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Atlanta, GA May 12, 2010

Atlanta, GA May 12, 2010. Nudges, Switches, and Momentum: Intentional Retention . Randy L. Swing, Executive Director Association for Institutional Research. INSERT AIR LOGO. Product of a Community College. Former Freshman circa 1972. DROP OUT!. We all need help with some choices.

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Atlanta, GA May 12, 2010

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  1. Atlanta, GAMay 12, 2010 Nudges, Switches, and Momentum:Intentional Retention Randy L. Swing, Executive DirectorAssociation for Institutional Research

  2. INSERT AIR LOGO

  3. Product of a Community College Former Freshman circa 1972

  4. DROP OUT!

  5. We all need help with some choices Poor decisions: • No experience • No feedback • Delayed feedback • Past ≠ future • Inertia That sounds like the first year of college!

  6. Nudge • Not a rule that must be obeyed • One size does not fit all • Allows for individual choice • Does no harm

  7. Everyday Nudges Tip chart on your restaurant check Recommended donation levels Amazon.com recommendation

  8. Collegiate Nudges: Registration system suggests tutoring Attendance patterns and grades Pathways to success

  9. Choice ArchitectsMake it easy to find the right path.

  10. Pull to Enter (the handle is a nudge)

  11. Push to Enter (the push plate is a nudge)

  12. “Stop at-door confusion!”

  13. Piggy bank

  14. Choice ArchitectSummer Preview “Early Start Package” One academic class One freshman seminar Summer on campus Integrated cultural events 125 students – 3 prior years

  15. Testing Cycles Compared two courses in two different years - same teacher, pace, book, labs, and same final exam. Year 1 Class exam 6th week (75 minutes) exam 12th week (75 minutes) 2 hour final exam(40% of final grade) Year 2 Class exams 2nd, 4th, 6th week (25 minutes each) exams 8th, 10th, 12th weeks (25 minutes each) 2 hour final exam(40% of final grade) 1 letter grade higher 1 letter grade higher 1.5 letter grade higher Source: Myers, C.C and Myers S.M, 2006

  16. Students like frequent testing Myers, C.C and Myers S.M, 2006

  17. Should all teachers test more frequently? • Haberyan, 2003 – weekly quizzes in biology • did not improve performance • average grade of 66% discouraged students Re-thinking testing Grading students Motivating students Increasing student/faculty communication and connection Providing feedback to faculty Building academic confidence Source: Myers, C.C and Myers S.M, 2006

  18. Distributed learning is better than massed practice (cramming) • More is learned when students space their study (Donovan & Radosevich, 1999) • What is learned is retained longer (Willingham, 2002) • Advantages vary by learning styles (Tuckman, 1996, 1998) • Frequent testing increased grades for procrastinators and lowest GPAs

  19. SWITCH How to change things When change is hard Heath & Heath, 2010

  20. Decision Paralysis • Gourmet food store – in a jam • 6 samples • 24 samples • (6 samples, 10 times more likely to buy) • Retirement benefits – being too kind • 401 K plans – make them flexible • Every 10 options, participation rate drops 2% Heath & Heath, 2010

  21. Switch – Bright Spots • Improving nutrition in rural Vietnam • Poor water quality • Poor sanitation • Inadequate food supply • Improving freshman computing skills • Pre/post test of computing skills • Gains not explained by “C” courses • Bright spots – residence hall students

  22. Power of Peers • “the student's peer group is the single most important source of influence on growth and development during the undergraduate years.” • Alexander Astin, What Matters in College? (1993) page 398

  23. The Power Of Peers Randomly assigned lab partners “Peer effects are real and significantly influence how much students learn.” “Students with academically strong [lab partners] simply do better academically than their own SAT’s would predict. They tend to “overperform” significantly.” Source: Gordon C. Winston – Chronicle Review, 11/28/2003

  24. MOMENTUM

  25. Going to class improves student grades!

  26. Timing of Absences Matter The first class absence, especially if it occurred within the first 4 weeks, was the greatest predictor of lower GPA and non-persistence. (Especially if it was because of a “minor illness.”) Source: Unpublished research by Randy Swing, 1999.

  27. 27% General Policy 66% No Policy 7% Special Attendance Policy for First-Year Students 7% have a special policy on class attendance for 1st-year students Source: 2001 Current Practices Survey

  28. Academic Momentum The Toolbox Revised , Adleman Credits in First Year “Less than 20 credits by the end of the first calendar year is a serious drag on degree completion.” Continuous Enrollment“..continuous enrollment increases the probability of degree completion by 43%.” Cliff Adelman The Toolbox Revised

  29. Withdraw without penaltyWithdrawal from 1 of 5 courses attempted...“cuts the probability of completing the degree in half” End of First-year Grade Point AverageGPA above 2.25 and upward trend Return or Purposeful TransferTransferring is not necessarily bad. Source: Adelman, The Toolbox Revisited, 2006

  30. Randy’s View… • No more big gains from campus-wide retention efforts • Targeted efforts, data-informed • Intentional designs, focused content • What institutions do, highly influence what students do (focus on institutional actions)

  31. Randy L. Swing rswing@airweb.org NUDGE ACADEMIC MOMENTUM INTENTIONAL DESIGN (Bright Spots) CHOICE ARCHITECT

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