Thursday, May 31, 2018
Preparing Adult Learners for Online Education Success
This is a video of a presentation I gave recently on Online Student Retention Theories.
Monday, August 7, 2017
Dissertation Blog Post 4
My intention for my quantitative research
study is to apply a correlational design. This type of design allows
researchers to predict results and to understand how different variables relate
to each other (Creswell, 2013). I believe that I will be able to find strong
evidence in Blackboard records that online graduate students who participated
in class less (e.g. logged into class, navigated through interfaces, clicked on
instructional links, etc.) experienced fewer validation mechanisms (i.e. remarks
from their professor, remarks from their classmates, automated responses from
Blackboard, etc.) than those who participated in the online class at a higher
rate. The type of correlational design I intend to apply is called an
explanatory design. Often referred to as relational in nature, this type of design
is normally used when a researcher wishes to explain the relationship between
variables (2013). This is exactly what I intend to do with my research study. I
want to explain how attrition rates of online graduate students are better when
validation mechanisms are applied in online classes; and therefore could
improve retention of these students if they were applied more often and more
effectively.
Purpose Statement and Quantitative Research Questions
The purpose of this quantitative study is to determine
how validation mechanisms (e.g., like-buttons, rewarding sound effects and
graphics, cheer-leading avatars, lesson-games, students-of-the-week postings,
student comments, and instructor comments) affect online graduate students’
participation, course access, feelings of isolation, and retention rates at a
large, private, not-for-profit university in the southeastern United States. Online
graduate school programs have been significantly increasing in popularity over
the last two decades (Hayward, 2015). But student attrition rates are also very
high due to online students’ feelings of isolation (Schwier, & Seaton,
2013). Sutton (2014) wrote that drop-outs among online students were six to
seven times higher in 2009 than those among campus based students. These
feelings of isolation often cause online students to gradually reduce their
online classroom logins and participation due to declining motivation (Schwier,
& Seaton, 2013). As a result these students risk missing important
information that could affect their academic success. Declining academic
success reduces their motivation to the point where they often either drop out
of their online program or fail their online class.
Quantitative Research Questions
1) How
do validation mechanisms affect student retention in online graduate school
programs?
2) How
does the application of validation mechanisms affect student participation in
online graduate school programs?
3) How
do the application of validation mechanisms affect student course access in
online graduate school programs?
4) How
does the application of validation mechanisms affect feelings of isolation
among online graduate students?
5) How
does the application of validation mechanisms affect academic achievement among
online graduate students?
References
Creswell, J. W. (2013). Educational research:
Planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research
(5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.
Hayward, M. S., & Williams, M. R. (2015). Adult
learner graduation rates at four U.S. community colleges by prior learning
assessment status and method. Community College
Journal of Research and Practice, 39(1), 44-54.
Schwier, R. A., & Seaton, X. J. (2013). A comparison
of participation patterns in selected formal, non-formal, and informal online
learning environments. Canadian Journal of
Learning and Technology, 39(1), 15.
Sutton, R. (2014). Unlearning the past: New foundations
for online student retention. Journal of Educators
Online, 11(3), 30.
Eric’s Website is Eric DeRise, Ed.D.(c) EDU
View Eric DeRise, Ed.D.(c) EDU’s profile
Eric DeRise, Ed.D.(c) is a Higher Education Expert in Tampa, FL. He’s also a Professor of video production and digital graphic arts. He’s an Ed.D. candidate at Nova Southeastern University, and earned his master’s degree in Higher Education with a focus in on-line college teaching from Purdue Global University. Eric says “I help people improve their lives and secure their financial future through higher education. I am also a teacher / trainer of digital media arts, television / video production, and journalism.” #DRDERISE
Tuesday, July 11, 2017
Dissertation Blog Post 3!
The
purpose of this quantitative study is to determine how validation mechanisms
(e.g., like-buttons, rewarding sound effects and graphics, cheerleading
avatars, lesson-games, students-of-the-week postings, student comments, and
instructor comments) affect online graduate students’ participation, course
access, feelings of isolation, and retention rates at a large, private,
not-for-profit university in the southeastern United States. Online
graduate school programs have been significantly increasing in popularity over the
last two decades (Hayward, 2015). But student attrition rates are also very
high due to online students’ feelings of isolation (Schwier, & Seaton,
2013). Sutton (2014) wrote that drop-outs among online students were six to
seven times higher in 2009 than those among campus based students. These
feelings of isolation often cause online students to gradually reduce their
online classroom logins and participation due to declining motivation (Schwier,
& Seaton, 2013). As a result these students risk missing important
information that could affect their academic success. Declining academic
success reduces their motivation to the point where they often either drop out
of their online program or fail their online class.
Quantitative
Research Questions
1) How
do validation mechanisms affect student retention in online graduate school
programs?
2) How
does the application of validation mechanisms affect student participation in
online graduate school programs?
3) How
do the application of validation mechanisms affect student course access in online
graduate school programs?
4) How
does the application of validation mechanisms affect feelings of isolation among
online graduate students?
5) How
does the application of validation mechanisms affect academic achievement among
online graduate students?
