Skip to main content

Home/ ETAP640/ Group items tagged student retention

Rss Feed Group items tagged

Danielle Melia

http://www.osuokcprofdev.net/facultyfocusreports/strategiesforincreasingonlinestudentre... - 0 views

  •  
    Featuring a collection of top articles from Distance Education Report, this new Faculty Focus special report provides practical strategies for improving online student retention, engagement and satisfaction. Articles include: * 11 Tips for Improving Retention of Distance Learning Students * Understanding the Impact of Attrition on Your School * Taking a Holistic View of Student Retention * Eight Suggestions to Help You Get Your Retention Act Together Now * Online Mentoring Builds Retention * Nine Truths about Recruitment and Retention * Finding Helpful Patterns in Student Engagement
Melissa Pietricola

Education World ® Administrators Center: Making Retention A Last Resort - 0 views

  • Retaining students while their peers are promoted is bad for a child's self-esteem and may not help them academically, according to the argument. But promoting children without the skills for the next grade can be just as demoralizing.
  • "Multi-age learning is the gift of time," Jetel told Education World. "Students work to complete a curriculum cycle. The activities are open-ended and students can work on at their own pace."
  • on Student Grade Retention and Social Promotion, the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) notes that the use of grade retention has increased over the past 25 years, despite little indication of its effectiveness.
  • ...6 more annotations...
  • between 30 percent and 50 percent of students in the U.S. are retained at least once before ninth grade.
  • The results showed that grade retention had a negative impact on all areas of achievement, including reading, mathematics, and language, as well as socio-emotional adjustment, such as peer relationships, self esteem, problem behaviors, and attendance
  • implementing multiple support programs to help students stay on track to pass the tests the first time
  • students who need extra help will receive differentiated instruction from teachers trained to meet their needs. Students also will receive instruction before and after school, on weekends, and during a Summer Success Academy, designed for second and third graders. The academy's focus will be on reading, writing, and math, and classes with no more than 15 students, according to Klein.
  • smaller classes and earlier support services
  • 'What didn't work? What wasn't done earlier? What do we do to identify the difficulties a kid is having?' If you can't answer the question why the student didn't learn, you are in danger of repeating mistakes."
  •  
    Social Retentions and the risks to the students
Alicia Fernandez

Online Human Touch (OHT) Instruction and Programming: A Conceptual Framework to Increas... - 1 views

  • Congratulations and Welcome Calls:
  • Using Names in All Correspondence:
  • Individualized Feedback on All Graded Assignments:
  • ...8 more annotations...
  • Virtual Teas:
    • Alicia Fernandez
       
      Innovative idea for building social and teaching presence
  • Audio/Text Introductions:
  • Group Assignments & Presentations:
  • Student Support Services:
  • Links to Online Campus Events:
    • Alicia Fernandez
       
      UAlbany should have online campus events for online students.
  • Learning Simulation
  • Reflective Journals and Papers
  • Student Support Services
  •  
    Interactive and personalized approach to online education has resulted in high student retention rates and high levels of student satisfaction
Nicole Arduini-Van Hoose

