Good Practices in the Online Delivery of

Developmental Education

Barry Dahl dot com

XLENTS.com

Upcoming MCCVLC Webinars• Dec. 8 - Measuring Student Satisfaction

with Online Learning

• Jan. 19 - Evaluating Performance of Online Faculty

• Feb. 9 - Student Preparedness for Online Learning

What I learned from Twitter

Online Courses and Developmental Education

Data from Lake Superior College 2009-2010 Academic Year

“Best Practices”

• NCDE Director, Dr. Hunter Boylan

• Keynote speech: “Best Practices in Developmental Education.”

• During Q & A, he was asked to share examples of good practice in offering developmental courses via online delivery.

His Response?

“There aren’t any!”

He Continued

He went on to say that the completion rates (or success rates) in online developmental courses “are abysmal. Way below the rates for on-ground courses. ”

#1: Reality or Myth?

1.Reality2.Myth0%

0%

Developmental Courses Cannot be Effectively Taught Online

Case Study – Lake Superior College• Developmental Math Sequence – 3 courses– First taught online during Fall 2002– As of Spring 2010, a total of 91 online sections

have been taught.• Developmental Writing Sequence – 2 courses– First taught Spring 2004, now 23 sections

• Developmental Reading Sequence – 2 courses– First taught Spring 2005, now 17 sections

AY 2010 Student Completion Results

• 510 students enrolled in online sections• 2,226 students enrolled in on-ground

sections

• Course withdrawal rates were identical at 15.7% for both groups.

Grades Earned

A B C D F FN W0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30% LSC Developmental Courses - 2009-2010

Online On-ground

Passing Grades in These Courses

C or better D or better50%

55%

60%

65%

70%

60.4%

67.5%

62.3%

66.8%

Passing Grades in Developmental Courses

Online On-ground2009-2010

AY 2010 Results

• More A’s were given in online courses: – 25.1% online – 21.3% on-ground

• More F’s were given in on-ground courses:– 17.5% on-ground – 16.8% online

• GPA in these courses: – 2.37 for online – 2.31 for on-ground.

My Retort

Completion rates (or success rates) in online developmental courses “are no more abysmal than and NOT way below the rates for on-ground courses. ”

LSC – 3 yrs – Developmental CoursesPassing Grades: A,B,C

52%54%56%58%60%62%64%66%68%

58.5%60.9%

67.8%

Online Day Night

Developmental Writing• Kirsi Halonen• Lake Superior College• Native of Finland• Teaches only online

courses• Taught Developmental

Writing I & II online since 2005.

Kirsi’s Experience• Biggest issues for online students in

developmental classes:– Time management (many work full-time)– Personal issues • Relationship troubles• Mental health issues• Substance abuse

• Not a big issue: computer skills• Tutorial videos (how-tos) are a big help

Students New to Online• Contacts all students via email at least one

week before class starts• Works to set clear expectations during week

one (both hers and theirs)• Live synchronous session is required during

1st two weeks – introductions and course functions.

• Heavy use of Jing recordings

Keeping Students on Track• Has several due dates every week (3)– Longer gaps cause them to disengage– More activity = more consistent writing practice

• Personal connection is key:– She participates actively in discussions– Requires replies to other student posts– Replies quickly to requests for assistance

• Miss 2 assignments in a row? Early alert to advisor.

Improving Writing Skills• She sets high expectations. Discussion posts

lose points even for minor errors.• Provides examples of major writing

assignments.• Provides grading criteria and has student

groups grade sample paragraphs.• Heavy use of practice quizzes to reinforce

writing concepts.

Improving Writing Skills (cont.)• Uses process approach: outlining >> drafting

>> revising >> getting the grade>> revising• Multiple feedback avenues available:– Classmates in peer review– Student mentor– Smarthinking online tutoring

• Most writing are posted for classmates to read – motivates students to do better job

Discussion Time

Online Courses and Developmental

Education