1 Techniques for Online Retention Dr. Andrea Henne, Dean, Online and Distributed Learning.

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Techniques for Online RetentionDr. Andrea Henne, Dean, Online and Distributed Learning

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Fall 2006 Drops/Never Attended

18.1

28.0

18.5

25.9

18.5

24.3

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

City Mesa Miramar

Oncampus

Online

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Techniques for Online Retention

• Preparation• Motivation• Engagement• Communication• Sense of Achievement and Progress• Support

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Preparation• Student

Readiness

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Motivation• Relevant• Varied• Interesting• Challenging• Encouraging

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Seven Principles for Good Practice

Chickering and Gamson's

• Encourage contact between students and

faculty - by creating a faculty profile to share your contact information

Chickering, A. W. & Gamson, Z. F. (1987). Seven principles for good practice in undergraduate education. AAHE Bulletin, pp. 3-7. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED282491).

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Seven Principles for Good Practice

Chickering and Gamson's

• Develop reciprocity and cooperation among students - by creating a community of discourse on the discussion board

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Seven Principles for Good Practice

Chickering and Gamson's

• Encourage active learning - by constructing individualized learning paths through the use of adaptive release criteria

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Seven Principles for Good Practice

Chickering and Gamson's

• Give prompt feedback - through the use of immediately scored exams

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Seven Principles for Good Practice

Chickering and Gamson's

• Emphasize time on task - by adding events to the course calendar

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Seven Principles for Good Practice

Chickering and Gamson's

• Communicate high expectations - by outlining your course's learning outcomes in an online syllabus

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Seven Principles for Good Practice

Chickering and Gamson's

• Respect diverse talents and ways of learning - by presenting content in a variety of formats

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Engagement

• Have more fun teaching online by involving learners more

• Reduce the need to be an exhausted, omnipresent, moderator/expert/advice giver

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Engagement

• Examine when to use collaborative activities (and when not to)

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Engagement

• Evaluate a selection of online collaboration tools, including some of the newest (and most exciting)

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Engagement

• Design collaborative activities so learners gain the most (and are less frustrated)

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Communication

• Regular and frequent

• Find your “digital voice”

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Sense of Achievement and Accomplishment

• Frequent feedback on assignments

• Pre-assessment/Post-assessment to measure individual progress

• Up-to-date gradebook

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Support

• Helpdesk – called “Retention Desk”

• 24/7/365 for online students and faculty

• https://www.sdccdonline.net/help

• Online Academic Advising/Counseling

• Online Library Services

• Online Tutoring

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Support for Online Facultyhttp://www.sdccdonline.net/faculty