Motivating and Retaining Online Students

Online education participation continues to grow in the United States (Allen & Seaman, 2010; 2011). Due to the difference between face-to-face learning and the virtual environment and concerns for online student retention and factors for student persistence must be taken into consideration.

Reasons for Lack of Student Retention
We know that among the reasons for lack of student retention in the virtual environment are feelings of isolation, frustration, and disconnection; technology disruption; lack of contact with faculty; inadequate contact with students on the part of faculty; lack of student and technology support; lack of instructor participation during class discussion; lack of clarity in instructional direction or expectation; and lack of social interaction.

Study to Identify Motivation and Retention Strategies
Because of these concerns, we conducted a study to identify students’ strategies for staying motivated online and instructors’ strategies for retaining and supporting online students. The Persistence Model for Online Student Retention (Conceição & Lehman, 2012) emerged from the empirical study conducted in spring 2012. This model is student-centered with the student at the center of the online learning experience, focuses on the pathway students go through as they progress in an online course, and provides a framework for instructors to design courses, teach, and support students online.

Designing With Motivation and Retention Strategies
By being aware of the pathway students go through when taking an online course, instructors can intentionally and strategically design their course and better develop supporting materials. The elements of the pathway are self-awareness, self-efficacy, purpose or goal(s), means to achieve the goal(s), and rewards. Self-awareness was the awareness of the learning process, situation, and consequences of not moving forward. Students considered self-efficacy as the belief that one is capable of organizing, putting into action, and moving ahead to complete a course. Students explained that to keep them motivated in completing online coursework, they needed to have a purpose of goal. To accomplish this, students used strategies to achieve a goal or small goals throughout the online course. These strategies were time management, prioritizing, and learning. As the goal or goals were achieved, they gained rewards or rewarded themselves. The design, student, and support strategies that emerged from the model can provide benefits for both students and instructors.

References

Allen, I., & Seaman, A. (2010). Learning on Demand: Online Education in the United States, 2009: Babson Survey Research Group. Retrieved August 10, 2012 from
http://www.sloanconsortium.org/publications/survey/pdf/learningondemand.pdf

Allen, I., & Seaman, J. (2011). Going the Distance: Online Education in the USA 2011. Wellesley MA: Babson. Retrieved August 10, 2012 from
http://www.tonybates.ca/2011/11/09/online-enrollments-in-the-usa-grow-10-in-2011-oers-becoming-accepted/

Conceição, S.C.O., & Lehman, R. M. (November, 2012). Motivation and Support Strategies for Online Adult Learners in the 21st Century. American Association for Adult and Continuing Education. Las Vegas, NV.

Next Week: Motivating and Retaining Online Students (Continued). The Persistence Model for Online Student Retention.