Student Satisfaction | The Sloan Consortium

Rubrics: Constantly Seeking Quality

September 7, 2010 - 9:43am | by janetmoore

What's your favorite rubric?

Tags:

Using Community Clips & Power Point to Create an Effective Video Demonstration for Math, Statistics or Other Disciplines

Author Information

Author(s):

Dr. Paula Jones

Institution(s) or Organization(s) Where EP Occurred:

Eastern Kentucky University

Effective Practice Abstract/Summary

Abstract/Summary of Effective Practice:

Sometimes faculty members need the ability to use the chalk board in an online class room. There are times when the instructor wants to hand-write an example or demonstrate a problem being solved, just as they would in a face to face class. The Instructional Development Center at Eastern Kentucky University has combined the use of Power Point with a free screen capturing software provided by Microsoft call "Community Clips. The ultimate goal of using these combined software tools was to provide faculty members an efficient method that allowed them to record their voice and capture video of their hand written demonstrations of creating formulas, solving problems on screen, and/or provide written analysis in a quality video product for students to access easily through a streamed video or even a course management system. Faculty seem to value that this type of quick production can be done in their home or office and there is no expensive equipment or studio required.

Description of the Effective Practice

Description of the Effective Practice:

When teaching math, statistics or English online, it is vital that faculty members have a quick and effective method for sharing with students methods to solve problems or view hand-written demonstrations of formula writing or even provide hand-written edits via video. With the budget constraints at many of the higher education institutions today, sometimes the software and technology skills needed to create this type of video could prevent faculty members from developing good quality video clips that demonstrated these skills for students to access and review. By combining Powerpoint with "Community Clips," (Community Clips is a free add-in from Microsoft), faculty members can quickly develop rich and powerful videos that allow them the ability to record their voice, write freely on slides and create videos for students to review to develop their understanding of calculations, statistics or even review and listen to recorded/written feedback on an edited document. In fact, with a couple of quick steps, faculty members become empowered to capture slides in a video format while they use the writing tools available within Powerpoint to write freely on individual slides. At the same time, faculty members can record their voice to enhance the video demonstration. A basic example of a final product using Power Point and Community Clips can be found at: http://www.people.eku.edu/jonesp/PPT%20with%20Writing%20ToolExample.wmv. Once the faculty member is aware of the benefits of this free add-in to Power Point, they can then share it with their students and have students demonstrate their own problem solving skills by capturing their slides, adding their own edits to a body of text or use the writing tools in Power Point to write their own solution on the individual slides. The student can do all of this while they record their own voice to explain their steps and submit their video clips as a final product for evaluation by the instructor. By using Community Clips with Power Point, the most powerful result is that the user has the ability to "write" freely on the screen while the user records their voice to the slides. The final product is always a Windows Media Video (but can be altered to a another video format using a free online resource, such as Zamzar) -- and in 2 clicks the user or developer has a rich, final product to share.

Supporting Information for this Effective Practice

Evidence of Effectiveness:

The evidence of effectiveness is clear. 1. Power Point is a fairly popular software and most educational systems have access to it. 2. Community Clips is very easy to use -- just 2 button (start and stop recording); the software automatically renders out the product as a WMV file. 3. This add-in software is provided free from Microsoft office. 4. If an organization needed the final product rendered in another format, they could use a free file conversion resource, such as Zamzar, to make the conversion. 4. Community Clips can be used in all MS Office products to generate video demonstrations of the software. At the same time, the user could minimize the MS Office software and use Community Clips to capture other web sites or tools.

How this practice improves pillar(s):

1. When students see the faculty's quick video demonstrations of formulas, problems being solved, edits, or written examples -- they report that the "teacher is back in classroom." 2. Providing small videos in online classes allow students to access and review the demonstration repeatedly, as needed to understand the content or methods that are demonstrated.

Equipment necessary to implement Effective Practice:

The faculty member needs Powerpoint software (2003 or later is recommended). Community Clips can be downloaded free from the following site: http://www.officelabs.com/projects/communityclips/Pages/Default.aspx. (Optional) To help with using the writing tools effectively in Powerpoint, faculty members may want to purchase a Bamboo Writing Tool. Examples can be found at the following site: http://graphicssoft.about.com/od/hardware/ss/wacom-bamboo-2009.htm

Estimate the probable costs associated with this practice:

$0 -- Community Clips is a free add-in for Microsoft Office products. If the Bamboo Writing tool is purchased, it has an estimated cost of $75 or less.

Relation to other Pillars:

Faculty satisfaction is high for this type of product development. It is very easy to use and if the video clips are kept small, they can be uploaded directly into a course management system. Faculty feel empowered to talk to their online students while providing written demonstrations of examples they would normally show in class.

References, supporting documents:

Community Clips is a free add-in provided by Microsoft at the following site: http://www.officelabs.com/projects/communityclips/Pages/Default.aspx Zamzar is a free file conversion resource and is available at: http://www.zamzar.com/ Bamboo Writing Tools are available through office supply stores. Examples located at http://graphicssoft.about.com/od/hardware/ss/wacom-bamboo-2009.htm

Useful Links:

Example of Using Powerpoint with Community Clips

Contact(s) for this Effective Practice

Effective Practice Contact:

Dr. Paula Jones

Email this contact:

paula.jones@eku.edu

Tags:

Student Satisfaction

Announcing 2010 Effective Practice Awards

July 6, 2010 - 6:13pm | by janetmoore

Sloan-C Honors Effective Practices in Online and Blended Education

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Tags:

GradeGuru: Bringing peer-support and collaboration to online learning with web 2.0

Award Winner:

2010 Sloan-C Effective Practice Award

Collection:

Vendor EPs

Author Information

Author(s):

Emily Sawtell, Senior Director of Student Innovations, McGraw-Hill Higher Education

Institution(s) or Organization(s) Where EP Occurred:

hundreds of universities across the US and UK

Effective Practice Abstract/Summary

Abstract/Summary of Effective Practice:

Through ethnographic research into student study habits and their use of technology, the idea was born for a collaborative online application that translates students’ skills in using social media (Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and the like) into constructive behaviors within an educational context. This web 2.0 study-tool is called GradeGuru, a free knowledge sharing network, where college students can share and find class-specific study materials, collaborate, engage in peer-review and build their academic reputations to earn rewards, internships and career opportunities. GradeGuru’s university and class specific communities provide a relevant and intuitive social learning environment for thousands of students from over 300 universities. In many ways, the effective practitioners here are students - either with instructor guidance/ assistance or directly, students are using GradeGuru to help themselves:

Accessing peer-support and a class community from whom they can learn and get constructive feedback
Improving their study methods by learning from others
Increasing their confidence and engagement in the course by sharing with others
Exposing themselves to multiple ways of thinking about course concepts
Building a sense of their own academic achievements, progress and profile

Description of the Effective Practice

Description of the Effective Practice:

GradeGuru is facilitating the practice of knowledge sharing, peer support and online study groups. Students are increasing their exposure to course-specific materials, getting a fellow learners’ perspective, giving thoughtful feedback on each others’ study materials, receiving encouragement and increasing retention.

