Early engagement is where a lot of retention work happens, and it is easy to answer it with a long list of fixes that nobody has time for. This post offers something smaller: one action for each of the first six weeks of term. Each takes under an hour, and each is easy to repeat next year.
Learning outcomes
By the end of this post you’ll be able to
- Explain how unwritten expectations can affect early engagement.
- Design one small action for each of weeks 1 to 6 of a Canvas module.
- Sequence six actions so that each builds on the one before.
Why one small change a week
A list with no order tends to stall. A weekly rhythm gives you an order and an end point, and students see each change soon after you make it.
The themes come from three recent pieces. Imran Mir’s HEPI guest post argues that the hidden curriculum, the unwritten expectations students are left to guess, is an under-discussed cause of unequal outcomes. Zoe Torsney’s Wonkhe comment links an inclusive culture to students’ confidence in writing in their own voice. Helen Chilton, Polly Turner and Sally Hickson’s Wonkhe piece argues that universities should help students manage their digital use rather than restrict it.
All three are arguments, not settled findings, so I treat them as prompts for small experiments. For the thinking behind the order of the weeks, Creating engaging and effective learning experiences. describes how engagement builds over time.
Weeks 1 and 2: Say the unwritten parts out loud
Week 1: show students where they stand on AI. Add a short AI use statement to the first assessed task, so nobody has to guess. Tell Students Where They Stand on AI: An Assessment-by-Assessment Statement in Canvas gives a four-part template you can copy.
Week 2: write down one unwritten rule. Mir’s examples include approaching lecturers in office hours, interpreting feedback and building professional networks. He recommends teaching academic conventions explicitly, unpacking assessment criteria with authentic examples, and treating office hours and feedback as part of the curriculum.
He also quotes Office for Students continuation rates of 83.8% for the most deprived students and 93.1% for the least deprived. Readers’ comments on the post question how far cultural capital explains attainment gaps, so treat the idea as one useful lens, not the whole picture.
Do not worry about getting the wording perfect. A plain page that exists is worth more than a polished one that is still in your head.
Start with the three things students most often ask you, and answer them on one page. To unpack criteria, pair each one with a short worked example; 5 Tips for Building Effective Rubrics in Canvas shows where criteria live in Canvas.
Put it into practice
Try it in Canvas
- Select Pages in Course Navigation, then + Page.
- Title it “How this module works”.
- Add three short headings, for example “Office hours”, “Reading your feedback” and “Who to ask”, with two or three sentences under each.
- Select Save & Publish, then link the page from the first module.
Put it into practice
Your turn
Write down three things a new student needs to know about your module that appear nowhere in writing. Choose one and turn it into two plain sentences.
Weeks 3 and 4: Make early writing safe
Torsney argues that students who feel unsafe taking risks with their own voice will struggle to write authentically. She also describes work that seems “slightly too polished, robotic”, and says that vilifying AI will not solve anything. Her piece is about culture rather than technique, so the two weeks below are my suggestions, not hers.
Week 3: set a short, ungraded writing task. Ask for about 150 words, in the student’s own words, on something they already know. Say plainly that it carries no mark, that you will read every one, and that you are looking for clear thinking, not polish. In Canvas, an ungraded assignment or a discussion both work.
Week 4: reply with a strength and one next step. Name something that sounds like the student, then suggest one thing to try next. Two or three sentences is enough. Creating Meaningful Feedback explains what makes comments useful.
Put it into practice
Your turn
Draft the instructions for your week 3 task in three sentences: what to write, that it is unmarked, and what you will do with it.
Weeks 5 and 6: Design for attention
Chilton, Turner and Hickson argue that screens are not inherently harmful. Their concern is what screens displace, such as focused study, rest and conversation. They cite Ofcom research, as reported by the authors, that 18 to 24-year-olds spend an average of 6 hours 20 minutes a day on screens. Their recommendations are awareness, more chances to disconnect and open conversations. They do not offer course design advice, so again the actions are mine.
Week 5: make the week predictable. Choose one day for announcements, and put one “Start here” item at the top of each week. Cut any page that does not earn its place; Refreshing Old Canvas Pages Without Rebuilding Them: A Before-and-After Checklist is a useful checklist.
Week 6: send a reading-week note. Say what students should do, what they can leave, and when you will next be in touch. Permission to switch off costs you nothing, and it lowers the sense that everything is urgent.
Try it yourself
Match the problem to the action
Choose the weekly action that best answers each problem.
Put your six weeks in order
The weeks run in this order for reasons. Students need the AI rules before the first task. The unwritten-rules page helps most early on. A comment needs something to respond to, so the writing task comes before the reply. A reading-week note belongs near reading week. You could start the weekly rhythm sooner; it sits at week 5 here to keep each week to one action.
Notice, too, that every action is small and visible to students, so you can ask them whether it helped.
Try the planner below. It flags orders that undercut each other and shows the order I would use.
Try it yourself
Plan your six weeks
Choose one action for each week. Use each action once, then show your plan to see which weeks work and which could move. This is my reading of a sensible order, so adapt it to your module.
Check your understanding
Knowledge check
Why does the writing task come before the feedback comment?
A comment needs something to respond to, and an unmarked task lets students take risks.
Name two unwritten expectations that Mir lists.
Approaching lecturers in office hours, interpreting feedback and building professional networks.
According to the digital wellbeing authors, what is the main concern about screens?
What they displace, such as focused study, rest and conversation, not screens in themselves.
Remember
Key takeaways
- One small action a week beats a long list with no order.
- Write down the unwritten: AI rules in week 1, a “How this module works” page in week 2.
- Make early writing unmarked, then reply with a strength and a next step.
- Make the week predictable, and tell students what to do in reading week.
Your next step
This week, pick one module and write its “How this module works” page, using the three questions students ask you most. Over the next fortnight, notice whether those questions arrive less often.
Reflect: which expectation in your module do you only ever say out loud, and who never hears it?
