UWG eCore Student Success

1. UWG eCore Student Success Target Audience: New and Current eCore Faculty Content Area: Increase Instructors knowledge and focus in the area of student success

2. Learning Objectives • Develop an awareness of the roles and applications of student success in higher education • Identify and design educational materials and resources that can be used to increase student success • Select and utilize digital tools and resources in your coursework material that will promote student success

3. What is eCore? • eCore—short for electronic core-curriculum—allows University System of Georgia (USG) students the opportunity to complete their first two years of their collegiate careers in an online environment. eCore courses are taught entirely online, except for the occasional proctored exam. eCore courses are designed, developed, taught and supported by faculty and staff from the USG.

4. eCore • eCore is not a formal degree program but is a convenient and adaptable option for either getting started in college or for resuming college after a break or pause. The core curriculum primarily consists of courses required during the first two years of college for a given degree. Not all core curriculum classes are available via eCore; you may need to take some core classes in a traditional classroom setting.

5. eCore Instructors Current eCore faculty include the same faculty you would have in a face-to-face class. eCore faculty are experienced in teaching online and include leaders in innovative teaching practices and published researchers. Highly qualified faculty members from universities and colleges throughout the University System of Georgia are nominated by their respective Chief Academic Officers to teach eCore classes. The most qualified instructors from this nomination pool are then trained in online teaching and course management.

6. UWG – Change of Focus • University of West Georgia (UWG) has changed there focus from student retention to student success. This change in focus is very instrumental and it has high visibility within the UWG executive personnel. • In October 2012, the Georgia Higher Education Funding Commission wrote a new plan that would drastically change the way it funds public colleges, tying the money to student success and graduation rates, not enrollment. • Starting with the 2015 fiscal year the amount of money colleges receive would be determined mainly by how well students progress through college and the number of degrees awarded. • The state is emphasizing graduation rates because projections show about 60 percent of all jobs by 2020 will require education after high school. Only 42 percent of Georgia’s adults currently possess a college degree or certificate.

7. Student Success Student Success helps students complete transitions into, through and out of the university, develop responsibility for learning, and achieve their educational goals. • The critical first step toward promoting student success is to define it, i.e., to identify positive student outcomes that represent concrete indicators of student success. Step Two is to identify the key, research - based principles or processes that are most likely to promote student success and lead to positive student outcomes. • The following seven processes are offered as the most potent principles of student success because they are well supported by higher education scholarship and are firmly grounded in research and theory: • personal validation • self-efficacy • sense of purpose • active involvement • reflective thinking • social integration, and • self-awareness

8. Ways to increase student success in eCore classes Some ways instructor can help increase student success in distance education courses is: • More flexible due dates for assignments • Provide additional time for students to learn new technologies • All students have a different adjustment period to new technology • Design courses that engages the student’s attention • Follow instructional design principles • Increase student engagement with other students to build community • Increase student engagement with instructor • Provide timely feedback on assignments and discussion boards to let students know how they are doing

9. Be flexible in “due” when possible • Most of the students that participate in the eCore program are non-traditional students • These non-traditional students are usually working a full-time and have a family • Be aware of important dates that may impact your student (i.e., start of K-12 school term, end of K-12 school term, and spring break). • Try to be flexible with due dates on assignments when special circumstances arise.

10. Provide additional time for new technology • Provide additional time for students to learn new technologies. All students have a different adjustment period to new technology • Students will need to require some basic troubleshooting skills to overcome technical problems with the new technology • Provide tutorials on the new technology to assist students

11. Design courses that engage student’s • Design principles can be used to guide the design and development of learning environments in higher education that are based on sound practical and theoretical principles, and that can promote student engagement through innovative learning tasks. • They maintain that opportunities to improve student engagement are possible, at the course design level, through clearer curricular articulation, more attention to implementation, and strong alignment between outcomes and delivery. • Another concept states educators can learn much about student engagement from the design of games that present students with challenging tasks, role playing opportunities, affirmation of performance, and choice. Such recommendations for design effectively constitute design principles that enable teachers and instructional designers to use well researched ideas as guidelines for their own efforts to enhance student engagement and learning outcomes.

12. Increase student engagement with other students to build community Several methods have been demonstrated to promote higher levels of student engagement. • A method of promoting student engagement is through the use of learning communities, a technique that has a group of students working on the same assignment together. By being part of a group, students show an increase in academic performance and collaborative skills. • Increasing student engagement is especially important at the university level in increasing student persistence. It may also increase students’ mastery of challenging coursework.

