Motivation and Learning Strategies for College Success: A Focus on Self ... - Myron H. Dembo, Helena Seli Online learning: It’s different The number of online educational offerings has exploded in recent years, but their rapid rise has spawned a critical question: Can such “virtual” classes cut through the maze of distractions — such as email, the Internet, and television — that face students sitting at their computers? The solution, Harvard researchers say, is to test students early and often. By interspersing online lectures with short tests, student mind-wandering decreased by half, note-taking tripled, and overall retention of the material improved, according to Daniel Schacter, the William R. Kenan Jr. Professor of Psychology, and Karl Szpunar, a postdoctoral fellow in psychology. Their findings are described in a paper published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. “What we hope this research does is show that we can use very strong, experimentally sound techniques to describe what works in online education and what doesn’t,” said Szpunar.
Data on whether and how students watch screencasts - Casting Out Nines Screencasting is an integral part of the inverted classroom movement, and you can find screencasting even among courses that aren’t truly flipped. Using cheap, accessible tools for making and sharing video to clear out time for more student-active work during class make screencasting very appealing. But does it work? Do screencasts actually help students learn? We have lots of anecdotal evidence that suggests it does, but it turns out there are actually data as well that point in this direction. There were two kinds of screencasts used in this intro engineering course: homework solution screencasts (where instructors just went over solutions to homework problems) and “mini-lecture” screencasts that were created to supplement a traditional classroom setting (students would identify the “muddiest point” at the end of a class session and the instructor would make a mini-lecture screencast targeted at that topic). This finding backs up my thoughts from this post.
The 60-Second Guide To Engaging Your Learners The 60-Second Guide To Engaging Your Learners In today's dynamic environment we know that you, as well as your learners are information overloaded and time poor. That makes time an obstacle to engaging and connecting with your audience. That's why you have to show learners at every step of the way that you respect and value their precious time. Besides the time factor, we all want to make learners excited, right? Keep reading to know how to do it effectively – in just 60-seconds, you will be able to engage your learners like never before. 1. Also, take a look at this presentation, where you can get ideas on how to make your courses more visual. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. eLearning courses need to be created with focus on the learner: Does the learner think your content is important? 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12.
25 Tips to Help You Survive and Thrive Your Freshman Year Printer-Friendly Version by Randall S. Hansen, Ph.D. How to Survive -- and Excel in -- Your College Years Perhaps you were class president in high school. Final Words of Advice for First-Year College Students You've done all the prep work -- you've gotten good grades in high school, scored well on a standardized test, and been accepted into the college you want to attend -- so enjoy all your hard work while laying the groundwork for a successful college career. Useful College Resources Here are some useful articles and links that you may find useful: See also my companion article published on our sister site, MyCollegeSuccessStory.com: Ways in Which College is Different From High School. Dr. Maximize your career and job-search knowledge and skills!
Online Student Retention Strategies: A Baker’s Dozen of Recommendations December 7, 2012 By: Michael Jazzar in Online Education Despite the tremendous growth of online education programs, student retention for online courses remains problematic. The attrition rate from online universities is often cited as 20% to 50% (Diaz, 2002). With startling percentages of students leaving online educational programs, the question becomes “What should an institution do to encourage, inspire, and retain students in its online educational programs?” 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. The foundational course provides opportunity for students to gain confidence and competence in their online learning. References Dagger, D., Wade, V. & Conlan, O., (2004), “A Framework for developing adaptive personalized eLearning”, E-Learn 2004, World Conference on E-Learning in Corporate, Government, Healthcare and Higher Education, Washington, D.C. Diaz, D. Michael Jazzar is the founder of Educational Service & Consulting and has extensive experience teaching online.
Motivating Adult Learners - Motivational Strategies Ames , C., & Archer, J. (1988). Achievement goals in the classroom: Students’ learning strategies and motivation processes. Journal of Educational Psychology, 80, 260–267. Ames , C. (1992a). Ames , C. (1992b). Archer, J. (1994). Atkinson, J.W. (1957). Bouffard, T., Boisvert, J., Vezeau, C., & Larouche, C. (1995). Covington , M.V. (2000). deCharms, R. (1968). Dweck, C.S. (1986). Eccles, J., Midgley, C., & Adler, T. (1984). Elliot, A.J., McGregor, H.A., & Gable, S.L. (1999). Elliot, A.J., & Harackiewicz, J.M. (1996). Graham, S., & Golan, S. (1991). Harackiewicz, J. Kaplan, A., & Midgley, C. (1997). Midgley, C. Miller, R., Greene, B., Montalvo, G., Ravindran, B., & Nicholls, J. (1996). Pintrich, P.R. (2000). Pintrich, P.R., Smith, D.A.F., Garcia, T., & McKeachie, W.J. (1991). Pintrich, P.R., & Garcia, T. (1991). Pintrich, P.R., & De Groot, E.V. (1990). Skaalvik, E.M., Vala´s, H., & Sletta, O. (1994). Wigfield, A., & Eccles, J. Wigfield, A., & Eccles, J.S. (1992). Wolters , C.A. (1998).