This web 2.0 tool offers students access to a breadth of peer-generated study materials:

• Mind-maps showing their understanding of how concepts hang together

• Lecture notes with their interpretation and follow-up questions

• Study guides, capturing the key themes of the course

• Extra readings and bibliographies

• Other materials that helped them succeed in the course, such as flash cards and pneumonic devices

Students on GradeGuru are:

Exploring other students’ study methods and materials from peers whose learning style works for them, from amongst their classmates and/ or other students in similar courses across the country. Students are getting ideas for improving their study methods, finding new ways of preparing for lessons and assessments, seeking inspiration and determining what’s expected in their classes to build their confidence.
Sharing their own study guides and materials to help others, giving their perspective on how the course concepts hang together, what they think is important and their methods for absorbing and applying the concepts.
Receiving constructive feedback from their peers on how to improve or how else they might approach a concept.
Building your academic status and confidence through peer-recognition. The more students contribute materials and ideas, the more feedback they receive and the better their chances of becoming a peer-recognized “Guru.” As Gurus and recognized thought leaders in their study methods, these students are offered career opportunities through the site and its corporate partners, including internships and full-time positions.
Students are making correct academic citations a part of their ongoing everyday practice using our Citation Manager tool which automatically helps them capture and structure their sources.

Professors are encouraging the use of the site by:

Giving students extra credit for contributing study materials and feedback
Including GradeGuru in their syllabus and curriculum, for example, requiring students to share their class notes, share their study guides and requiring feedback on student work

Supporting Information for this Effective Practice

Evidence of Effectiveness:

GradeGuru’s effectiveness has been and continues to be measured in several ways with various metrics:

1) Member Surveys and Focus Groups: over the last 18 months we engaged an objective, external Professor of Education to conduct independent research into the impact GradeGuru is having on students’ study habits. We intend to look at this data both longitudinally and point-in-time. The analysis of this research is being completed presently, but the early output shows GradeGuru has had an overwhelming positive impact and effect on student behaviors and sentiment towards their course work. We will be publishing the full research approach and findings in the Fall, but have included a summary of high-level preliminary findings below.

2) Site Statistics: the growth of the site is testament to its reception by students and faculty. GradeGuru has very high page-views, long average site visit durations and very low bounce rates versus other web-sites; indicating our visitors are impressed when they come across the site, and once they become members they visit often, and engage deeply with the content and tool

3) Unsolicited feedback: students often contact us directly through the site to express their opinions, give us suggestions on how the site can be improved, etc. Some quotes from these emails are shared below in “How this practice improves the pillars” – collectively they indicate that students’ practice of using GradeGuru is having a positive effect on their study habits, their engagement with the concepts and their self-perception in an academic context.

Early Findings from Our Member Research Survey*

* Please refer to the Supporting Documents section for research approach and validity details

Our early findings show directional support for some of hypotheses on the value GradeGuru will add for students. Wheeler in 2002 established that “Students feel they gain more out of collaborative discussions via electronic communication as it is faster and more efficient than current methods.” Our findings support this claim and more specifically begin to indicate the effect GradeGuru is having on student outcomes, including:

Increased levels of student engagement with course concepts: Our hypothesis was that students may be more engaged in preparing and creating their study materials and thus more engaged with course concepts when they know other students will be reviewing their work. In our survey 79% of regular GradeGuru contributors** and 66% of students who had ever contributed materials to the site** agreed** or strongly agreed** that “Because I share my notes, I am more careful when putting my notes together.” 77% of regular users of the site** and 66% of students who had used materials on the site at least once respectively agreed or strongly agrees that “Looking at other students’ notes on GradeGuru gives me new ideas for my classes.”
Greater student confidence with their coursework: For many years educational researchers have been studying the implications of student collaboration and its potential to improve student self-perceptions. (Wheeler 2002). 70% and 59% of regular contributors and students who have contributed at least once respectively agreed or strongly agreed that “Knowing other people are looking at my notes makes me feel proud.” 57% of regular users agree or strong agree that “Knowing I can refer to notes on GradeGuru makes me less anxious about my classes.”
Increased peer-support: 99% of regular users of the site and 61% of students who have ever used the site agree or strongly agree that “Seeing the feedback and ratings on notes other students have posted to GradeGuru has been helpful for studying purposes”, strongly suggesting that students are reflecting on how their classmates are approaching their studying and on how their peers perceive those methods. It is interesting that students look at feedback on others’ work has been even more helpful than direct feedback – 56% of regular contributors and 50% of those who ever contributed agreed or strongly agreed that “Getting feedback and ratings on notes I've uploaded to GradeGuru has been helpful for studying purposes.” This offers early directional support for our assertion about the importance of open feedback and access to all peer-review of all materials, not just one-to-one review approaches.
Improved student performance: 68% of regular and occasional users agreed or strongly agreed that “When I look at other students’ notes I get ideas for improving my study methods.” 79% of regular users agreed or strongly agreed that “GradeGuru is helpful when I don’t understand something.” 68% of regular GradeGuru users and 58% who had used the site once or more agreed or strongly agreed that “Looking at other students’ notes on GradeGuru helps me work out what is important in the course.” 76% and 67% respectively strongly agreed or agreed that “GradeGuru is helpful when I don’t know where to start.”

