‘Ghost’ Hunting: Examination of Student Engagement in an University Online Course Rebecca Robertson Department of Anthropology, Humboldt State University, CA, USA
Council on Education of Anthropology American Anthropological Association Annual Meeting, Nov. 28-Dec.3, 2017, Washington D.C
INTRODUCTION
RESULTS
The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) is a growing movement in post-secondary education. SoTL is scholarly inquiry into student learning which advances the practice of teaching by making inquiry findings public. This project aims to contribute to the SoTL by examining the impact of course redesign on student engagement and success in online university education. The course chosen for this project is Intro Cultural Anthropology, an undergraduate General Education (GE) and Anthropology program gateway course. This course has been taught fully online once a semester and during the summer for the past 4 years. The three-year combined fail rate in this course for non-URM students is 21% while for URM students it is 31% (Humboldt State University, 2016). There is a concern that the high fail rate is leading to a loss of students from the Anthropology major (the program down about 10 students from the 2012/2013 academic year) and contributing to the university wide problem of low student retention and persistence (Humboldt State University, 2016).
Challenges to Student Success
PROJECT SCOPE
The researcher redesigned course using Canvas. The goals of the redesign were to address the bottleneck issues, improve the pass rate in the course, draw new majors to Anthropology, and retain declared students. Student readiness issues, primarily time management and self motivation, were addressed by using the calendar feature in Canvas to help students see due dates and upcoming assignments. In addition, a mobile app that allows the instructor to send text reminders to students was embedded into the course. Students were able to sign up to receive text reminders.
METHODS
Research was conducted using a case study approach. One online undergraduate general education course was selected to undergo transformation and serve as the basis for inquiry. This project applied a mixed methods approach, combining analysis of university Institutional Research (IR) with qualitative inquiry into student experience. Data was collected pre- and post- transformation to assess student engagement and success. Student success elements, including granular data for use of student services, help guides and other elements were analyzed. Redesigned elements were examined for student participation, feedback, and overall impact to D, F, W rates. Qualitative data was collected from students, via customized course reflections.
Redesign included the following: • Online Videos • Instructor Podcast Lessons • Interactive Activities Adopted Technologies: • Online Videos • Social Media • Mobile Apps • Podcasts • LMS (Canvas)
Research findings indicate that the course redesign had a minimal positive impact on student success, as indicated by assignment completion and pass rates as well as the course pass rate. Student narratives reveal that student engagement with course content and course assignments is complex - students access course content in diverse ways, at different times, and in a variety of social spaces, these factors influence students’ experience of engagement in the course. Instructor and peer interaction have positive impacts on student engagement. In addition, course assessments, in the form of graded assignments, do not always capture or adequately measure student engagement with course content or mastery of course materials. In an online course there are many ways for students to ‘ghost’, to engage with content without leaving a trace.
Institutional Research Data RE: Course Success
CONCLUSIONS/DISCUSSION
To help motivate students the course redesign included online videos, interactive assignments, and instructor podcasts. Prior to the redesign, students reported not doing assignments that required them to leave the learning management system (LMS) and create an account or complete work on an outside platform such as Blogger. During the redesign assignments were built directly into the course so that students do not need to leave the learning environment in order to access them. Students were provided a more dynamic learning experience without having to step outside the online "classroom." ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
REFERENCES IAmbrose, S. A., Bridges, M. W., DiPietro, M., Lovett, M. C., & Norman, M. K. (2010). How learning works: 7 research based pricipals for smart teaching. San Francisco, CA, US: Jossey-Bass. California State University. (2015). Quality assurance for blended and online courses. (C. F. California State University, Producer) Retrieved October 10, 2017, from California State University: http://courseredesign.csuprojects.org/wp/qualityassurance/ Dixon, M. D. (2015, September). Measuring student engagement in the online course: the online student engagement scale. Online Learning, 19(4). Humboldt State University. (2016). Department Enrollment Dashboard. (Tableau) Retrieved October 10, 2017, from Office of Institutional Effectiveness: http://www2.humboldt.edu/irp/Dashboards/Enrollment_Department.html Walvoord, B. E. (2010). Assessment clear and simple: a practical guide for institutions, departments, and general education (2nd Edition ed.). San Francisco, CA, US: Jossey-Bass.
This research was funded in part by a Fellowship from the CSU Chancellor’s Office. I am grateful for the support of The College of Extended Education and Global Engagement (CEEGE) at Humboldt State University and the work of Morgan Barker in assisting me with collecting Institutional Research data.
• Lack of student preparation is acknowledged by all parties (administrators, faculty, students) • Sense of empowerment and ability to address preparedness issues varies between parties. Faculty and students have an inverse relationship to the issues that they feel empowered to address • Course platform (LMS) limitations and problems are seen as pervasive and out of the control of all parties • Students desire connection in online courses: materials, peers, and professors • There is not a standard approach that institutions are following to help prepare students, instead measures have an ad hoc quality • Assessment of preparation and training for online courses is not built into any of the undergraduate programs studied • There is a level of scepticism and resistance to online courses common to all parties