Summer Institute Survey Findings
At last week’s Summer Institute, we surveyed all attendees at the start of the first day and at the end of the
second. These surveys were designed to measure the effect the Summer Institute had on the attendees’ attitudes,
opinions, and plans regarding Applied Learning and its application. There were 52 total survey respondents, with
44 completing the Pre-Institute survey and 39 completing both the pre and post institute surveys for just over a 70%
response rate. After examining the results, this is what we found:
Attendee Characteristics
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Two-thirds of respondents were attending the Summer Institute for the first time
About Half of all respondents said they had taught an Applied Learning course before
30 Departments were represented at the institute, including several administrative departments and over 20
academic departments.
The Impact of the Summer Institute
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On average, Attendees saw the
Change in Attitudes, Opinions, and Plans between day 1 and day 2
greatest change in their level of
Initial
Exit
Difference Is it
confidence in writing and submitting
Survey Survey in Means
Significant?
Mean
Mean
an ETEAL proposal. More people felt
I feel that I know how to design an
4.15
4.30
0.15
No
significantly better about submitting a
Applied Learning Experience
proposal by the end of the Institute.
I have a clear understanding of how
4.06
4.48
0.42
Yes1
Attendees also felt that they had
applied learning impacts students
more sufficient resources and
and instructors
information by the end of the
I feel that I know exactly what I need
3.45
4.45
1.00
Yes1
to do to submit a proposal for ETEAL
Institute.
funding
Likewise, attendees generally felt
To what Extent do you think Applied
4.73
4.91
0.19
Yes2
better about designing Applied
Learning Experiences can enhance
Learning experiences, felt they had a
student learning?
How Well do you feel you could
3.78
3.97
0.18
No
better understanding of AL’s impact.
Implement an ETEAL Applied
To a lesser extent, attendees also felt
Learning Experience in one of your
more strongly that Applied Learning
courses?
could enhance student Learning.
I feel that Applied Learning
4.78
4.84
0.07
No
Experiences provide Students with
Note that regardless of statistical
Valuable Skills and Experience
significance, this may not indicate
I have all of the Resources and
3.69
4.19
0.5
No
substantive significance. Question 2,
Information I need to Carry out an
for example, is statistically significant
Applied Learning Experience within
the next year
at the 0.01 level but if we look at the
How Likely do you think you are to
4.65
4.94
0.29
No
actual means, we see that most
plan an Applied Learning Experience
attendees started out agreeing with
within the next year?
that statement and simply shifted
Difference in Means calculated using a Paired T-test n=28 to n=31
valid cases, depending on the question.
slightly more toward “strongly agree”
Moreover, we cannot make statements about Causation with this data. We do not know which part of the
Institute, if any, was responsible for these changes, but there was significant and noticeable change.
Expectations and Experiences
Before the Institute began, most respondents were focused on an exchange of ideas and gaining information
about Applied Learning course design. After the institute, this was also one of the most common experiences that
attendees reported, along with the feeling that the Summer Institute was an excellent Networking opportunity. It
is also worth noting that at the start of the institute, most respondents listed a very individual goal or expectation
for something they themselves would gain, but after the institute most of them spoke about positive group
experiences and communication.
1
2
Significant at the 0.01 Level
Statistically Significant only at the 0.1 level, substantive significance dubious.