Bringing Life to Online Instruction with Humor - 1 views

  • Based on our experience using humor as an instructional strategy in traditional and online courses, we explain how instructors can incorporate humor into online courses
  • Of the personal dimensions of teaching, humor is the most human of them all. T
  • Humor is not a pedagogical panacea, and the mere inclusion of humor will not assure that learning will occur. I
  • ...26 more annotations...
  • The challenge for instructors teaching online courses is to learn to use humor to create interesting and inviting virtual learning environments while minimizing any potential pitfalls of humor as an instructional device
  • e, the educational purpose of the humor is the most important consideration. As a pedagogical device, humor can promote various objectives, such as to increase student interest and attention, facilitate the student-teacher relationship, provide students with a “mental break,” or promote the understanding and retention of a concept. In contrast to humorists, who gauge success by laughter, educators measure the effectiveness of humor by how it promotes learning. Although humor can be used to increase students’ overall enjoyment of the online experience, most of the humor incorporated into an online course should serve an instructional purpos
  • simpler forms of humor that would “bomb” in a comedy venue, such as word-play (e.g., puns, oxymorons) and clever or witty observations, can be used successfully in online course
  • nstructors recognize that potentially offensive humor, such as sexist or racist jokes, is not appropriate (Perlman & McCann, 1998). The safest target is the instructor, because self-deprecating humor avoids offending or alienating others, and allows students to view the teacher as more “human.
  • several ways that instructors can enhance visual humor for the online environment
  • journals devoted to humorous research (e.g., Journal of Polymorphous Perversity, Annals of Improbable Research).
  • Visual humor is especially effective in online courses, and cartoons, illustrations, and photographs, can easily be integrated throughout the course
  • e, we strongly encourage instructors to consider the guidelines for pedagogical humor mentioned in the previous section. First, does the humor promote an educational objective? Second, will the students understand and appreciate the humor? Third, is the target of the humor appropriate for the course?
  • For this type of humor to be effective, the visual punch line needs to be hidden behind a hyperlink.
  • We strongly believe that integrating personal photographs or “home movies” into online instruction adds a more personalized and intimate feel to the often sterile nature of online courses
  • use an extra-credit activity called the “Contributing Editor” that requires students to locate potential sources of humor on any course topic.
  • For instructors who are comfortable using humor in course examinations, there are several approaches for adding humor to multiple-choice tests. First, an additional distracter (e.g., choice “e”), such as a joke at the expense of the instructor, can be added to select items. Second, names that appear in items can be reformatted by inserting the instructor's name or creating fictitious names. Third, a “final” item can be added with the setup “The test is over and you...” with funny distracters targeted to the students, instructor, or course. (See Berk, 2000 for additional strategies for infusing humor into multiple-choice examinations.)
  • the most suitable joke formulas for the online course are word-play and exaggeration. A word-play joke involves the modification of a word, clichés, definition, common phrase, or concept. Examples of word-play pedagogical humor include silly names, funny unit subtitles, oxymorons, and factitious definitions. Word-play is a relatively simple form of humor, and instructors should expect smirks (or moans) rather than big laughs. Also, word-play jokes will only be successful when instructors follow the principle of “knowing your audience” (i.e., students must recognize the word, concept, or phrase that is being reformatted or embellished).
  • The final step of humor writing is to edit the joke by following the four principles of “aggressive editing” (Sankey, 1998)
  • The placement and duration of humor used in online lecture modules are critical to the flow of instruction.
  • Humor can allow students a brief “mental break” from an online lecture, and instructors can use transitions to illustrate a concept with topic-related tangents or self-deprecating stories.
  • ules as an opportunity to use humorous personal examples and commentary to expand on previously discussed lecture topics. By clearly identifying the tangent, students recognize that the rant is separate from the lecture
  • For a more detailed explanation of the techniques and principles of humor writing, instructors can refer to various comedy writing books (e.g., Carter, 2001; Helitzer & Shatz, 2005).
  • course, we strongly encourage instru
  • course, we strongly encourage instru
  • luding funny quotes, jokes, and cartoons, and in this section, we identify resources for locating pedagogical humor. When deciding which material to use for the online course, we strongly encourage instructors to c