Summary of the Perspective of Students who Access Other Students' Study Materials on GradeGuru

	% of Students who Regularly Use Other Students' Materials on GradeGuru Who Agree or Strongly Agree with the Statement
**Notes	**Includes users who visit monthly, weekly or daily to view notes. Agree and strongly agree were options 1 and 2 on a 5 point scale.
Statement
Looking at other students’ notes on GradeGuru gives me new ideas for my classes	77%
reading other students' notes posted to GradeGuru has been helpful for studying purposes.	81%
When I look at other students’ notes I get ideas for improving my study methods	68%
Looking at other students’ notes on GradeGuru helps me work out what is important in the course	68%
GradeGuru is helpful when I don’t understand something	79%
Knowing I can refer to notes on GradeGuru makes me less anxious about my classes	57%
GradeGuru is helpful when I don’t know where to start	76%
Seeing the feedback and ratings on notes other students have posted to GradeGuru has been helpful for studying purposes	99%
Control question: Looking at other students’ notes on GradeGuru makes me feel overwhelmed	24%
Control question: Looking at other students’ notes on GradeGuru makes me confused	19%
Control Question: I do not like looking at other students’ notes	13%

Summary of the Perspective of Students who Share Their Study Materials on GradeGuru

	% of Regular Contributors of Notes that Agree or strongly agree with the statement	% of Students who have contributed notes once or more who Agree/ Strongly agree
Notes	Includes users who share notes monthly, weekly or daily to view notes Agree and strongly agree were options 1 and 2 on a 5 point scale	Agree and strongly agree were options 1 and 2 on a 5 point scale
Statement
Knowing other people are looking at my notes makes me feel proud	70%	59%
Getting feedback and ratings on notes I've uploaded to GradeGuru has been helpful for studying purposes	56%	50%
Because I share my notes, I am more careful when putting my notes together	79%	66%
Control question: Sharing my notes has no impact on my studying	36%	37%

How this practice improves pillar(s):

Access: GradeGuru ensures all students, including non-traditional, mature age, part-time students and those in distance learning/ online courses get equal access to peer-support. Particularly where students do not have a face-to-face relationship with their peers, or naturally developed friendships in an on-campus environment, the lack of support and community engagement can result in students feeling isolated. GradeGuru brings class communities, knowledge sharing and peer-feedback to students who might not otherwise have access to these opportunities. It makes academic collaboration more efficient even for those in traditional classroom settings. Some students have always found ways to get help from their peers, forming study groups etc. Others have been left out. GradeGuru makes sure everyone has equal access to shared knowledge and support.

Faculty satisfaction: GradeGuru is in many ways about students helping each other and themselves. The site is very intuitive and requires little to no faculty support or training. It was built using the internet concepts students and many faculty are already familiar with – sharing documents (like sharing photos on Facebook), sharing ideas (like on blogs), giving ratings and feedback (like on Amazon, eBay, major press/ media sites and blog commentary), building up status and a profile (like on Facebook, Experts Exchange, Yelp and other social media sites). Even for faculty who are not comfortable with technology, it is a tool they can share with their students just by distributing the www.gradeguru.com URL and let students work it out for themselves. Of course for interested faculty, GradeGuru runs WebEx sessions, has 24 hour turn around support and also has a network of campus ambassadors, students who are well versed on the site and are ready to answer faculty and peer questions. GradeGuru is moreover a time and cost effective way for faulty to be able to facilitate additional support in their classrooms in an intimidation-free environment. Hundreds of faculty have taken an explicit interest in GradeGuru and are encouraging its use amongst their students.

Learning effectiveness: GradeGuru helps build a sense of connection and community for students across their classes and offers alternative perspectives, increasing students’ time spent with learning concepts and materials. By rewarding students for productive study habits, GradeGuru increases their engagement and their concentration and pride in creating their own learning materials. Giving peer-feedback gets students reflecting on the concepts and methods and viewing receiving feedback helps students assess and review. We hypothesize that both the peer-to-peer, voyeuristic nature of the class communities and the support/ comradely feel of the site combine to make it compelling.

Scale: GradeGuru is free and accessed through a web-browser. It is easily scalable. GradeGuru is already nationwide present in 300+ US universities (as well as active in the UK). In terms of GradeGuru’s role in helping institutions scale their online courses, GradeGuru helps take on some of the support role that otherwise falls to faculty and adjuncts – leveraging the other students in the class. While there is no substitute for instructor contact, having peer-support as an alternative/ back-up or in addition makes for engaged and successful students by cost-effective means.

Student Satisfaction: The feedback from students on how GradeGuru is impacting their studies has been overwhelmingly positive. Our survey data indicates GradeGuru makes students feel more confident about their courses; it helps them when they don’t understand something, easing the frustration that can occur if students are stuck and it gives them new ideas for their classes. Our more qualitative feedback indicates students really enjoy their site experience and the sense of achievement they get from being awarded the status of “Guru.”

Quotes derived from emails from our student members:

“I enjoy GradeGuru very much. It is a very unique site that really helps many students stay on top of their classes.” Bowling Green State University student
“I really appreciate this service. It allows me to connect with other students and get help from a student's perspective, which is often easier to identify with than that of a professor.” Saint Louis University student
“I am glad that I contributed because it has improved my study habits.” University of Michigan student
“It’s nice to see the styles other students use when taking notes. It shows me what is effective and how I can incorporate better note-taking techniques into my own studying.” University of Wisconsin student
“I think the rewards program is a great tool in helping students understand that their hard work will pay off. It provides an incentive for students to contribute to the site and to ultimately help their peers.” Penn State student
“As a senior in college, I am currently looking for a full time job after graduation. With that being said, the Guru Careers program is a great way to hear about job opportunities and network with professionals in my field of study.” University of Delaware student
“I am happy I get to impact some student out there that may learn a thing or two from my acting notes.” New York University student
“I think it’s a great idea to have students sharing notes-and I love being able to look at stuff other kids have written and compare that to my own ideas.” University of Illinois student
“Knowing that I will be uploading my notes onto GradeGuru has forced me to take better and more detail oriented notes. Since my notes have increased in quality, my grades have gone up.” University of Delaware student
“GradeGuru has helped me maintain my grades because of the valuable resources it has to offer. All of the notes and tools I can use really help me when it is time to study for an exam.” Jenn Sague, Penn State
Other student feedback, university/ college unknown:
- “GradeGuru made me think more carefully about the way I take notes and organize my exam preparation.”
- “GradeGuru is a great tools for students by students. It makes me feel good to know that I contributed to the success of other students in courses that I have already taken.”

Equipment necessary to implement Effective Practice:

The only equipment needed is a computer with internet access, a browser and a flash reader which can be downloaded for free. Part of the functionality of GradeGuru is that it takes content of any format and renders it in flash - so students and faculty can share materials created with any application they usually work in (word processors, mind mapping tools, flash card applications, graphical tools, quantitative tools, etc) and everyone else can view those materials through GradeGuru without needing that application.

Estimate the probable costs associated with this practice:

Access to GradeGuru and its associated tools is free. Moreover, getting started is simple and using the site is very intuitive – in our experience it requires no training. Students can set up an account in under a minute or just login using their existing Facebook account. Their class communities are ready and waiting – no cost, limited set-up.

