Motivating and Retaining Online Students: Research–Based Strategies That Work

Motivating and Retaining Online Students Motivating and Retaining Online Students offers a guide to help instructors increase the motivation of online students and thereby improve the overall retention rates for educational institutions. Based on a study from online education experts Rosemary M. Lehman and Simone C.O. Conceição, the book focuses on the most important issues such as course design, student engagement and motivation, and student support strategies. Helping minimize student dropout, increase student retention, and support student learning management, the strategies outlined in the book allow for student diversity and individual learner differences. Lehman and Conceição's proven model gives instructors an effective approach to help students persist in online courses and succeed as learners. " Motivating and Retaining Online Students is a must-read for faculty who want to move beyond simply providing students access to education and training to ensuring student success in online learning." —Chère Campbell Gibson, professor emerita, University of Wisconsin-Madison "This is a 'must-have' primer for addressing the challenges of getting online students to be active learners and keeping them engaged once you have their attention. Once again, these authors have created a valuable resource that is filled with useful instructional innovations for the beginner as well as the experienced instructor." —J. Ana Donaldson, past president, Association for Educational Communication and Technology, and online educator and learning consultant "Effectively providing online teaching and learning is one of the most significant challenges facing 21st Century higher education faculty members. From novices to seasoned veterans, this book provides substantive insights that can assist online faculty members to become more effective online instructors." —Larry G. Martin, professor and chair, Department of Administrative Leadership, University of Wisconsin—Milwaukee

List of Tables, Exhibits, and Figure ix Preface xi The Focus of This Book xii Who Can Benefit from This Book xii Our Beliefs About Learning and Teaching xii How This Book Is Organized xiii Acknowledgments xiv About the Authors xvii 1. Concerns and Opportunities for Online Student Retention 1 Evolving Concepts of Presence, Communication, and Interaction 1 Redefining the Characteristics of the Higher Education Learner 2 New Ways of Learning 2 Causes for Increased Enrollment 3 The State of Higher Education and Online Learning 4 Concerns for Online Student Retention 5 Reasons Online Students Drop Out 5 Factors for Student Persistence in Online Education 7 Opportunities for Online Education 10 New Learner Behaviors and Skills in the 21st Century 11 Filling the Gap: Strategies for Online Persistence 14 2. Design Strategies for Retaining Online Students 17 Intentional Design for Online Courses 19 Design Elements and Strategies to Help Students Stay Motivated Online 20 Creating the Learning Environment 20 Planning for the Teaching Process 25 Predicting Learners’ Needs 30 The Impact of Intentional Design for Online Course Success 32 Design Strategies for Retaining Online Students 34 3. Student Strategies for Staying Motivated Online 38 Pathway and Strategies for Staying Motivated in Online Courses 38 Self–Awareness 39 Self–Efficacy 40 A Purpose for Taking a Course 41 Means to Achieve Goals 42 Rewards for Achieving Goals 53 Explaining Study Findings from a Motivational Perspective 56 Incorporating Student Strategies into Course Design 59 4. Support Strategies for Helping Online Students Persist 65 Types of Support Perceived as Important by Students 66 Human Resource Support 66 Institutional Support 69 Self–Care 70 Support Strategies for Helping Online Students Persist 71 Instructional Support Strategies 72 Institutional Support Strategies 75 Self–Care Strategies 80 5. Pulling the Strategies Together 83 Established Findings Related to Online Student Retention 84 Major Contributions from Our Study 84 New Ways of Th inking About Learning and Teaching 86 Persistence Model for Online Student Retention 87 Student–Centered Model 88 Strategies for Helping Students Persist in an Online Course 89 Times of Change for Learning in the 21st Century 94 Instructors’ Skills for Meeting Students’ 21st–Century Fluencies 95 Implications and Conclusions for Learning and Teaching Online 104 Glossary 107 References 111 Appendix 1 117 Appendix 2 127 Index 135  

Rosemary M. Lehman worked with University of Wisconsin—Extension for more than 20 years and is now an author, online instructor, and partner in eInterface. Simone C. O. Conceição is a professor in the School of Education, Department of Administrative Leadership, at University of Wisconsin—Milwaukee. They are the authors of Managing Online Instructor Workload and Creating a Sense of Presence in Online Teaching both from Jossey-Bass.