  • we strongly encourage instructors to consider the guidelines for pedagogical humor mentioned in the previous section. First, does the humor promote an educational objective? Second, will the students understand and appreciate the humor? Third, is the target of the humor appropriate for the course? The Internet is the best resource for pedagogical humor, and although any search using a discipline and “humor” as descriptors will yield numerous web sites, we recommend more narrowly focused searches (i.e., “humor” and a specific discipline topic). Additional resources for pedagogical humor include supplemental instructional materials provided by book publishers and journals devoted to humorous research (e.g., Journal of Polymorphous Perversity, Annals of Improbable Research). When using humor from other sources, instructors need to adhere to copyright considerations. Visual humor is especially effective in online courses, and cartoons, illustrations, and photographs, can easily be integrated throughout the course. Although visual humor is usually self-contained (i.e., a caption or the illustration delivers the punch line), there are several ways that instructors can enhance visual humor for the online environment. Visuals, such as photographs or illustrations, can be used as a punch line for a joke. For example, when discussing the difficulty of course examinations, the setup would be “And this is how students often feel after an exam…” with a photograph or cartoon of frighten individuals delivering the punch line. For this type of humor to be effective,
  • we strongly encourage instructors to consider the guidelines for pedagogical humor mentioned in the previous section. First, does the humor promote an educational objective? Second, will the students understand and appreciate the humor? Third, is the target of the humor appropriate for the course? The Internet is the best resource for pedagogical humor, and although any search using a discipline and “humor” as descriptors will yield numerous web sites, we recommend more narrowly focused searches (i.e., “humor” and a specific discipline topic). Additional resources for pedagogical humor include supplemental instructional materials provided by book publishers and journals devoted to humorous research (e.g., Journal of Polymorphous Perversity, Annals of Improbable Research). When using humor from other sources, instructors need to adhere to copyright considerations. Visual humor is especially effective in online courses, and cartoons, illustrations, and photographs, can easily be integrated throughout the course. Although visual humor is usually self-contained (i.e., a caption or the illustration delivers the punch line), there are several ways that instructors can enhance visual humor for the online environment. Visuals, such as photographs or illustrations, can be used as a punch line for a joke. For example, when discussing the difficulty of course examinations, the setup would be “And this is how students often feel after an exam…” with a photograph or cartoon of frighten individuals delivering the punch line. For this type of humor to be effective,
  • we strongly encourage instructors to consider the guidelines for pedagogical humor mentioned in the previous section. First, does the humor promote an educational objective? Second, will the students understand and appreciate the humor? Third, is the target of the humor appropriate for the course? The Internet is the best resource for pedagogical humor, and although any search using a discipline and “humor” as descriptors will yield numerous web sites, we recommend more narrowly focused searches (i.e., “humor” and a specific discipline topic). Additional resources for pedagogical humor include supplemental instructional materials provided by book publishers and journals devoted to humorous research (e.g., Journal of Polymorphous Perversity, Annals of Improbable Research). When using humor from other sources, instructors need to adhere to copyright considerations. Visual humor is especially effective in online courses, and cartoons, illustrations, and photographs, can easily be integrated throughout the course. Although visual humor is usually self-contained (i.e., a caption or the illustration delivers the punch line), there are several ways that instructors can enhance visual humor for the online environment. Visuals, such as photographs or illustrations, can be used as a punch line for a joke. For example, when discussing the difficulty of course examinations, the setup would be “And this is how students often feel after an exam…” with a photograph or cartoon of frighten individuals delivering the punch line. For this type of humor to be effective,
  • ll the students unders
  • A wide range of hum
  •  
    "The challenge for instructors teaching online courses is to learn to use humor to create interesting and inviting virtual learning environments while minimizing any potential pitfalls of humor as an instructional device. In a commentary noting the need for humor in online courses, James (2004) observed that "Because humor is one of the major traits of the best, most effective teachers, it is a characteristic that all teachers should want to hone, practice, and nurture, regardless of medium" "
  •  
    Thinking back to our conversation on humor. (I was only a lurker in that conversation, but maybe now I have time to revisit this idea). Hope this adds to your thoughts.
  •  
    explain how instructors can incorporate humor in an online course, the enhancement humor can bring, guidelines for locating, selecting, developing, and integrating humor into an online courses, and examples of humor in various online components.
Jarrod McEntarfer