Relation to other Pillars:

please see above regarding how this practice improves all pillars

References, supporting documents:

Details of the above survey results are yet to be published – this data represents our early analysis of our survey, to which there were a total of 732 undergraduate student respondents from across the US at a spectrum of 2 year and 4 year universities, in a wide range of majors, including freshman to seniors. Of these surveyed students, 154 were in the category of regular contributors of student materials to the site** as defined above, 433 had contributed to the site once or more**, 189 were regular users of others’ study materials on the site** as defined above and 451 had used other students’ materials once**. The survey was conducted and data was collected by an external party. This data represents the findings of survey 3. The final research report will include investigation into the relationship between students’ uses of GradeGuru and their studying strategies and attitudes at three time points across three surveys: 1) baseline (beginning of academic year 2009), 2) mid-year and 3) end of academic year.

Wheeler, M. (2002), Can Web-Based Environments Talk the Talk?, Sheffield Hallam University, 2002 http://www.networkedlearningconference.org.uk/past/nlc2002/proceedings/papers/46.htm

Useful Links:

GradeGuru

GradeGuru Tools – the free student app store

GradeGuru Blog – the latest updates and edu tech news

GradeGuru iPhone Apps – Apple App Store

Other Comments:

Given its innovative use of web 2.0 technologies for education, GradeGuru has been much discussed in the press and in academic circles. For example:

Mashable http://mashable.com/2009/05/05/gradeguru/
US News & World Report http://www.usnews.com/articles/education/best-colleges/2010/05/12/5-social-media-tools-for-college-students.html
Inside Higher Ed http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2009/08/05/notesharing?no_mobile_redirect=true

Contact(s) for this Effective Practice

Effective Practice Contact:

Angela Santiago

Email this contact:

angela_santiago@McGraw-Hill.com

Effective Practice Contact 2:

Emily Sawtell

Email contact 2:

emily_sawtell@McGraw-Hill.com

Tags:

"Automatic" gradesheets: A Holy Grail for simultaneously improving faculty and student satisfaction

Award Winner:

2010 Sloan-C Effective Practice Award

Author Information

Author(s):

James T. Fatzinger, M.Div., MBA

Institution(s) or Organization(s) Where EP Occurred:

Metropolitan State University (Minneapolis and St. Paul, MN)

Effective Practice Abstract/Summary

Abstract/Summary of Effective Practice:

It might not be too challenging to enhance faculty satisfaction: reduce class size, increase opportunities to interact with students, eliminate (or at least drastically reduce) paperwork, etc. Improving student satisfaction may be even easier: improve the quality of feedback as well as the timeliness with which the feedback is provided. It is clear, however, that the means of enhancing the latter (student satisfaction) can be at odds with the means of improving the former (faculty satisfaction). Providing higher quality feedback more quickly can seem like an onerous burden in a context of steadily increasing class sizes and "extracurricular" demands. "Automatic" gradesheets, which drastically reduce the time needed to return high quality feedback to students may be an educational Holy Grail.

Description of the Effective Practice

Description of the Effective Practice:

The idea is disarmingly simple. Use the functionality of two (2) programs with which most faculty are already adept: Microsoft Excel ® and Microsoft Word ® to create "automatic" gradesheets requiring no more than a mouse click (see K.H.'s comments below) to generate feedback based on best practices and 4-stroke "shortcuts" to insert often-used comments (color-coded, if so desired) into electronically submitted student papers. The supporting "architecture" for the practice is the seamless, transparent integration from assignment description to a rubric with four (4) behavioral anchors for each graded item to a feedback form that "automatically" provides feedback on each item described in the rubric and calculates a grade for the assignment.

Supporting Information for this Effective Practice

Evidence of Effectiveness:

Existing information makes it easier to provide quantitative evidence of the effectiveness of the automatic gradesheets with regard to the "student satisfaction" pillar.

Metropolitan State University uses an instrument called an "Instructional Improvement Questionnaire" in all classes, all modalities (traditional classroom, fully online, and "Web-enhanced" [hybrid]) at the end of every semester. Instructor behaviors have a strong, direct influence on seventeen (17) items on the IIQ; e.g., "Demonstrated mastery of subject matter," "Explained course requirements and evaluation criteria," etc.

Student evaluations of two (2) items: "Provided helpful feedback on student assignments" and "Informed students of their progress in time to correct deficiencies," though, stand out in stark contrast to the other fifteen. University-wide (Fall, 2009, N=8,889 and Spring, 2010, N= 9,411), the mean on a 5-point Likert scale where 1 represents the best possible rating and 5 the worst possible rating for the top-scoring fifteen (15) items was 1.40 for Fall semester and 1.41 for Spring semester. Contrast this with the scores for "Provided helpful feedback on student assignments": Fall, 2009 = 1.64; Spring, 2010 = 1.65 and "Informed students of their progress in time to correct deficiencies": Fall, 2009 = 1.67; Spring, 2010 = 1.70!

Ratings on these same items for the instructor piloting the use of the automatic gradesheets are significantly better: 1.44 for "Provided helpful feedback on student assignments" as opposed to the University-wide means of 1.64 (Fall, 2009) and 1.65 (Spring, 2010). Even better results are indicated for the item, "Informed students of their progress in time to correct deficiencies" -- the average for 21 classes over 14 semesters for the instructor using the automatic gradesheets was 1.43, compared to the University-wide means of 1.67 (Fall, 2009) and 1.70 (Spring, 2010). Evidence suggests that more useful feedback was returned to students more quickly using the automatic gradesheets -- resulting in improved student satisfaction.

Unfortunately, Metropolitan State University doesn't collect comparable information from faculty, so the evidence of the effectiveness of the automatic gradesheets comes in the form of qualitative comments like those below:

K.H. (tenured professor, 4 year university): "I cut my grading time by approximately 50% by using the automatic grading sheets. Since I use many of the same sentences to provide feedback to numerous students on the same assignments, the automatic grade sheets allow me to prove accurate feedback by the 'click' of my mouse."
M.C. (tenure-track professor, community college): "Automatic gradesheets have helped me to better communicate with my students. My feedback is more consistent and it is always in line with the rubric. Additionally, with the new process I provide feedback on all levels of the rubric -- whether it is positive or negative comments. That is a change that I enjoy. Previously, I spent far too much time letting students know what needed improvement. The automatic gradesheets allow me a seamless way of also letting students know what they did well."
A.B. (community faculty): "The automatic gradesheets were very helpful for providing consistent feedback. The programmed comments were useful and easily customizable. The gradesheets reduced the time it took for me to write feedback for each assignment and provided useful information for the students. I will continue to use these tools.

