Title: Effective Feedback on a Time Budget: Time-Saving Strategies that Support Student Retention.
Presenter: Adrianne Hanson
Date: 11/4/15
TLC Track: High Impact Online Teaching & Learning Practices
Synopsis: Recent studies exploring the factors influencing student retention in the online learning environment have emphasized the link between faculty engagement, and student motivation and academic achievement. Specifically, Gaytan (2015) sums up the results of his qualitative study in a critical finding: online students would like to receive more comprehensive feedback from their professors that would allow them to improve their performance. But how can instructors maximize the effectiveness of their feedback on student assignments, especially in writing and grading-intensive modules, when under the time constraints of an intensive, five or six-week course? During this hands-on workshop (utilizing polls, guided questions, screen-sharing, and chat), faculty will evaluate their current methods of providing feedback and examine various models of average and optimal feedback, considering the different roles of in-text comments and summative feedback (in both Waypoint and non-Waypoint enabled courses). Faculty will then practice applying time-efficient strategies for effective feedback in an interactive chat. The presentation will illustrate how leveraging opportunities for quality feedback can support student retention, while also enabling faculty to illustrate their achievement of the five performance criteria on the faculty peer review rubric: fostering critical thinking, instructive feedback, high expectations, establishing relationships, and instructor expertise. Ultimately, faculty will come away with practical solutions for better engaging Ashford’s student demographic of diverse adult learners.