Outdoor experiential team -building and the college adjustment and persistence of freshmen in learning communities

Student retention is a primary goal in all higher education institutions. Students who are more adjusted to college life are more likely to persist. The purpose of this research was to determine the effects of an outdoor experiential team-building program on the college adjustment of first-semester freshmen in learning communities at a diverse, urban university. The participants in this quasi-experimental study were first-semester freshmen enrolled in learning communities. A total of 123 students participated, with 61 students in the experimental group and 62 students in the comparison group. There were no significant differences between the two groups in relation to age, gender, or ethnicity. The students in the experimental group participated in the team-building program, which consisted of three events spaced three and four weeks apart. At the end of the semester, students in both the experimental and comparison groups completed the Student Adaptation to College Questionnaire (SACQ), a 67-item self-report survey. ^ Independent samples t-test of the SACQ scores (for attachment to the institution, social adjustment, and overall adaptation to college) between groups was done, and the analyses revealed no statistically significant differences. Chi-square analyses revealed no significant difference in the enrollment pattern between the two groups over a four-year period. Repeated measures ANOVAs revealed that from the first semester of enrollment to the second semester there was a significant drop in GPA for students from the comparison group and no such drop in GPA for students from the experimental group who had participated in at least two of the team building activities. A repeated measures ANOVA was conducted for the first year by semester and ethnicity. No ethnic differences were found, and no interaction was found by ethnicity and semester. ^ Should colleges and universities continue to utilize outdoor experiential team-building programs as a creative way to influence students' connection to the institution they should further investigate its value on students' adjustment to college. Future studies should also consider other variables influenced by team-building programs that affect students' college adjustment, such as collaborative learning. Faculty should be included in the planning process to increase their participation. ^

Supplemental instruction, study habits, and the community college student

The purpose of this study was to demonstrate if the academic assistance program Supplemental Instruction (SI) facilitates the acquisition of effective study behaviors through strategies that transcend simple double-exposure to the course material. Its advocates claim it increases academic achievement using learner-centered knowledge and acquisition of effective study behaviors. SI sessions are specifically related to particular courses that students are taking. Sessions are facilitated by the SI leader who has taken the subject matter course in the past. Students review the content of the previous subject matter class using collaborative learning strategies coordinated by a SI leader. In addition, the SI leader models appropriate study behaviors in his or her interactions with the students. ^ An instructor at a large Florida community college who taught five classes of an Anatomy & Physiology I course (traditionally supported by SI) was identified. Two of the classes were randomly selected to participate in SI activities, and two classes were random chosen to participate in alternate, computer-based activities that dealt with the course content, but did not include work in developing students' study behaviors. These treatments were carried out over the course of an entire semester. Participation was mandatory. ^ Data were collected on two variables. Academic achievement in anatomy and physiology content was measured both pre- and post-treatment using an instructor developed examination. Student study behaviors were measured using pre- and post-treatment administration of the Study Behavior Inventory, a valid and reliable instrument that provides scores on three categories of study behaviors: (a) Academic self-efficacy, (b) Preparation for routine academic tasks, and (c) Preparation for long range academic tasks. Measures obtained at the end of the semester of treatment revealed no significant differences between the SI and alternative treatment groups in post-treatment achievement test score and the post-treatment scores on the three study behaviors categories when adjusted for pre-treatment scores. ^ These results suggest that the development of appropriate study behaviors requires more time than SI, as it is now implemented, can provide. In addition, results indicate that improved academic achievement may be attained through any number of means that include repeated exposure to course material. ^

A study of learners' perceived value and satisfaction for implied effectiveness of online learning systems