How this practice improves pillar(s):

1. Improve faculty satisfaction by reducing time spent on repetitive grading tasks. The Pareto Principle applies to grading; the vast majority of faculty time is spent commenting on and correcting a relatively small number of frequently repeated errors. The "automatic gradesheet" reduces faculty time spent on this low-reward activity dramatically!

2. Improve student satisfaction by delivering high-quality (totally customizable) feedback on assignments in a fraction of the time required without the use of automatic feedback (see "Evidence of Effectiveness" section).

3. A primary purpose of feedback is to help students close the gap between goal (what a given assignment purports to assess) and performance (the degree to which the work submitted meets the assessment criteria). Enhance learning effectiveness by:

a. increasing the "transparency" from assignment description to rubric to (automatic) gradesheet,

b. providing formative feedback focusing on improving gaps in performance, and

c. enabling students to use feedback to increase self-regulation and improve performance on similar, future assignments.

4. Scalability: This practice can be implemented in steps. Faculty can collaborate on developing common descriptions for assignments (e.g., case studies) and students can be engaged in developing evaluation criteria. New automatic gradesheets can be brought online each semester until a complete collection has been developed.

Equipment necessary to implement Effective Practice:

I am an ardent advocate for keeping costs low by using readily available resources. All that is needed to implement the automatic gradesheet most faculty already have -- a computer and Microsoft Office ®!

Estimate the probable costs associated with this practice:

Most instructors will already have access to Microsoft Office ®; the only other "cost" would be the time needed to become proficient with the specific processes in Excel ® and Word ®. Additional cost (also in the form of time) would be needed if the faculty member is not familiar with Excel ® and to enter her/his detailed feedback into Word ®. Attending a single webinar and/or following detailed, step-by-step handouts with screenshots should bring any faculty member up to speed in a few hours.

Relation to other Pillars:

Automatic gradesheets are a win-win-win-win proposition, positively impacting four (4) pillars.

· By reducing faculty tedium associated with repetitive aspects of grading, faculty satisfaction is improved.

· By expediting the feedback process and developing feedback verbiage based on best practices, student satisfaction is increased.

· When students receive higher quality feedback more quickly, learning effectiveness is optimized.

· And the entire process is both scalable and 100% customizable (assignments, comments, weighting, etc).

References, supporting documents:

2009-10 college prices. CollegeBoard. Retrieved June 24, 2010 from http://www.collegeboard.com/student/pay/add-it-up/4494.html.

Blase, J.J. (1986). A qualitative analysis of sources of teacher stress: Consequences for Performance. American Education Research Journal. Spring, 23:1, 13-40, http://www.jstor.org/stable/1163040.

Brookhart, S. (2007). Feedback That Fits. Educational Leadership, 65(4), 54-59. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database.

Certo, J., and Fox, J. (2002). Retaining Quality Teachers. The High School Journal, 86(1), 57-75. doi: 10.1353/hsj.2002.0015.

Chong Leng, T. (2005). Mail merge: A function to improve efficiency…beyond the generation of customized feedback documents. Decision Sciences Journal of Innovative Education, 3(1), 151-159. doi:10.1111/j.1540-4609.2005.00059.x.

German, K. (1990). Computerized instructional responses: An option for providing student feedback. Association for Communication Administration Bulletin, (74), 83-91. Retrieved from Communication & Mass Media Complete database.

Gibbs, G and Simpson, C. (2004). Does your assessment support your students' learning? Open University. Retrieved June 19, 2010 from http://artsonline.tki.org.nz/documents/GrahamGibbAssessmentLearning.pdf.

Hattie, J. and Timperley, H. (2007). The power of feedback. Review of Educational Research, 77(1), 81-112. doi: 10.3102/003465430298487

IIQ Results, University Level, Fall 2009. Obtained from Metropolitan State University Department of Institutional Research June 28, 2010.

IIQ Results, University Level, Spring, 2010. Obtained from Metropolitan State University Department of Institutional Research June 28, 2010.

Jones, S. (1998) Student and staff appraisal - how to give effective feedback. Management in Education, (1 January), 12(4), 23-25. doi. DOI: 10.1177/089202069801200408.

Lipnevich, A. A. & Smith, J. K. (2009). Effects of differential feedback on students' examination performance. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 15(4), 319-333. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0017841

McIntyre, F. S., Hoover, G. A. & Gilbert, F. W. (May 1997). Evaluating oral presentations using behaviorally anchored rating scales. Academy of Educational Leadership Journal, 1(2), 1-6.Retrieved June 22, 2010, from Academic OneFile.

Nias, J. (1981). Satisfaction and dissatisfaction: Herzberg's 'Two-Factor' hypothesis revisited. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 2(3), 235-246. Retrieved June 22, 2010 from JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/1392621.

Nicol, D. and Macfarlane-Dick, D. (date unknown). Rethinking formative assessment in higher education: A theoretical model and seven principles of good feedback practice. A briefing paper from The Higher Education Academy (Scotland). Retrieved June 19, 2010 from http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/assets/York/documents/ourwork/assessment/web0015_rethinking_formative_assessment_in_he.pdf.

Reybold, L. (2005). Surrendering the dream: Early career conflict and faculty dissatisfaction thresholds. Journal of Career Development, 32(2), 107-121. Retrieved June 22, 2010 from doi:10.1177/0894845305279163.

Useful Links:

Interview with Jim Fatzinger

Other Comments:

I will be presenting the "automatic" gradesheets in the workshop titled, "The Holy Grail: Increasing student satisfaction while decreasing faculty time spent on repetitious grading tasks"

Contact(s) for this Effective Practice

Effective Practice Contact:

James T. (Jim) Fatzinger

Email this contact:

effsolns@mindspring.com

Tags:

Resources to assist educators with the delivery of student workshops

Award Winner:

2010 Sloan-C Effective Practice Award

Author Information

Author(s):

Carol Elston

Institution(s) or Organization(s) Where EP Occurred:

University of Leeds, UK

LearnHigher CETL

Effective Practice Abstract/Summary

Abstract/Summary of Effective Practice:

The LearnHigher Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL) is a partnership of 16 UK Universities committed to improving student learning through research and resource development. Focussing on 20 areas of academic skills development, from academic writing to visual practices, the project outcomes include research papers, conference workshops and a coherent open access website showcasing a range of online resources for both students and staff. Entering the final year of the 5-year project, the dilemma was how to capture the expertise of the LearnHigher partners and their colleagues. The aim was to find a way to share experience, making clear connections between resources and guidance, whilst harnessing the personal communication style and expertise of the partners. This resulted in a collaborative project to develop a suite of 20 video resources designed to enable an educator, regardless of location, to deliver a student workshop covering a specific area of skills development. Video plays a central role in communication, with each slide within the resource structured around a video clip; by capturing speech and expression the clips are personal, echoing the way in which academics share teaching expertise and knowledge with colleagues. The resulting resources are open access and available via the internet (www.learnhigher.ac.uk/videoresources).

