This document discusses online delivery of developmental education courses. It begins by outlining an upcoming webinar series. It then summarizes a keynote speech where the speaker said there are no best practices for online developmental education due to abysmally low completion rates compared to face-to-face courses. However, case study data from Lake Superior College shows completion, withdrawal, and grade distribution rates that are comparable between online and face-to-face developmental courses. The document concludes by highlighting strategies an instructor uses to support student success in online developmental writing courses.

1. Good Practices in the
Online Delivery of
Developmental Education

2. Barry Dahl dot com

3. XLENTS.com

4. 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

5. What I learned from
Twitter

6. Online Courses and
Developmental Education
Data from Lake Superior College
2009-2010 Academic Year

8. “Best Practices”
• NCDE Director, Dr. • During Q & A, he
Hunter Boylan was asked to share
• Keynote speech: examples of good
“Best Practices in practice in offering
Developmental developmental
Education.” courses via online
delivery.

9. His Response?
“There aren’t any!”

10. 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. ”

11. #1: Reality or Myth?
Developmental Courses Cannot
be Effectively Taught Online
0% 1.Reality
0% 2.Myth

12. 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

13. 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.

14. Grades Earned
30%
LSC Developmental Courses - 2009-2010
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
A B C D F FN W
Online On-ground

15. Passing Grades in These Courses
Passing Grades in Developmental Courses
67.5%
70% 66.8%
65%
62.3%
60.4%
60%
55%
50%
C or better D or better
2009-2010 Online On-ground

16. 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.

17. 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. ”

18. LSC – 3 yrs – Developmental Courses
Passing Grades: A,B,C
67.8%
68%
66%
60.9%
64%
58.5%
62%
60%
58%
56%
54%
52%
Online Day Night

19. Developmental Writing
• Kirsi Halonen
• Lake Superior College
• Native of Finland
• Teaches only online
courses
• Taught Developmental
Writing I & II online
since 2005.

20. 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

21. 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

22. 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.

23. 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.

24. 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

25. Discussion Time
Online Courses and
Developmental
Education