We’ve all seen it in some classes. On the first day of the semester, every seat is filled with students, and then it slowly gets emptier until it reaches a steady state of about one-third of class attendance that will remain until exam days.

On exam days, every seat will be filled again. Usually the reason behind this is simple: the topics covered in class, especially for science, engineering and math classes, are somewhat dry, and most students would rather not be bothered to go.

Even in classes with mandatory attendance policies, a lot of people would rather just take the loss to their participation grade. A class that I’m in this semester has quizzes every session and still, about a third of the seats are empty on regular non-exam days. But it sometimes feels as if some professors are just mailing coursework in with the same method of using PowerPoint and then posting it directly to Blackboard after class. I would guess a majority of professors also post their exam study guides directly to Blackboard now as well, which means that it isn’t even necessary to attend review sessions before exams to find out what is going to be on the test.

While this definitely helps professors and teaching assistants from having to email hundreds of copies of slides every week to students who miss class for a variety of reasons — some of those reasons probably better than others — it takes away the motive to attend class for many students. When a physics class is taught in the same style as a geology class is taught in the same style as a French literature class, it is sometimes easier for students, especially juniors and seniors who have a better idea of how classes and topics are organized, to not attend class. When it comes to boring classes and “lazy” seniors and juniors, don’t hate the player, hate the game.

This is unfortunate, considering how expensive classes are, and how sometimes the things that happen in class that are not a part of PowerPoint slides are often much more enriching.

Greater use of technology in the classroom is one solution that is typically brought up as a way of increasing student involvement. A [recent study](http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120117145447.htm) conducted at Concordia University suggests that technology in the classroom, when used effectively, successfully delivers content and supports student achievement. The research team found technology works best when students are encouraged to think critically and communicate effectively, but that methods like PowerPoint presentations are not as effective when used by themselves.

A (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/05/110512150817.htm) from the University of British Columbia found that students in the interactive class were nearly twice as engaged as their counterparts in the traditional class, which is kind of obvious.

The result of this was that students in classes with interactive teaching, such as the use of hand-held “clickers” to answer questions, scored twice as well on exams and there was a 20 percent increase in attendance in interactive classes.

The questions and discussion topics used in these studies were based around readings that had to be done before class. “These activities require more work from the students, but the students report that they feel they are learning more and are more vested in their own learning,” said co-author Ellen Schelew, a master’s student in the Department of Physics at the University of British Columbia.

In fields like science and engineering, fields where [40 percent of students end up switching to other majors](http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/06/education/edlife/why-science-majors-change-their-mind-its-just-so-darn-hard.html?pagewanted=all), supposedly because of the difficult course load, interactive learning in the classroom could be something that could increase scores and retention rates.

Even though the study focused on a science class, this approach is something that could apply to non-science majors. By going beyond reading off PowerPoint slides, instructors increase attendance and participation. Students also benefit, with better understanding of the material, which translates to higher exam scores, so maybe buying those “clickers” are worth the cost.