Collaborative groups and mutual support strategies to ensure student engagement, retention, and success in on-line graduate programs: Models for face-to-face and virtual collaboration
PROCEEDINGS
Ronald McBride, Frank Fuller, Northwestern State University, United States
Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education International Conference, in San Antonio, Texas, USA ISBN 978-1-880094-61-7 Publisher: Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE), Waynesville, NC USA
Abstract
There is a documented history of student attrition in graduate programs. While programs with significant online components offer no less a problem for student persistence than residential ones, both the causes and possible strategies for remediation are, in part, different. This study describes a series of strategies for collaborative grouping and shared research experience among students engaged in distance education graduate study. Two kinds of collaboration have been designed: shared, face-to-face grouping arranged when cohorts of three-to-five students can be brought together, and synchronous online collaboration in cases of student cohorts widely separated. Increases in student persistence, interaction, and completion have been apparent in the case of each type of group. Strategies for design, motivating participation, and ensuring continued contact over many classes are discussed.
Citation
McBride, R. & Fuller, F. (2007). Collaborative groups and mutual support strategies to ensure student engagement, retention, and success in on-line graduate programs: Models for face-to-face and virtual collaboration. In R. Carlsen, K. McFerrin, J. Price, R. Weber & D. Willis (Eds.), Proceedings of SITE 2007--Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education International Conference (pp. 418-425). San Antonio, Texas, USA: Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE). Retrieved March 28, 2024 from https://www.learntechlib.org/primary/p/24573/.
Keywords
References
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