Penny Ralston-Berg from PennState World Campus did a Quality Matters (QM) webinar on February 9, 2021 entitled “Student Perspective 2 0: Where Do We Go from Here?” that I watched tonight. Ralston-Berg started by comparing the institutional and student perspectives of success. This comparison was interesting because we just read an article about student success for PALM journal club.
Ralston-Berg asked: what is the student definition of success? From the institution point of view, retention and completion are emphasized. Next, Ralston-Berg discussed some studies comparing online and face-to-face instruction and showed two databases that track the research and indicate that there is no significant difference! The databases are the Oregon State University Online Learning Efficacy Research Database and the National Research Center for Distance Education and Technological Advancements (DETA). I found it interesting that indicators of quality of online courses depends on the level of experience with online courses and alignment of activities to avoid “busy work” for students. The level of alignment using QM Standards relies on module and course objectives aligning with assessments and instructional materials.
Ralston-Berg asked a question that I have tossed around in my head: from the student point of view, what does it mean to have an engaging course? Interaction from the student perspective makes the course more engaging. Ralston-Berg discussed student-centered learning by showing a slide with learning styles, multitasking, and millennials as concepts that have been disproven and rather focusing on accessibility, inclusivity, and universal design for learning (UDL). For a course to be inclusive and accessible, Ralston-Berg shared responses from the audience that included options for every student to participate, feeling of belonging, and not excluding. Data from Higher Learning Advocates 2020 was shown.
Adult learners: 37%
Part-time students: 40%
First-generation students: 34%
Higher Learning Advocates 2020
Ralston-Berg explained how we have come full circle: with the pandemic we are again comparing online and emergency remote teaching. A slide they presented emphasized that the pandemic pivot magnified challenges like bandwidth and technology access, lack of consistency in course design, and instructor preparation to support students in this environment. The rest of the session was a cool interactive brainstorming using a GoogleDoc. People posted to the document important considerations such as:
- Meet students where they are
- Use tools they know
- Sharing the rubric and have students review the course
- Acknowledge basic and security needs of students
- Access to technologies or barriers participants may encounter
- Connecting learning objectives to their personal need to learn
This is the second time I watch this session. I was able to pick up new suggestions and connections! Ralston-Berg mentioned that “all roads lead to a good rubric!” that I enjoyed!
