The Persistence Model for Online Student Retention.

In the Persistence Model for Online Student Retention (Conceição & Lehman, 2012) the student is at the center of the online learning experience and has some amount of control over the learning process, as well as takes responsibility for course learning. It is important that the student be aware of the difference between the online and face-to-face environment, the way the online environment works, the process for learning, and what is needed to stay motivated when participating in an online course. The instructor assists in this process by providing a blueprint for the course through the course design.

Design Strategies
Think of the Persistence Model for Online Student Retention (Conceição & Lehman, 2012) as a snow globe. In the outer sphere of the globe, are the design strategies that denote the intentional course design elements: course structure, teaching process, and learners’ needs. These course elements have qualities that provide the instructor with criteria on how to efficiently and effectively design the online course. Creating a course structure helps present the content with consistency, variety, relevancy, and strategic arrangement. It is during the planning for the teaching process that these elements take effect and the instructor must set up clear expectations, personalize the experience, and incorporate feedback throughout the course. Another element of the intentional course design is learners’ needs; this occurs when the instructor identifies students’ needs, predicts course challenges, and preempts problems.

Student Strategies
The inner sphere of the globe contains the student strategies, which are based on a process that students go through in an online course and form a pathway. This process begins with a student’s awareness of self, situation, and consequences. It progresses to self-efficacy, the conviction of a student’s value, how a person thinks, feels, and behaves. Then, it goes on to a purpose or goal to take an online course and provide the student with intrinsic motivation. To achieve the goal, the student uses self-management, time management, prioritizing, and learning strategies. Finally, the student gains rewards after achieving the goal in the form of extrinsic incentives. This process is cyclical as the student embarks on new online courses because each course may have its unique characteristics based on the discipline, format, interactivity, instructor role, technology, and support. By understanding this process, instructors can incorporate effective and efficient design strategies.

Support Strategies
An online course may have excellent course design and engaging teaching strategies, but may lack sound instructional, institutional, and student support services. This is an area where institutions often fail. For example, if many of the students require remedial support for course success, the course may be inefficient and ineffective to meet these students’ needs. Students who need a lot of human, institutional, and self-support are less likely to stay motivated and persist in an online course. For this reason, support strategies are very important for retaining students online. Again, envisioning the model as a snow globe, the support strategies are located at the bottom. They are the foundation for making the environment conducive to learning (institutional support), giving students a sense of control over their learning (instructional support), and providing tools for self-reflection and self-awareness (student self-support).

The Persistence Model for Online Student Retention can help instructors design an online environment that meets students’ needs, helps the instructors teach efficiently and effectively, and integrates support into online courses. The Model can help students understand what it means to be an online learner and identify a pathway and strategies for successful online learning.

References

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