Description of the Effective Practice

Description of the Effective Practice:

The resources are designed to cater for a range of teaching styles and requirements, from full workshops to individual activities. Each resource includes a range of video clips describing workshop format, ice-breakers, activities, frequently ask questions and tips; the aim is to inform, encourage and inspire. The videos vary from talking head style clips, snap shots of workshops, student activity sessions and interviews. This format enables tutors to view the staging of workshops, visually stimulating ideas and providing tips and techniques on delivery. By capturing speech and expression the clips are personal, echoing the way in which academics share teaching expertise and knowledge with colleagues when in a face to face situation. Probably the most important element of each resource is the range of downloadable presentations, handouts and lesson plans. Those using the resources are encouraged to take as much or as little as they require and to change and adapt the content to meet the needs of their students.

Supporting Information for this Effective Practice

Evidence of Effectiveness:

The project was launched in March 2009 with a remit to develop 20 resources by July 2010. At the time of writing (June 2010), 18 resources have been completed 10 of which have been uploaded to the website. The LearnHigher website is currently being redeveloped and will be re-launched at the end of July 2010 with all 20 resources in situ. The learning development community within the UK has had access to each resource as it has been uploaded and feedback has been positive. Website statistics show extensive access and evaluation comments show that the resources meet the needs of educators. The resources are also available through the UK OER repository Jorum Open and received 3rd place in the Jorum competition for educational resources 2009. As the project nears completion we are keen to share the content as well as receive feedback. As well as requesting comments from users we will also be carrying out a full evaluation programme during the 2010/11 academic year.

How this practice improves pillar(s):

This initiative supports effective practice as defined by the five pillars; in particular the support of ease of access. It achieves this by supplying a ‘one stop shop’ for educators who want to include skills development within their teaching. The resource has been designed so that a tutor can dip in and out of the slides opting to watch relevant video clips, developing their ideas and integrating them into their teaching. The resource is available to all, any time, any place and at no charge. The supporting materials can be downloaded and adapted saving both time and money. This resource may not provide all the answers but it is an excellent starting point – the next best thing to spending twenty minutes with someone who has done it before and is willing to share their expertise and their practical activities with you.

Equipment necessary to implement Effective Practice:

To utilise these resources the only requirement is a computer with internet access and sound. The user also needs to be aware of the url which is www.learnhigher.ac.uk/videoresources.

Estimate the probable costs associated with this practice:

There is no financial cost associated with the use of the resources. The investment in time has been kept to the minimum by designing the resources to a template design; each resource has a similar look and feel with standard navigation.

Relation to other Pillars:

This project has also addressed the other 4 pillars by developing the skills of staff and ultimately students. Effective learning practices are being passed on by a few experts to many without being prescriptive or diluting individual teaching or learning styles. Research conducted by LearnHigher found that tutors find it time consuming to generate examples, exercises and activities to include in their teaching. This resource helps address this by providing a stimulus and examples for creativity in workshops thus promoting effective learning amongst faculty, staff and students. The resources helps tutors embed effective study skills into their teaching - many tutors are concerned that they do not have the learning development expertise to teach students topics such as report writing, referencing or note-taking; this resource passes on this expertise in a visually engaging and flexible way. It also helps experienced learning developers who may have to teach generic workshops about a range of learning practices which they may not be directly familiar with.

Useful Links:

Video resources for tutors

Interview with Carol Elston

Other Comments:

It is important to note that the team creating the resources are learning developers rather than media experts and as such the video clips should be viewed as a tool to share experience in an interesting and visual way rather than necessarily being judged on technical merit.

Contact(s) for this Effective Practice

Effective Practice Contact:

Carol Elston

Email this contact:

c.a.elston@leeds.ac.uk

Tags:

Commencement Speech at American Sentinel University

June 26, 2010 - 10:03am | by jbourne

On July 25, 2010, I gave the commencement speech at American Sentinel University in Denver. Here is the approximate text of the address:

Online education: why you are perfectly positioned to succeed in life

Thank you President Adams, Chief Executive Oliver, the faculty of American Sentinel University and honored guests for inviting me to speak today. It is pleasure to be here to provide a few thoughts on the occasion of this commencement.

Tags:

An Online Supplemental Instruction Tool Array

Award Winner:

2010 Sloan-C Effective Practice Award

Author Information

Author(s):

Lawrence Perez

Patrick Quigley

Candice Harrington

Institution(s) or Organization(s) Where EP Occurred:

Saddleback College

Effective Practice Abstract/Summary

Abstract/Summary of Effective Practice:

This effective practice is a methodology with results, where student feedback is used to continuously evolve a unique online learning environment. In this particular case developmental math students were asked to define issues and concerns for the purpose of understanding their specific needs. Using an action research approach, a strategy organically developed over several years where student input served as the mechanism of design. The result is a free unrestricted online supplemental instruction tool array called Algebra2go^TM developed by students enrolled in a traditional classroom setting.

With 17% of the nation’s college students being 35 years or older (TCOHE, 2009), traditional approaches to basic skills mathematics instruction may need to expand by creating learning experiences more relevant to the adult learner (Knowlton & Simms, 2008). As research has shown that an integral part of the educational process involves teachers as innovator, researcher, and change agent (Casazza & Silverman, 2000), one approach could be that teachers solicit student feedback as part of a self-evaluation process. Since external obligations such as those to employers and family in some cases hinders persistence (Tinto, 1993), extra effort should be made to assure that returning adult learners are part of the evaluation process. This information is essential for instructors attempting to alter their pedagogical models in order to meet the needs of these students. Given the recent origin of the online learning environment, this type of research in action can lead to entirely new ideas in instructional design. It should be noted that initially there was no intention of using technology to support student learning in this case. Only through defined student need did the tool array find its way to the online environment.

