Immersion Education for Online Learning Success

 
Learning So Fast You’ll Freak:
The Effect of Immersion on
Online Learning Success
 
Dr. Mike Brudzinski 
(1)
Dr. Stefany Sit 
(2)
 
(1) Miami University (Ohio)
(2) University of Illinois - Chicago
 
Unofficial Sponsor:
 
Official Sponsor:
 
Immersion Education
 
Immersion education often describes when elementary
students are taught in a second language, which is more
successful than a single daily class (e.g., Johnson and Swain,
1997)
Immersion style is also common for undergraduate geology,
typically in a “field camp” intensive ~5 week field
immersion (Whitmeyer and Mogk, 2009)
Intro geology courses taught as compressed field
immersions result in higher conceptual understanding than
classroom-based courses (e.g., Elkins and Elkins, 2007)
Yet field immersions are logistically difficult and essentially
impossible for large enrollment service courses
Can online environments be used for immersion education?
 
Course Summary
 
Introduction to Environmental Geology
Focus on Natural Disasters
Introductory course that fulfills physical
science requirement of liberal ed plan
Traditional, Active-learning, Hybrid, Online
15 weeks (semester) or 3 weeks (winter term)
50-90 students
Online discussion groups of ~10
 
 
Student Learning Outcomes
 
Select and/or generate possible answers
(hypotheses) to key questions
Collect and analyze data
Place the results of data analysis in context of
other experiments
Evaluate hypotheses based on results
Disseminate conclusions to peers
Convey the scientific information to the general
public
 
Evaluation with the GCI
 
Geoscience Concept Inventory (GCI)
Set of conceptually based questions developed by
geosciences education researchers (Libarkin and
Anderson, 2005)
Evaluated and validated using item analysis
techniques from both classical test theory and
item response theory
The same set of 25 questions employed online in
all cases (most intro geology courses in our
department since 2007)
 
Evaluation with the GCI
 
Geoscience Concept Inventory (GCI)
Impact of course on student performance is
estimated by calculating normalized improvement
Compare end of course GCI scores with start of
course GCI scores for each student
 
 
Uncertainties calculated with jackknife resampling
(Kunsch, 1989)
 
Student Performance Gains
 
Interpretation
 
Traditional to Active-Learning improvements
were interpreted as due to purposeful re-
design to focus more on student engagement
[Brudzinski and Sikorski, 2011]
In-Class to Online improvements were
interpreted as due to more authentic scientific
investigations with more practice & immediate
feedback [Sit and Brudzinski, in revision]
 
Online Class Format
 
10-20 minute video lectures
Summarize key points and integrate activities with
broader concepts
Primarily Voice Over PowerPoint
Some computer skill walk-throughs too
 
Online Class Format
 
Moodle Assignment (30-50 questions)
Multiple choice, multiple answer, numerical, short
answer questions
Immediate feedback, re-answer for partial credit
Can retake entire assignment (scores averaged)
Encouraged to ask questions and discuss with
other students through discussion boards
Require use Google Earth, Excel, web databases
How steep is this volcano?
1.
Flat: small (< 10%) average
slope and small (< 10%)
maximum slope
2.
Gentle: small (< 10%)
average slope but moderate
(10-50%) maximum slope
3.
Irregular: small (< 10%)
average slope but large (>
50%) maximum slope
4.
Moderate: moderate (10-
50%) average slope and
moderate (10-50%)
maximum slope
5.
Steep: moderate (10-50%)
average slope but large (>
50%) maximum slope
6.
Math?  Really?!?!
 
Effect of Immersion Online
 
Opportunity to isolate the impact of
immersion in these courses:
Fully online versions offered in both a traditional
15-week semester and a 3-week winter term
Essentially no change in course design other than
the time frame
About 6-9 hours coursework/day, 5 days/week
 
15 weeks
 
3 weeks
 
Student Performance Gains
 
Interpretation
 
Intro geology courses taught as compressed field
immersions result in higher GCI scores than classroom-
based courses (e.g., Elkins and Elkins, 2007)
3-week Winter Term course has no field component,
which implies the compression and intensiveness are
the key to creating immersion that improves student
conceptual understanding
This is reminiscent of the improved outcomes from
being taught in second language all day – the intensity
results in immersion
 
Likely Improved Critical Thinking Too
 
GCI assesses understanding of geologic
concepts, so results demonstrate gains in
content mastery
GCI results also show a positive correlation
with other critical thinking assessment tools
(McConnell et al., 2006)
Our results suggest immersion promotes
students’ critical thinking abilities
 
Implication:
Target Outside of Fall or Spring
 
Institutions should consider focusing online
efforts outside traditional 15-week semesters
When compressed, immersive courses can be
offered more readily
When residential students seek online courses
because they are typically away from campus
Conclusion
A compressed, immersive format improves
student learning in online courses based on
validated measures of learning outcomes
 
15 weeks
 
3 weeks
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Immersion education, typically used in fields like geology, has shown to enhance conceptual understanding. Can online environments be leveraged for immersion education? This study explores the impact of immersion education on student learning outcomes in an online Introduction to Environmental Geology course. Using the Geoscience Concept Inventory, the course's effectiveness is evaluated by comparing student performance before and after the course. Findings suggest potential benefits of incorporating immersion techniques in online learning environments.