Perceptions of Online Course Communications and Collaboration - 0 views

  • Physical proximity appears to enhance student retention and achievement by minimizing perceived psychological distance. For instance, research involving students who live on-campus during their first year in college has demonstrated higher levels of retention than for those students who live off-campus during the same period (St. John, Hu, Simmons, & Musoba, 2001). Additionally, Braxton, Johnson, and Shaw-Sullivan (1997) have suggested that higher degrees of social integration lead to corresponding levels of commitment to the institution. In other words, students with clear social involvement on-campus were found to persist at a higher rate than those who are socially isolated for one reason or another.
    • Jarrod McEntarfer
       
      The point being made here I believe is that the greater the detachment. This creates less retention of material
  •  
    Some research on how distance can affect retention
Alicia Fernandez

The Technology Source Archives - Effective Student Preparation for Online Learning - 0 views

  •  
    This study has engendered several recommendations for the use and design of online orientation courses. Effective student and faculty preparation for the Web-based teaching and learning environment can make a significant impact on student success in their studies, thus increasing retention and curriculum completion.
  •  
    This study has engendered several recommendations for the use and design of online orientation courses. Effective student and faculty preparation for the Web-based teaching and learning environment can make a significant impact on student success in their studies, thus increasing retention and curriculum completion.
Alicia Fernandez

Online Human Touch (OHT) Instruction and Programming: A Conceptual Framework to Increas... - 1 views

  •  
    Experimental Learning
  •  
    Experimental Learning
  •  
    Interactive and personalized approach to online education has resulted in high student retention rates and high levels of student satisfaction.
lkryder

5 Visual Design Strategies that Promote Student Retention - 2 views

  • everal aspects of course design can affect retention; however, one of the most overlooked is visual design. Looks matter. In fact, in e-Learning and the Science of Instruction, Richard Mayer and Ruth Clark have reported an average learning increase of 89% in courses that added relevant visuals to text. With this in mind, consider the five design strategies listed below that can help capture students’ eyes and interest throughout your course.
  • Every visual should serve a specific purpose and align with your objectives.
  • Graphics should act as street signs that compliment content and guide students in the right direction, so keep your graphical layout sleek and minimal.
  • ...1 more annotation...
  • Make media memorable by ensuring that it clarifies, extends, or reinforces concepts.
  •  
    design ideas for visuals and multimedia
  •  
    design ideas for visuals and multimedia
Alicia Fernandez

Lost in Translation: Importance of Effective Communication in Online Education - 0 views

  •  
    Recommendations for integrating effective online communication into programming and instruction to increase student connectivity, engagement, and retention.
Diane Gusa

