Guiding Student Learning in
Online Environments
Jackie Rahsaz
Western Governors University
jrahsaz@wgu.edu
The Challenge
• In the traditional classroom,
the professor guides the
learning through
synchronous weekly
lectures.
• In the self-paced, on-line,
asynchronous environment,
the student navigates on
their own.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
WGU Model
Non-profit
Online
Self-paced
Competency-based
Personal Mentor
Program based
6 month terms start
every month
Student A
Student B
COURSE
Student C
Colleges
•
•
•
•
College of Business
College of Information Technology
College of Health Professions
Teachers College
– Elementary Education
– Secondary Education
• Math
• Science
over 2,000 students
started Oct 1
over 25,000 current
students
Competency-Based
Domains of
Study
Competencies
Assessments
Objective
Performance
Learning
Resources
Guiding Student Learning
• Student Mentors monitor learning on a
regular basis, during entire program
– Regular phone calls, Access to LR analytics
• Course Mentors offer additional content
support, during a specific course
• Course of Study guides the learning process
• E-Learning Resources provide the
opportunity to gain competency
Student’s Want to Know…
• What do I need to learn?
– The Course of Study lists the competencies and
guiding questions
• How do I learn the material?
– WGU provides the Learning Resources and the
Course of Study directs their use
• How will I know when I’ve learned it?
– Pre-Assessments check student learning, in
addition to the opportunities within the LR
Let’s look at a Course of Study…
Course of Study
Topic within the
Course of Study
E-Learning Resource
referenced within the
Course of Study
E-Learning Resource
OWL Chemistry from Cengage
Access to the eBook along with
other opportunities to learn the
material
Opportunity for student
to check their
understanding
Course of Study
Guiding Student Learning
Integrated hyperlink
goes directly to section
within etext
Guiding questions
related to our
competencies
Coaching Reports
• After taking a pre-assessment to check their
understanding, a coaching report is
available.
Hyperlink to the Course
of Study topic
Guiding Student Learning
• Student Mentors connect with students
regularly
• Course Mentors - content specific assistance
• Course of Study – asynchronous learning
– E-Learning Resources
– Message Board
– Community
• Pre-Assessments/Coaching Reports –
determine readiness for assessment
Constantly Improving
• Utilize and support OER (Open Educational
Resources)
• Integrate - creating a better learning
atmosphere for our students
• Provide all E-Learning Resources for our
students
• Reach out to students, after reviewing
analytics from LR student use
Questions?
Jackie Rahsaz
Western Governors University
jrahsaz@wgu.edu
Please feel free to evaluate this presentation at:
www.league.org/stemtech/evaluation