LEAP | High-Impact Practices A Brief Overview Excerpt from High-Impact Educational Practices: What They Are, Who Has Access to Them, and Why They Matter, by George D. Kuh (AAC&U, 2008) Chart of High-Impact Practices (pdf) High-Impact Educational Practices: A Brief Overview The following teaching and learning practices have been widely tested and have been shown to be beneficial for college students from many backgrounds. On many campuses, assessment of student involvement in active learning practices such as these has made it possible to assess the practices’ contribution to students’ cumulative learning. First-Year Seminars and Experiences Many schools now build into the curriculum first-year seminars or other programs that bring small groups of students together with faculty or staff on a regular basis. Learning Communities The key goals for learning communities are to encourage integration of learning across courses and to involve students with “big questions” that matter beyond the classroom.
3 Strategies to Engage Millennials – We Aren’t That Different As a millennial, I feel like we already have a bad reputation before even entering the workforce. People think that we’re lazy, have no attention span, spend all day on social media and that we don’t respect the workplace. Now I can’t speak for my whole generation but I know from my experiences with my peers that we’re multi-taskers, self-learners, resourceful, very comfortable with technology and we’re just as dedicated to adding value to the workplace as any generation before us. In the corporate world, people are buzzing about millennials; they want to know how to capture our attention and engage us with training. It’s exciting to see how training is evolving to incorporate learning strategies that millennials prefer to use like mobile, gaming, and video. Mobile LearningMillennials have grown up with mobile technology. It is exciting to see how training is changing to incorporate new technologies and learning techniques. Get 2 Free eBooks
8 Important Characteristics Of Adult Learners Adults are characterized by maturity, self-confidence, autonomy, solid decision-making, and are generally more practical, multi-tasking, purposeful, self-directed, experienced, and less open-minded and receptive to change. All these traits affect their motivation, as well as their ability to learn. So let’s see the adult learners' cognitive and social characteristics, and what instructional designers need to know in order to create the right course content and structure, and adjust their attitude. Self-directionAdults feel the need to take responsibility for their lives and decisions and this is why it’s important for them to have control over their learning. What other characteristics of adult learners would you like to add? You may also find useful the: Least but not last, I highly encourage you to see the following short video from the PC3 team focusing on Malcolm Knowles' theory of andragogy or adult learning. Get 2 Free eBooks Get the eLearning Industry's Articles in your inbox.
College Success Course | Achieving the Dream Students in the target population will enroll in one of several classes with embedded college success skills or a learning community that links a student success-type content with a degree requirement course. This intervention will increase persistence rates in developmental level Reading and Writing courses by embedding College Success strategies into current course curriculum without adding credits or cost to students. Instructors work as a Faculty Learning Community (FLC) and embed instruction and practice in some of the following College Success skills that were identified by our broad-based College Success Strategy Team (CCST) . This FLC collaboratively built a bank of college success oriented assignments that are modularized and can be adopted by other faculty. The assignments in our College Success Assignment Bank are tied to these specific Learning Outcomes identified by broad-based College Success Strategy Team: A. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. B. 1. 2. 3. C. Model B.
Student-Success Courses Hold Promise but Need Improvement, Study Finds - Students By Caitlin Peterkin In an effort to improve retention and graduation rates, many institutions offer "College 101" courses alongside traditional academic ones: The goal is to teach students skills for success in the campus environment. However, a recent study by the Community College Research Center at Columbia University's Teachers College has found that while such courses hold promise for improving students' completion rates, the models must be strengthened to achieve the intended effects. "These courses are prominent, but are not taken seriously," said Melinda M. Despite the popularity of student-success courses—according to two surveys cited by the report, 87 percent of institutions offer them and nearly half of first-year students take advantage—their outcomes are unclear, the report says. Courses tend to fall short because of a variety of factors, including structure and content, staffing choices, and duration, the report says. Of course, tight budgets can be a constraint.