Humor, Analogy, and Metaphor: H.A.M. it up in Teaching - 0 views

    • Diane Gusa
       
      Very strong statement!
    • Diane Gusa
       
      I am a metaphoric person...when I want to remember or learn deeply a metaphor helps me.
  • The proper use of humor, analogy, and metaphor appropriate to the topic can provide benefits in the college classroom.
  • ...15 more annotations...
  • Better comprehension,
  • increased retention of material,
  • more comfortable learning environment
  • effective use of these strategies.
  • Humor has been defined as “the mental faculty of discovering, expressing or appreciating something that is comical, amusing, or absurdly incongruous” (Merriam-Webster, 2001, p.564)
  • The use of humor as a pedagogical tool has been shown to reduce classroom anxiety, create a more positive atmosphere, as well as facilitate the learning process (Berk, 1996, 1998; Garner, 2003, in press; Glenn, 2002; Hill, 1988; Pollio & Humphreys, 1996).
  • Garner (in press) found that participants who were exposed to a series of lectures containing course-specific humor demonstrated increased retention of the course-content information as compared to those who received the same material without the infusion of humor.
  • According to Glenn (2002), humor may physiologically help to connect left-brain activities with the right-brained creative side
  • teaching philosophies of highly-rated teachers finds the use of humor as an important component of their teaching strategies. Humor can increase (Civikly, 1986) and sustain (Dodge & Rossett, 1982) student interest in learning and provides a means to engage in divergent thinking. Instructors’ use of effective humor in the classroom can foster mutual respect (Kher, Molstad, & Donahue, 1999), provide commonalities and connections between the instructor and students (Pollio & Humphreys, 1996) and even increase class attendance (Devadoss & Foltz, 1996; Romer, 1993; White, 1992). According to Bergen (1992), “teachers who use strategies that promote the connection between humor and learning usually provide students with their best school experiences” (p.106).
  • Metaphor and analogy have historically been used as an effective teaching tool. Greek myths, religious texts, and fairytales all use metaphor, analogy, and parables to teach and help us learn expected conduct (Gorden, 1978). The use of metaphor and analogy is pervasive in society in both language and communication
  • According to the National Research Council (2000) the effective use of metaphors and analogies is an important educational strategy.
  • . In teaching, using either analogy or metaphor allows the instructor to relate a potentially unfamiliar idea with that which is familiar.
  • Pedagogical use of analogy and metaphor can enhance learning and retention, but they must have a high degree of resonance for the listene
  • be most effective, an analogy or metaphor must transfer ideas from a familiar concept to one that is less familiar or unknown. According to Bowers (1993) the metaphorical relationship must be clear and accurate—possessing face validity.
  • Williams (1986) suggests that vivid metaphors have the capability to teach in a way that is not always available with the use of words alone.
  •  
    I am comfortable using metaphors, but will need to work on the humor aspect. New goal for the Fall semester.
Diane Gusa

Why have learning communities - 0 views

  • learning communities have been shown to increase student retention and academic achievement, increase student involvement and motivation, improve students� time to degree completion, and enhance student intellectual development.
  • Students involved in learning communities become more intellectually mature and responsible for their own learning and develop the capacity to care about the learning of their peers.
    • Diane Gusa
       
      This makes me think that online learning communities will lead to retention in course, engagement, motivation, and increase learning
  •  
    F2F learning communities findings in one college
Jessica M

Educators: Are Web - based Resources an Effective Means for Increasing Knowledge in Hig... - 0 views

  • Previous research has shown that online instruction has aided in the preparation and retention of special education teachers (Dymond & Bentz, 2006; Knapczyk, Frey, & Wall-Marencik, 2005).
    • Jessica M
       
      Online instruction is research proven to help benefit special education students
  • positively affect attitudes, knowledge
  • lack of training during their preservice years in proper interventions for students with disabilities, including modification, accommodations and assistive technology
  • ...4 more annotations...
  • outcomes, and perceptions of educating students with disabilities in general education (Carroll, 2003; Cook, 2002; Kirk, 1998; Powers, 1992).
  • For example teacher educators identify time constraints as one of the biggest barriers in providing an effective overall class on how to educate students with disabilities in the general education classroom
  • ill-equipped
  • Assistive Technology Outcomes and BenefitsFocused Issue: The Role of Higher Education in Preparing Education Professionals to Use AT
  •  
    Many facts about students with disabilities and how educators can benefit from online courses and learning to better support the needs of these students. Benefit of taking this course online - community, sharing..
Tina Bianchi

Retention Rates for First-Year Freshmen at SUNY Schools - 0 views

  •  
    SUNY retention rates
Lauren D

216.pdf (application/pdf Object) - 2 views

  •  
    Good article on the issues of retention and the number of students who end up dropping and the reasons why
Joy Quah Yien-ling

Creative Use of Podcasting in Higher Education and Its Effect on Competitive Agency - 0 views

  •  
    Creating podcasts seems to enhance retention, understanding of and engagement with course content. Lazarri (2009) found that "full-time students co-involved in lessons' podcasting outperformed colleagues of the previous years and achieved higher levels of what we define as competitive agency, that led them to better understand the theoretical issues of the course and to more effective practical skills."
Melissa Pietricola

http://www.uncp.edu/home/dente/online.htm - 0 views

  • Such discussion places many learners at a disadvantage - those who are introverted, those for whom English is not their first language, those who don't like to interrupt, those who like to think more before they speak, and many others
    • Melissa Pietricola
       