Description of the Effective Practice

Description of the Effective Practice:

In 1999 a researcher began his tenure at Saddleback College located in Southern California. While teaching developmental mathematics, he quickly became aware of the diversity and academic background among his students. At the end of that year the researcher felt the need for some self assessment as this could provide an effective source of feedback to improve practice (Travis, 1995). He decided to capture his lectures by acquiring a set of lecture notes from one of his top performing beginning algebra students. This document provided him a view of himself through the eyes of his student making him more aware of his own personal teaching style. Noting his student’s mistakes and personal annotations, led to the realization that students could teach him how to teach.

The following year the researcher used these student captured notes to guide him through his lectures refining a teaching style so that it complemented the learning styles of successful developmental math students. Informing students that he was engaged in this process of self assessment demonstrated that he was open to mutual interaction between teacher and student rather than a one way projection of information. This paved the way for sincere focus group interviews that were video recorded in May 2001.

A focus group of ten beginning algebra students agreed to allow the researcher to video tape them informally discussing issues focusing on their past experiences taking pre and beginning algebra courses. What was surprising was the degree to which the affective domain colored their perception of mathematics. Students referred to their past experiences using terms such as fear, anxiety, and even terror. Fortunately, these interviews also documented many of the specific causes of these emotional associations. Most students could trace the source of their fear and anxiety to specific events. After evaluating the captured video content, it was obvious to the researcher that teaching classroom skills would not increase the likelihood of success unless student affect was addressed in concert.

Soliciting student input was not limited to students within the classroom environment. As a matter of fact, the researcher’s most informative conversations with his students occurred prior to the beginning of the semesters. Meetings of this nature allowed him the opportunity to present himself more as a mentor rather than that mean math instructor that they see on the first day of class. This then sets up a semester of sincere exchanges of information that foster new ideas for presenting lecture material and secondly allows a clearer assessment of student need. Defined student issues such as fear, ability, family obligations, and time constraints placed on working students, are among many factors that led the researcher to develop an online delivery system that could potentially meet his students’ needs.

In this pedagogical mode, the approach was to capture the advantages of the online learning environment while being mindful to the student perception of the cold and mechanical nature of seeing mathematics on a computer screen. Therefore, providing learning resources in this environment required both contextualization and humanization in an effort to re-create the social emotional experience similar to what exists in the traditional classroom setting. Mutual interaction between teacher and student is maintained within the video lectures as the researcher portrays himself as a student character named “Charlie” whose somewhat humorous personality commingles with the emotions of students in this virtual world. Portraits of faculty, classified staff, real students, and tutors add to the mix to reveal a humanistic side of mathematics. Soothing color tones are also used to promote a calm learning online environment.

To accommodate different learning modalities, it was necessary to develop an array of online learning tools designed to function individually or collectively. This gives students full control of their learning experience and the opportunity to develop individualized learning schemes. Hand written lecture notes provide a natural less threatening portrayal of mathematics. Worksheets that mirror video presentations promote active learning. Video presentations that include both professor and student create a unique learning experience designed to maintain focus, alleviate anxiety, and draw students into the presentation. Homework sets with solutions provide extra practice. Online quizzes give students the opportunity to test their skills. Finally, online assessment quizzes that yield individualized reports allow students to check mastery skills of major topic areas.

Supporting Information for this Effective Practice

Evidence of Effectiveness:

In Spring of 2009, researchers attempted to assess the impact of the tool array on student affect through the use of 5-point Likert scale surveys. Three sections of pre-algebra students, enrolled in classes where they were encouraged to use the tool array, were asked to complete a survey at the beginning of the semester, and were asked to answer the same questions shortly before the end of the semester. The surveys had five questions in common.

1. On a scale of 1 to 5, how would you rate your level of anxiety about taking this pre-algebra math course? (1 = No Anxiety to 5 = Extreme Anxiety)

2. On a scale of 1 to 5, how would you rate your level of motivation to succeed in this pre-algebra course? (1 = No Motivation to 5 = Extreme Motivation)

3. On a scale from 1 to 5, rate the likelihood that you will enroll in an online math course here at the college. (1 = Not Likely to 5 = Very Likely)

4. On a scale from 1 to 5, rate the likelihood that you will transfer to a four year school after leaving the college. (1 = Not Likely to 5 = Very Likely)

5. On a scale from 1 to 5, rate the likelihood that you will pursue a career that involves a large amount of mathematics. (1 = No Way!!!! to 5 = Very Likely)

Seventy-nine students completed both surveys. The responses for the pre and post surveys were paired and tested for significant change using a two-tailed paired t-test with α = .05. The students expressed a significant reduction in anxiety over the course of the semester (0.399 point average decrease in score; p-value = 0.0089), as well as a significant improvement in motivational level (0.184 point average decrease in score; p-value = 0.0421). These were the results that the tool array was intended to produce. The greatest change was in the willingness to enroll in an online math class (2.867 point average increase in score; p-value < 0.0001). This suggested to the researchers that online tool arrays of this nature might serve as a means to help students transition from traditional classroom settings to classes in the online environment. The last two questions were intended to assess any long-term effects of using the tool array. Unsurprisingly, these did not show significant changes. The researchers did not expect these materials to radically change the career paths of large numbers of students. However the shifts, though small, were in the desired direction. Students expressed slightly more willingness to transfer to a four year school (0.019 point average increase in score; p-value: 0.8603) or pursue a math-intensive career (0.013 point average increase in score; p-value: 0.9142).

Ideally, these results would be compared to surveys submitted to a similar group of pre-algebra students who did not have access to the tool array. The researchers were unable to find such classes onsite since the website is available to everyone and has been well-publicized at their college. Future studies in collaboration with other schools is a possibility.

In addition to the Likert scale questions, the post-survey also included open-ended questions regarding the students’ usage of and reaction to the tool array. One question asked, “If you watch the videos, how do you use them? Do you watch it straight through, pause it, fast forward it, do you watch it with another student, do you watch them at home, etc.” The majority of students viewed the videos at home by themselves using this resource as a supplemental study tool. Several students watched the videos straight through racing the instructor and student character to the solution. In a few cases, students indicated that they preferred working alone rather than with another student. Darlene wrote, “I watch them alone because I don’t like the distraction of study groups or partners.”

