Education Commons^™

Investigating Community Of Inquiry And Cognitive Load, Emily K. Faulconer, Darryl Chamberlain, Beverly Wood

Publications

This project will design and research a pilot program for infusing best practices into online discussion forums in STEM courses to reduce extraneous load, improve instructional presence, instructor social presence, student social presence, and student cognitive presence.

Gathering Nuanced Data For Understanding Student Withdrawals, Beverly Wood, Emily Faulconer, Darryl Chamberlain

Publications

This white paper argues that the current system for collecting data on student withdrawals at their university is inadequate. The current withdrawal form lacks detail and makes it difficult to understand the reasons why students leave courses. This is a problem because it hinders efforts to improve student persistence (completion of courses).

Key Points:

• The university's strategic plan emphasizes student experience, enrollment management, and academic excellence. High withdrawal rates undermine these goals.
• Researchers developed a research-based nuanced framework for understanding withdrawal reasons.
• The current withdrawal form offers limited options for students to explain why they are withdrawing; the current form …