      I think this-giving everyone the opportunity to speak is the most significant benefit for my students in having the course by a hybrid
  • only 20% of the students do 80% of the discussing. Online, 65% of the students do 80% of the discussing.
  • Consequently, online students do more work and cover more subject matter.
  • ...5 more annotations...
  • This constant interaction with the subject matter greatly increases learning retention.
  • Students are more active and self-directed in their learning.
  • discussion is richer because it is recorded
  • class discussions easily cross week boundaries. It is very common for a discussion which began in the first week of the course to resurface in the fourth week when new learnings shine a fresh perspective on it. This type of dialogue feels much more natural than the fragmented discussions I experienced in the classroom.
  • My experience with teaching online is that it is a different thing. I encourage us all to experiment in both our face-to-face and virtual learning encounters and to share what seems to work and not work.
  •  
    it is a short, easy read, and yet stresses important points we educators all experience
  •  
    benefits of online learning
Amy M

Educational Technology Research and Development, Volume 49, Number 4 - SpringerLink - 0 views

  • The purpose of this study was to analyze a five-week graduate-level education course taught entirely at a distance via the Internet using the Blackboard.comSM e-learning system, with emphasis on exploring the dynamics of sense of classroom community. Subjects were 20 adult learners, evenly divided between males and females, who were administered the sense of classroom community index at the beginning and end of the course in order to measure classroom community. Findings indicated that on-line learners took advantage of the “learn anytime” characteristics of the Internet by accessing the course seven days per week, 24 hours per day. Sense of classroom community grew significantly during the course. Females manifested a stronger sense of community than their male counterparts both at the start and end of the course. Additionally, female students exhibited a mostly connected communication pattern while the communication pattern of males was mostly independent.
  •  
    classroom interaction can lead to retention
Joan McCabe

Using Asynchronous Audio Feedback to Enhance Teaching Presence and Students... - 1 views

  •  
    This article describes how audio-based feedback contributes to increased learning, content retention, feelings of increased involvement, the ability to detect nuance and inflection which convey meaning, and fosters the class community. The study received very positive results.
mikezelensky

Connecting Students to Content: Student-Generated Questions - 1 views

  •  
    "The more connections and engagement they have, the better they will learn new information. Studies have shown that more student ownership of the course and its content result in better retention and better application of information after the course"
cpcampbell88

Using Audio Feedback to Promote Teaching Presence - Spectrum Newsletter Spring 2009 - 0 views

  • Social presence is defined as, “The ability of participants in the community of inquiry to project their personal characteristics into the community, thereby presenting themselves to the other participants as ‘real people’
  • Social presence is the pathway whereby cognitive presence is developed.
  • As faculty and students cultivate social presence in a course through meaningful dialogue, deepened analysis and application of course concepts can take place.
  • ...5 more annotations...
  • These roles need not be limited to simply the instructor, as students can also exhibit teaching presence in the course through such activities as leading group discussion assignments of collecting and sharing instructional resources
  • Yet, textual feedback, particularly in the context of a blended or online course, can lack rich detail and tone.
  • As textual forms of communication dominate current electronic communications, opportunities to engage auditory and kinesthetic learners ought to be cultivated.
  • Students perceived audio feedback to be more effective than text-based feedback for conveying nuance. Audio feedback was associated with feelings of increased involvement and enhanced learning community interactions. Audio feedback was associated with increased retention of content. Audio feedback was associated with the perception that the instructor cared more about the student.
  • Ice, Swan, Kupczynski, and Richardson (2008) studied the impact of asynchronous audio feedback in an online course and noted the following:
  •  
    Community of Inquiry (COI) whereby three key elements crucial to the success of any learning endeavor are highlighted: cognitive presence, social presence, and teaching presence. Figure 1 illustrates the integration of these elements of the learning environment.
1 - 20 of 26 Next ›
Showing 20 items per page