References
Hayward,
M. S., & Williams, M. R. (2015). Adult learner graduation rates at four
U.S. community colleges by prior learning assessment status and method. Community College Journal of Research and
Practice, 39(1), 44-54.
Schwier,
R. A., & Seaton, X. J. (2013). A comparison of participation patterns in
selected formal, non-formal, and informal online learning environments. Canadian Journal of Learning and Technology,
39(1), 15.
Sutton,
R. (2014). Unlearning the past: New foundations for online student
retention. Journal of Educators
Online, 11(3), 30.
Eric’s Website is Eric DeRise, Ed.D.(c) EDU
View Eric DeRise, Ed.D.(c) EDU’s profile
Eric DeRise, Ed.D.(c) is a Higher Education Expert in Tampa, FL. He’s also a Professor of video production and digital graphic arts. He’s an Ed.D. candidate at Nova Southeastern University, and earned his master’s degree in Higher Education with a focus in on-line college teaching from Purdue Global University. Eric says “I help people improve their lives and secure their financial future through higher education. I am also a teacher / trainer of digital media arts, television / video production, and journalism.” #DRDERISE
Tuesday, June 20, 2017
The
problem of high attrition rates among non-traditional online students is grounded
in the TD theory or “Transactional Distance” theory. This theory was originally
developed by M. G. Moore in 1993, and was primarily used to study different aspects
of communication among geographically, pedagogically, and temporally separated
students and instructors participating in online classes (Slapak-Barski, 2017).
It argues that TD can cause feelings of separation for online students leading
them to drop out of online classes.
Ustati
and Hassan applied Moore’s TD theory in a study on online classes in Malaysia
(2013). It was found that an LMS that considered TD theory could improve the
learning experience for online students and instructors, however, students did
request that the LMS allow for more student to student interactions. Larkin and
Jamieson-Proctor reported in their study on TD theory in online math courses
that TD theory application not only improved student attitudes toward math but
their math comprehension and performance as well (2015). In a study on online
language courses in English Andrade (2013) discussed an embedded approach to
student support systems which applied TD theory among others while at the same
time encouraging autonomy and self-regulation of students.
I
feel that this theory is appropriate to my dissertation because it addresses
how this problem happens in online education. It also explains why it happens,
and it gives reasons for what has to be addressed in order for this issue to be
resolved. Moore’s basic argument is that the more communication there is in
online classes the less TD there will be for the students (Moore, 1993).
References:
Andrade,
M. S. (2014). Course-embedded student support for online English language
learners. Open Praxis, 6(1),
65-73.
Larkin,
K., & Jamieson-Proctor, R. (2015). Using transactional distance theory to
redesign an online mathematics education course for pre-service primary
teachers. Mathematics Teacher
Education and Development, 17(1), 44-61.
Moore,
M. G. (1993). Is teaching like flying? A total systems view of distance
education. The American Journal of
Distance Education, 7(1), 1–10.
Slapak-Barski,
J. (2017). Faculty and Student
Perceptions of Teaching Presence in Distance Education Courses: A Mixed Methods
Examination. Retrieved from: http://marps.library.nova.edu.ezproxylocal.library.nova.edu/pdf/12032.pdf
Ustati,
R., & Hassan, S. S. S. (2013). Distance learning students' need: Evaluating
interactions from moore's theory of transactional distance. Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education, 14(2),
292-304.
Eric’s Website is Eric DeRise, Ed.D.(c) EDU
View Eric DeRise, Ed.D.(c) EDU’s profile
Eric DeRise, Ed.D.(c) is a Higher Education Expert in Tampa, FL. He’s also a Professor of video production and digital graphic arts. He’s an Ed.D. candidate at Nova Southeastern University, and earned his master’s degree in Higher Education with a focus in on-line college teaching from Purdue Global University. Eric says “I help people improve their lives and secure their financial future through higher education. I am also a teacher / trainer of digital media arts, television / video production, and journalism.” #DRDERISE
Sunday, May 21, 2017
Adult learners dropping out of online education programs at an alarming rate
The problem to be addressed
in this study is that adult learners are dropping out of online education
programs at an alarming rate.
Problem Statement
Adult learners have been
going back to college at an increasing rate as the job market has been
changing, and baby-boomers have been working longer into what would be their
traditional retirement years (Jepsen, 2012). These non-traditional students
have not been able to retire at the typical age of 65, but have had to start
new careers in other fields as their previous ones have been phasing out of
existence due to new technologies and the outsourcing of many jobs to
automation and other nations’ workforces (Cummins, 2015). But these
non-traditional students have had to continue working while going back to
school, thus pursuing continuing and higher education online (Buxton, 2012). At
the same time, many traditional students have been pursuing online higher education
as well. Consequently, the online education industry has been increasing its
student population at a growing rate (Hayward, 2015).