13. Increase student engagement with instructor • Depending on students’ prior experiences, attitudes, and perceptions, students can make it easier or more difficult to create a highly engaged classroom. • But teachers are not limited to poor learning results because students are not engaged. • When educators examine more closely the characteristics of engaging instruction, they can begin to identify the elements that contribute to high levels of student engagement. • These elements are a combination of the background of students and the influence and expectations of family and peers, but they also include school-wide and classroom practices. • Most students will not do their best in classes when they feel that teachers do not have an interest in them or care about their future. Students can sense whether the teacher cares or is simply “going through the motions.” • All of the characteristics that we know about building relationships are essential to contributing to highly engaged classroom instruction. Students show increased effort in classroom activities when teachers take an interest in students as individuals, get to know them by name, and talk to them not only in the classroom but during other activities in the school as well.

14. Increase student engagement with instructor The instructor must create a learning environment that promotes, fosters, and activates the students’ affective, motivational, and persistence attributes. We must create a learning experience that ensures that students are active partners in the process of learning. • Instructors can enhance student engagement by encouraging students to become more active participants in their education through setting and achieving goals and by providing collaborative opportunities for educational research, planning, teaching, evaluation, and decision-making. • To enhance students’ cognitive engagement in online courses, instructors must: 1. Integrate active learning environments with authentic learning tasks; 2. Foster a personal connection with students 3. Facilitate the process of learning in an online environment.

15. Provide timely feedback on assignments and discussion boards • First, always let students know when they will receive feedback from their assignments. Feedback is extremely important to the learning experience • Individualized feedback enables students to actively construct their learning • Another good practice is to let your students know the process by which you will provide feedback. • Will you be sending back a copy of their paper with tracked comments? • Or will you be providing more of a holistic grade and comment by annotating an assignment rubric.

16. Discussion Topics • Provide your initial reaction to the ideas presented in this presentation. • What is your reaction from UWG change in focus from student retention to student success? • As an instructor, are you using any of these tips in your course instruction now? If so, what and how are you using it? • How would you utilize the information presented in this presentation in your course instruction? • Is there anything in this presentation that you disagree with? If so, what and why? • Is there anything in this presentation that you agree with? If so, what and why?

17. Module Feedback • Name: • Email: • Phone: • Age: • Gender: • Education level: • Work experience: • Your role in the education field (please circle those that apply and complete): • Administrator Faculty Other • Grade Level(s): • Subject Area (s): • Does this Module meet your expectations? YES or NO • Additional Comments: • How would you change this Module?: • Additional comments:

18. Print Resources Bostwick, D. (2013). CLICKING YOUR WAY TO STUDENT SUCCESS. Techniques: Connecting Education & Careers, 88(1), 28-31. Fleckhammer, L. & Wise, L.Z. (2010). Providing timely assignment feedback to large online student cohorts. In C.H. Steel, M.J. Keppell, P. Gerbic & S. Housego (Eds.), Curriculum, technology & transformation for an unknown future. Proceedings ascilite Sydney 2010 (pp.343-352). http://ascilite.org.au/conferences/sydney10/procs/Fleckhammer-full.pdf Herrington, J. & Reeves, T.C. (2011). Using design principles to improve pedagogical practice and promote student engagement. In G. Williams, P. Statham, N. Brown & B. Cleland (Eds.), Changing Demands, Changing Directions. Proceedings ascilite Hobart 2011. (pp.594-601). Lund Dean, K., & Jolly, J. P. (2012). Student Identity, Disengagement, and Learning. Academy Of Management Learning & Education, 11(2), 228-243. Matthew J., K., & Richard D., W. (n.d). Predicting online learning success: Applying the situational theory of publics to the virtual classroom. Computers & Education, 61176-184. doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2012.09.015 Teshia, R., Susan, A., Neha, S., & Curtis, C. (n.d). Shaping the online experience: How administrators can influence student and instructor perceptions through policy and practice. The Internet and Higher Education, 1729-37. doi:10.1016/j.iheduc.2012.09.004

19. Web Resources http://www.ascilite.org.au/conferences/sydney10/procs/Fleckhammer-full.pdf http://edudemic.com/2012/08/diy-infographics/ http://econsultancy.com/us/blog/10935-how-to-make-an-infographic-online-five-essential-free-tools http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Student_engagement http://www.fastcompany.com/1749649/5-best-free-tools-making-slick-infographics http://www.infographicsarchive.com/create-infographics-and-data-visualization/