Online learning systems (OLS) have become center stage for corporations and educational institutions as a competitive tool in the knowledge economy. The satisfaction construct has received extensive coverage in information systems literature as an indicator of effectiveness but has been criticized for lack of validity; yet, the value construct has been largely ignored, although it has a long history in psychology, sociology, and behavioral science. The purpose of this dissertation is to investigate the value and satisfaction constructs in the context of OLS, and their perceived by learners relationship for implied effectiveness of OLS. ^ First, a qualitative phase is employed to gather OLS values from learners' focus groups, followed by a pilot phase to refine a proposed instrument, and a main phase to validate the survey. Responses were received from 75 students in four focus groups, 141 in the pilot, and 207 the main survey. Extensive data cleaning and exploratory factor analysis were done to identify factors of learners' perceived value and satisfaction of OLS. Then, Value-Satisfaction grids and the Learners' Value Index of Satisfaction (LeVIS) were developed as benchmarking tools of OLS. Moreover, Multicriteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) techniques were employed to impute value from satisfaction scores in order to reduce survey response time. ^ The results provided four satisfaction and four value factors with high reliability (Cronbach's α). Moreover, value and satisfaction were found to have low linear and nonlinear correlations, indicating that they are two distinct uncorrelated constructs. This is consistent with the literature. Value-Satisfaction grids and the LeVIS index indicated relatively high effectiveness for technology and support characteristics, relatively low effectiveness for professor's characteristics, while course and learner characteristics indicated average effectiveness. ^ The main contributions of this study include identifying, defining, and articulating the relationship between value and satisfaction constructs as assessment of users' implied IS effectiveness, as well as assessing the accuracy of MCDA procedures to predict value scores, thus reducing by half the survey questionnaire size. ^

Group presence in virtual worlds: Supporting collaborative e-learning

Even though e-learning endeavors have significantly proliferated in recent years, current e-learning technologies provide poor support for group-oriented learning. The now popular virtual world's technologies offer a possible solution. Virtual worlds provide the users with a 3D - computer generated shared space in which they can meet and interact through their virtual representations. Virtual worlds are very successful in developing high levels of engagement, presence and group presence in the users. These elements are also desired in educational settings since they are expected to enhance performance. The goal of this research is to test the hypothesis that a virtual world learning environment provides better support for group-oriented collaborative e-learning than other learning environments, because it facilitates the emergence of group presence. To achieve this, a quasi-experimental study was conducted and data was gathered through the use of various survey instruments and a set of collaborative tasks assigned to the participants. Data was gathered on the dependent variables: Engagement, Group Presence, Individual Presence, Perceived Individual Presence, Perceived Group Presence and Performance. The data was analyzed using the statistical procedures of Factor Analysis, Path Analysis, Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA). The study provides support for the hypothesis. The results also show that virtual world learning environments are better than other learning environments in supporting the development of all the dependent variables. It also shows that while only Individual Presence has a significant direct effect on Performance; it is highly correlated with both Engagement and Group Presence. This suggests that these are also important in regards to performance. Developers of e-learning endeavors and educators should incorporate virtual world technologies in their efforts in order to take advantage of the benefit they provide for e-learning group collaboration.

“Half Bricks and Half Clicks”: Is Blended Onsite and Online Teaching and Learning the Best of Both Worlds?

Blended learning, or combined onsite and online learning, is increasingly popular in higher education. This literature review investigated its effectiveness compared to traditional teaching and learning, concluding that with retention and achievement, blended learning is similar or slightly better; with interaction and satisfaction, blended teaching and learning are more effective.

Adults Learning Math Online: A Surprising Harmony

Adults returning to school face challenges including overcoming math anxiety. Many choose online courses as they balance life and work schedules. Online math courses therefore can be restructured to prevent math anxiety by catering to individual learning styles, providing tools that aid concept attainment, and using problem-based learning strategies.

From the Grassroot to the Tree Tops: How One Library has become Embedded in Online Learning

This presentation will show how a grassroots initiative has budded into the Florida International University (FIU) Libraries being an instrumental part of online learning. It will describe some of the marketing and outreach efforts that have been successful and share ideas on how to build alliances and networks with online faculty and students. Along with outreach efforts, the presentation will demonstrate some of the successful tools used to meet the needs of online students. Some of the these tools include becoming embedded in courses, building course and program specific Libguides, using Adobe Connect to reach students, creating simple YouTube videos, and creating more professional videos with FIU Online. The presentation will conclude with sharing some tips on how to keep the workload manageable when distance-learning programs are growing at the same time as library budgets and resources are shrinking.