Traditional students, however, are more accustomed to digital communication and
the possible feelings of disconnection that go along with it (Schwier, & Seaton, 2013). Digital
communication is a large part of what makes online education work. This is one
of the reasons that it has become so popular. But online education programs
have been experiencing a concerning retention problem, especially among the
non-traditional students. In fact, in 2009 the US Department of Education
reported that the dropout rate was six to seven times higher among online
students than among students in campus based programs (Sutton, 2014). Many students complain about
feelings of isolation and separation from the faculty and their classmates. The
students (especially the non-traditional students) lose their motivation to
participate in the online activities, fall behind, and eventually drop-out or
fail their programs.
While this problem is more prevalent among adult-learners than it is among
traditional students, it is still a problem among enough of the traditional
students that it may not ever stop being a concern for educators. At the very
least, non-traditional students who are not used to these feelings of
disconnection in the learning process will still be a concern for the next two
or three decades. Most of these students utilize financial aid when paying for
their tuition, so, high drop-out numbers translate into a lot of bad debt for
the schools and the students. Students end up owing a lot of money without the
benefits of the degree which would have likely enabled them to pay the debt if
they had in fact earned the degree. They also can’t go back to school elsewhere
because they owe money to their previous schools, and can’t get official
transcripts from them or more financial aid money to attend other schools.
Consequently, they end up stuck in a “no-win situation.”
A variety of methods have been researched to resolve this online college
retention issue. They have included instructor immediacy-behaviors, peer-counseling, and online learning communities, among others. Arbaugh (2001) addressed the concern of retention by exercising
immediacy behaviors in the hopes of improving student satisfaction levels. The
hope was that he could compensate for the lack of human interaction that
students experience in online programs. But Duff and Quinn (2006) decided that
retention issues in online learning could be reduced by using student peers as
counselors to potential students before they would enroll in online programs.
Diramio and Wolverton (2006) argued that the concept of learning communities is
that students in an online class could create a sense of connection among the
classmates by introducing themselves to each other, commenting and discussing
each other’s postings, working together on projects and encouraging each other
in their work through a variety of digital communication. All of these methods
have been extensive. But none of them have claimed to solve the problem
completely. In fact, most of them have claimed that their studies have room for
more research.
The preferred site for this research would be in an online
classroom in an online university program where students' participation
activity could be monitored statistically and compared with their academic
results as well as their retention. This method of research would be considered
quantitative. But the reality of this author's situation will not likely allow
for that kind of research since access to an online class interface is not
available. It is more likely that this author will have to seek out volunteers
from online classes at Nova Southeastern University (a private not-for-profit
university) to participate in surveys, interviews, and even focus groups. This
means that the method of research would have to be qualitative in nature as
opposed to quantitative.
Results from this research
will benefit not only the adult learners who are likely to struggle with online
learning, but also the universities and faculty who have been working hard to
accommodate their recently realized need as non-traditional students who have
had to go back to school so as to be able to survive in this changing new job
market. The universities will have better more effective online learning
systems set in place so as to retain higher numbers of these students, and
carry them through to graduation. Faculty will have a better understanding of
how to work with and educate this growing pool of new students. The students
themselves will benefit from the research because the improved systems will be
more capable of maintaining their interest and activity in the online
classroom. As a result they will be more likely to graduate from their
programs. Even employers will benefit from this research because they will have
a greater number of experienced new employees to choose from.
References:
Arbaugh, B. J., (2001). How
Instructor Immediacy Behaviors Affect Student Satisfaction and Learning in
Web-based Courses. Business
Communication Quarterly.
Buxton,
E. e., & De Muth, J. (2012). Adult Learners’ Perceptions of a Professional
Development Program Comparing Live Distance Learning Versus Live Local
Learning. Journal Of Continuing
Higher Education.
Cummins, P. A. (2015). The role of community
colleges in career transitions for older workers. Community College Journal
of Research and Practic.
Diramio,
D., & Wolverton, M. (2006). Integrating learning communities and distance
education: Possibility or pipedream? Innovative
Higher Education.
Duff,
A., & Quinn, D., (2006). Retention in online courses: Using a motivational
framework and online peers to enlighten potential learners about learning
online. Journal of Learning Design.
Hayward, M. S., & Williams, M. R. (2015).
Adult learner graduation rates at four U.S. community colleges by prior
learning assessment status and method. Community College Journal of Research
and Practice.
Jepsen,
C. J., & Montgomery, M. m. (2012). Back to school: An application of human
capital theory for mature workers. Economics
Of Education Review.
Schwier,
R. A., & Seaton, X. J. (2013). A comparison of participation patterns in
selected formal, non-formal, and informal online learning environments. Canadian Journal of Learning and Technology.
Sutton, R. (2014).
Unlearning the past: New foundations for online student retention. Journal of Educators Online.
Eric’s Website is Eric DeRise, Ed.D.(c) EDU
View Eric DeRise, Ed.D.(c) EDU’s profile
Eric DeRise, Ed.D.(c) is a Higher Education Expert in Tampa, FL. He’s also a Professor of video production and digital graphic arts. He’s an Ed.D. candidate at Nova Southeastern University, and earned his master’s degree in Higher Education with a focus in on-line college teaching from Purdue Global University. Eric says “I help people improve their lives and secure their financial future through higher education. I am also a teacher / trainer of digital media arts, television / video production, and journalism.” #DRDERISE
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