Student+Success+Strategies

Having participated in the ITEC program at Kent State while working full-time, I have experienced situations that increased my ability to be successful and others that were a detriment to that success. When I begin teaching online courses I will employ the following techniques to help my students be successful:


 * Begin with a survey of the learners. Using a tool like Survey Monkey, I plan to survey my learners to discover a variety of things such as:
 * Experience with online classes - will help me know who might need additional tech support
 * Any ADA issues - cannot use an audio tool if hearing impaired students are part of the class
 * Background - is the class made up of teachers, non-teachers, traditional students, etc.? This information will help me know if I need to tailor assignments to cover this diversity.
 * Post graduate plans - knowing this may help me guide students toward readings/assignments that will be valuable to them in the future.
 * Provide multiple formats for obtaining basic instruction for the CMS - documents, videos, online help. A stressful start can cause a person to become frustrated and not work to their capability.
 * Release all assignments from the beginning of the course. Allow students who wish to the opportunity to work ahead.
 * Include a peer review component. I find peer review especially helpful in classes. It reduces some of the isolation and it helps develop community.
 * Be responsive - especially at the start. There is always anxiety at the beginning as the group forms and expectations are not yet understood. Check in often on the discussion board to provide guidance.
 * Keep in contact with students who are not participating. Determine if they need extra help or assistance.
 * Post announcements on a weekly basis that provide an overview of the upcoming week.
 * Provide samples of previous work when possible so students can use it as a reference to compare their work.
 * Keep everything possible contained within the CMS - having to access multiple sites for course information can lead to missed information.