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How to get students to show up and learn

By Lisa Neal / July 2002

TYPE: OPINION
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No one has exact numbers, but there is a general agreement that attrition is higher in online courses than in classroom-delivered courses. High drop-out rates have been attributed to the demographics of online students, the inexperience of online faculty, poorly designed e-learning technologies, flawed course design, and low bandwidth. Whatever the root cause, I believe the problem can be largely solved through accountability. But how can student accountability be achieved?

In my own online teaching, mostly blended courses for corporate training, I ask my students to let me know in advance if they will miss a synchronous session. They always tell me and always have good reasons—it's hard, under the circumstances, to use a trivial one. I greet each student at the beginning of class and often call on a student to lead a discussion or summarize a reading assignment. I occasionally call on people during class if I haven't heard from them or think they might have insights on a topic. This adds accountability—for the students to show up, be prepared, stay focused, and participate.

My goal is for my students to learn, but to accomplish that I need to get them to class, get them to do their assignments, and keep them from playing solitaire or reading their email during class. I try to create an environment that fosters personal responsibility. While I prefer that this happen because a discussion is fascinating, I'm willing to have them become more attentive because they don't want to be called on when unprepared or distracted.

When one is young, success in school is largely based on showing up and displaying appropriate behavior. As one gets older, there's more intrinsic motivation arising from the desire to learn or the need for professional achievement. But even an intrinsically motivated student has to squeeze an online class into a busy day. That's why accountability is so important.

The last time I was required to take an online course, I took it on a Saturday, the last day I could complete it without being labeled a "no-show." Since I prefer to be recognized for my accomplishments rather than for my oversights, this motivated me to finally take the class, after over two weeks of trying to fit it in every day. Is that accountability? Yes. Did it motivate me? Yes. But my focus was on passing the test, not understanding and mastering the material.

A teacher who creates an accountability-focused learning environment can show students how the content of a course is relevant and useful, and therefore worthy of attendance and attention. One should build enthusiasm and provide context for students so they understand how to apply what they are learning. This should be the goal in any teaching environment, but it's harder to achieve online—as high drop-out rates reveal. But that's the sort of challenge that makes teaching worthwhile.



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ADDITIONAL READING

    Lisa Neal
  1. "Spot Learning"
  2. Q&A with Saul Carliner
  3. When will e-learning reach a tipping point?
  4. Online learning and fun
  5. In search of simplicity
  6. eLearning and fun
  7. Everything in moderation
  8. The basics of e-learning
  9. Is it live or is it Memorex?
  10. The Value of Voice
  11. Predictions for 2006
  12. Five Questions...for Christopher Dede
  13. Five Questions... for John Seely Brown
  14. Five questions...for Shigeru Miyagawi
  15. "Deep" thoughts
  16. 5 questions... for Richard E. Mayer
  17. Designing usable, self-paced e-learning courses
  18. Want better courses?
  19. Just "DO IT"
  20. Five questions...
  21. Formative evaluation
  22. Senior service
  23. Blogging to learn and learning to blog
  24. My life as a Wikipedian
  25. Five questions...for Elliott Masie
  26. The stripper and the bogus online degree
  27. Five questions...for Lynn Johnston
  28. Five questions...for Tom Carey
  29. Not all the world's a stage
  30. Five questions...for Karl M. Kapp
  31. Five questions...for Larry Prusack
  32. Five questions...for Seb Schmoller
  33. Do distance and location matter in e-learning?
  34. Why do our K-12 schools remain technology-free?
  35. Music lessons
  36. Learn to apologize for fun and profit
  37. Of web hits and Britney Spears
  38. Advertising or education?
  39. Five questions…for Matt DuPlessie
  40. Back to the future
  41. Serious games for serious topics
  42. Five (or six) questions...for Irene McAra-McWilliam
  43. Learner on the Orient Express
  44. Talk to me
  45. Degrees by mail
  46. Predictions for 2004
  47. Q&A with Diana Laurillard
  48. Do it yourself
  49. Q&A
  50. Blended conferences
  51. Predictions for 2002
  52. Learning from e-learning
  53. Storytelling at a distance
  54. Q&A with Don Norman
  55. Predictions For 2003