Another open-ended question asked students, “If you use the website, how has it affected your attitude towards learning math on a computer?” Many students who used the website found the resources easier to use than expected relieving some of the anxiety they were experiencing. Eric wrote, “I was nervous coming into math for the first time in 12 years. With the addition of the site and its tools, it has helped me tremendously.” Sharron responded with, “The website is so helpful, especially to the student who works fulltime like me. It boosts up my interest in learning math.” These responses suggest to the research team, that due to the unrestricted nature of the tool array, the website might serve to help build self-confidence in mathematics with adult learners who are returning to school after several years.

Students were also asked to describe their feelings regarding the researcher’s portrayal of himself as a student character within the video presentations. Mathew responded, “It makes me feel more relaxed seeing you as the student for some reason.” David response was, “I can relate to Charlie. He reminds me of myself sitting in the classroom.” Sharron simply stated, “It made me laugh.” Karen’s response was, “What? I’m going to watch them now!”

Generally, student responses appeared to be positive with self-directed learners that carried with them some level of fear or math anxiety. Several top performing self-directed learners found the videos to be a bit annoying. Jackie responded with, “Charlie is a little distracting in an annoying way like some of the kids in the class.” Louise’s response was, “Charlie was ok at first, but it got a little old.” The fact that students with low levels of math anxiety did not find this video dynamic useful while those who were fearful of math did find it engaging suggested this video format was successfully addressing student affect.

How this practice improves pillar(s):

Student Satisfaction – Student feedback is at the core of this project. As this collected data is purely student centered obtained from students learning in both a face-to-face and online environment, student satisfaction itself drives the evolution of the online supplemental instruction tool array. The result is an unrestricted online bridge that appeals to many non-directed developmental math students leading them to become self-directed learners who can learn in both online and traditional math classroom environments. Understanding how this process occurs would likely be beneficial to collaborative efforts of instructional design where both student and developers work together to formulate new models for traditional, hybrid, and pure online learning environments.

Faculty Satisfaction – The methodology used in this body of work outlines an approach to the refinement of one’s personal teaching style. This approach can easily be initiated by engaging students in a mutual exchange of information. Should the process be replicated by faculty in other disciplines or in developmental math classrooms at other institutions, the outcome may differ from the results described in this project. The sharing of these results among faculty would be useful in identifying how students are satisfied in different disciplines and additionally different learning environments. This in turn could inspire new ideas that increase student success.

Learning Effectiveness – In addition to the solicitation of student feedback, electronic portfolios are collected mainly consisting of the students hand written exam work. None of the exams are multiple-choice and calculator usage is limited. These documents are used as a means of both evaluating the effectiveness of the projects online learning resources as well as designing new content. Analyzing students’ work to define common arithmetic errors allows the researcher to create new content while being mindful of these common mistakes. Secondly, these errors are conveyed to the students as well as other faculty members during faculty development events to increase awareness.

Equipment necessary to implement Effective Practice:

The result of this practice is free and unrestricted and can be used by anyone having a computer with internet access. With cases where internet access is an issue, the entire pre-algebra component can be delivered on a 4GB flash memory drive and the website in its entirety can be copied onto a DVD disc readable on recently manufactured computers.

Estimate the probable costs associated with this practice:

Depending on the type of learning resources developed, cost will vary. Video editing and production can be very expensive if you need to hire a crew. Tablet PC’s equipped with Camtasia software a very popular these days for creating digital content with a total cost of about $1500. Purchasing a $300 video camera is sufficient to capture individual or focus group interviews. A hosting service may be required to deliver content to users via the internet although video content can be delivered freely using the “YouTube” or “TeacherTube” websites. Numerous websites such as “issuu” offers a free service to publish your documents. To organize all the materials in a structured format, a dedicated knowledgeable person will be required to design a main home page preferably using your college as the hosting service.

Relation to other Pillars:

Scale – Up to this point the projects work has focused mainly around pre-algebra. Long term planning takes the work to higher level math courses. The development of the higher level content is dependent upon the lower level content for the purpose of remediation. As new content is created, a means of remediation will be provided using links that will direct learners to modules in lower level math courses. This bottom up scaling approach is planned to continue through higher level math courses.

Because the tool array is being developed modular in form topic by topic, the modules can easily be arranged supporting a variety of educational environments. They can be arranged in a manner to support contextualized learning in vocational education as students who enroll in these programs often require some level of math remediation. Additionally, being that developmental math courses in community colleges mirror much of the secondary curricula math content, the tool array as is can support K-12 institutions. Evidence of its use in this manner can be viewed on the Los Angeles Unified School District middle school “Vacation Resources” web page.

Access – Many returning adult students have not had a math class for several years. In some cases it has been more than twenty years. These students have often forgotten important arithmetic skills necessary for successful course completion which in some degree contributes to their fear of returning to school. Recent high school graduates have similar situations as they often do not take math their junior and senior years. Being this the case, when these students take the math placement exam here at the community college, they often place into a math course below their ability. Providing these students with free online resources gives them the opportunity to self-remediate building up confidence to take on the rigor of the college math classroom. In some cases, students have been able to test out of developmental math courses saving them time and money placing themselves closer to their educational goal.

References, supporting documents:

Casazza, M., & Silverman, S. (2000). Learning and development: Making connections to enhance teaching. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass

Knowlton, D., & Simms, J. (2008). Ideas in practice: Instructional design and delivery for adult learners. Journal of Developmental Education, 32(1), 20-23, 26-30.

Travis, J (1995). Models for Improving College Teaching: A faculty Resource. ASHE-ERIC Higher Education Report No. 6. Washington D.C.: The George Washington University, Graduate School of Education and Human Development.

The Chronicle of Higher Education (2009). Almanac Issue 2009-10, 56(1).

Tinto, V (1993). Leaving College: Rethinking the Causes and Cures of Student Attrition (2^nd ed.). Chicago: University of Chicago Press

Useful Links:

Algebra2go

YouTube/MuchoMath

Interview with Larry Perez and Patrick Quigley

Other Comments:

Brannick, T., Coghlan, D. (2005). Doing Action Research in your own Organization (2^nd ed.). Los Angeles, CA: SAGE Publications

Contact(s) for this Effective Practice

Effective Practice Contact:

Larry Perez

Email this contact:

Lperez@saddleback.edu

Tags:

Student Satisfaction

Engaging the Adult Learner

June 1, 2010 - 11:21am | by kives

Many of us who work with adult learners have experienced both the rewards and the challenges in dealing with this population. University of Phoenix (UoP), where I serve as adjunct faculty and under full disclosure, also received my doctorate, instituted a program earlier this year to provide a more stable foundation for students returning to school with 23 or fewer credits. Many of these students possess lower skill levels than the typical college freshman.

Tags:

Student Satisfaction