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  1. Learning So Fast Youll Freak: The Effect of Immersion on Online Learning Success Official Sponsor: Unofficial Sponsor: Dr. Mike Brudzinski (1) Dr. Stefany Sit (2) (1) Miami University (Ohio) (2) University of Illinois - Chicago

  2. Immersion Education Immersion education often describes when elementary students are taught in a second language, which is more successful than a single daily class (e.g., Johnson and Swain, 1997) Immersion style is also common for undergraduate geology, typically in a field camp intensive ~5 week field immersion (Whitmeyer and Mogk, 2009) Intro geology courses taught as compressed field immersions result in higher conceptual understanding than classroom-based courses (e.g., Elkins and Elkins, 2007) Yet field immersions are logistically difficult and essentially impossible for large enrollment service courses Can online environments be used for immersion education?

  3. Course Summary Introduction to Environmental Geology Focus on Natural Disasters Introductory course that fulfills physical science requirement of liberal ed plan Traditional, Active-learning, Hybrid, Online 15 weeks (semester) or 3 weeks (winter term) 50-90 students Online discussion groups of ~10

  4. Student Learning Outcomes Select and/or generate possible answers (hypotheses) to key questions Collect and analyze data Place the results of data analysis in context of other experiments Evaluate hypotheses based on results Disseminate conclusions to peers Convey the scientific information to the general public

  5. Evaluation with the GCI Geoscience Concept Inventory (GCI) Set of conceptually based questions developed by geosciences education researchers (Libarkin and Anderson, 2005) Evaluated and validated using item analysis techniques from both classical test theory and item response theory The same set of 25 questions employed online in all cases (most intro geology courses in our department since 2007)

  6. Evaluation with the GCI Geoscience Concept Inventory (GCI) Impact of course on student performance is estimated by calculating normalized improvement Compare end of course GCI scores with start of course GCI scores for each student Uncertainties calculated with jackknife resampling (Kunsch, 1989)

  7. Student Performance Gains Traditional Lecture- Based Active- Learning Revision Active E-Learning GCIGAIN 9.2 1.0% 17.2 0.8% 24.5 2.0% # Students 441 1121 207

  8. Interpretation Traditional to Active-Learning improvements were interpreted as due to purposeful re- design to focus more on student engagement [Brudzinski and Sikorski, 2011] In-Class to Online improvements were interpreted as due to more authentic scientific investigations with more practice & immediate feedback [Sit and Brudzinski, in revision]

  9. Online Class Format 10-20 minute video lectures Summarize key points and integrate activities with broader concepts Primarily Voice Over PowerPoint Some computer skill walk-throughs too

  10. Online Class Format Moodle Assignment (30-50 questions) Multiple choice, multiple answer, numerical, short answer questions Immediate feedback, re-answer for partial credit Can retake entire assignment (scores averaged) Encouraged to ask questions and discuss with other students through discussion boards Require use Google Earth, Excel, web databases

  11. How steep is this volcano? 1. Flat: small (< 10%) average slope and small (< 10%) maximum slope Gentle: small (< 10%) average slope but moderate (10-50%) maximum slope Irregular: small (< 10%) average slope but large (> 50%) maximum slope Moderate: moderate (10- 50%) average slope and moderate (10-50%) maximum slope Steep: moderate (10-50%) average slope but large (> 50%) maximum slope Math? Really?!?! 43% 43% 2. 14% 3. 0% 0% 0% More math? Really?!?! Moderate: moderate (10-50.. Gentle: small (< 10%) averag... Steep: moderate (10-50%) a... Irregular: small (< 10%) avera.. Flat: small (< 10%) average s... 4. 5. 6.

  12. Effect of Immersion Online Opportunity to isolate the impact of immersion in these courses: Fully online versions offered in both a traditional 15-week semester and a 3-week winter term Essentially no change in course design other than the time frame About 6-9 hours coursework/day, 5 days/week 3 weeks 15 weeks

  13. Student Performance Gains 15 Week Hybrid 15 Week Online 3 Week Online GCIGAIN 19.4 2.8% 19.7 3.6% 30.3 3.6% # Students 83 73 51

  14. Interpretation Intro geology courses taught as compressed field immersions result in higher GCI scores than classroom- based courses (e.g., Elkins and Elkins, 2007) 3-week Winter Term course has no field component, which implies the compression and intensiveness are the key to creating immersion that improves student conceptual understanding This is reminiscent of the improved outcomes from being taught in second language all day the intensity results in immersion

  15. Implication: Target Outside of Fall or Spring Institutions should consider focusing online efforts outside traditional 15-week semesters When compressed, immersive courses can be offered more readily When residential students seek online courses because they are typically away from campus

  16. Conclusion A compressed, immersive format improves student learning in online courses based on validated measures of learning outcomes 15 weeks 3 weeks

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