OSU’s All Hands on Deck project will implement adaptive courseware in eight of our high enrollment general education courses predictive of attrition and lay the foundation to scale-up the use of adaptive courseware to support undergraduate student success.  Funding will be used to offer individual and department-level incentives and create a support team of professionals to aid in implementation across the target departments.  The project will directly support our institutional goals of raising the first-year retention rate at OSU from 83.8% to 90% and raising OSU’s six-year graduation rate from 63.1% to 70% for all undergraduate students.

 Terminology

  • Adaptive Learning - an approach to creating a personalized learning experience for students which takes a data-driven, and in some cases, non-linear approach to instruction and remediation. It dynamically adjusts to a learner’s interactions and demonstrated performance level, anticipating the types of content and resources learners’ need at a specific point in time to make progress.
  • Adaptive Courseware - course-related content (learning materials for instructor-led and/or self-directed instruction) and assessments embedded in an adaptive learning application, platform, or other technology.
  • Blended learning - the practice of using both online and in-person learning experiences when teaching students.
  • OSU hybrid course - blends online components and required face-to-face class meetings. A substantial portion of the course learning activities are delivered online; typically, face-to­face meeting time is reduced by at least 40% compared to a traditional on-campus course.

Project Summary

  • Long-term goal: Increase first-year retention and six-year graduate rate by supporting student learning with adaptive courseware in our skill-based undergraduate general education curriculum.
  • Objective of this grant: Establish adaptive courseware as a foundational component of our learning ecosystem by supporting faculty in the development of eight blended learning or hybrid courses that embed commercially available courseware within the design.

Expected Outcomes

  • Eight blended learning or hybrid courses with adaptive courseware embedded in the curriculum
  • Model for university level structure that supports faculty use of adaptive courseware
  • Unit-based faculty learning communities focused on adaptive learning courseware
  • Learning ecosystem that supports success by providing an individualized approach for each student

Assessment

  • Student completion rates and grade distribution; comparison with sections not using adaptive courseware; performance in successive courses
  • Cloud-based reflective teaching journals from faculty participants
  • Surveys and focus groups of faculty participants
  • Surveys and focus groups of sub-set of student participants

Implementation Team

  • Julie Greenwood, Project Manager, Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies
  • Cub Kahn, Faculty Coordinator/Teaching Strategist, Center for Teaching and Learning
  • Susan Fein, Instructional Designer, Ecampus
  • Jon Dorbolo, Information Services Technical Support Coordinator, Technology Across the Curriculum

Collaborating Institutions

  • Arizona State University
  • Georgia State University
  • Portland State University
  • Colorado State University
  • Northern Arizona University
  • University of Louisville
  • University of Mississippi

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