why you have structured the course the way you have will provide students with the information they need to engage in your courses over Spring and Summer with enthusiasm and respect for learning. Consider the following:
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Sharing your authentic self in the classroom: You may also wish to share parts of your own life and academic journey with students. Creating this rapport with students can break down hierarchies that keep students from asking for help when needed. You could share a personal connection to the course material, parts of your own educational experiences and journey, or even hobbies that connect to what you are doing in class.
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Getting to know your students: Whether it is through intentional check-in questions, a student survey at the beginning of the term, or structured classroom activities, setting time aside for social cohesion can occur even before the term begins and be reinforced throughout the term at key points.
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Embedding strategies for student engagement and motivation: Highlight information about supports that are available to students, both within your classroom and externally so that students are clear about the pathways and variety of supports available.
Planning for Lectures, Learning Materials, and Activities
Careful planning of your course can have significant impacts on your students’ success. The 6-week Intersession and Summer terms have smaller windows of to deliver your content, so it’s important to consider how you might streamline your deliverables to be aligned with the realities of the term.
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Giving students choice: providing choice in assessments, assessment types, alternative methods of engagement, and even alternatives to course reading (consider podcasts, TEDtalks, videos) can all support more fulsome engagement with learning materials, particularly during the warmer months.
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Linking course content with students’ interests and goals: This is a great example of why getting to know your students is helpful. Determining what students’ future career aspirations are, further degree plans, or simply focusing in on aspects of the course that students profess an interest in will help to keep and support the development of intrinsic motivation to learn.
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Experiences outside the classroom: The warmer months can provide unique opportunities to take learning outside the classroom. Where and when possible, consider moving your class to some of the outdoor spaces that exist on Laurier campuses. Incorporating Indigenous land-based pedagogies into your course by including class or individual nature walks, fieldwork, group work or individual or group ‘Sit Spot’ activities are a great way to have students engage with the world around them. Make sure to consider access for all students (i.e. access pathways, hardscape, and access to seating and shade) when choosing outdoor locations for activities so that all students can fully participate. TEI shared more ideas for actionable opportunities to engage with learning outside the classroom in an earlier bulletin this term that you can put into practice in your own courses.