OnCourse Workshop

Helping colleges improve student success and retention

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Class Mission Statements

I start each course I am teaching by having students create a mission statement.  I have found this activity sets the tone (as well as the goals) for the rest of the course.

I give each student a “post-it” note.  I ask each student to write one goal he/she has for the class or why he/she is in this class or what he/she most wants to learn in this class.  If the students have more than 1 idea, I give them another “post-it” note (students should write only 1 idea per “post-it”).  Students are then instructed to stick the “post-it” to the board or to a big, white sheet of paper I have taped to the board. 

Next students are asked to organize the ideas on the notes into categories.  (If the class is large, the instructor may read the notes and ask the class to decide what category the note fits.)  The categories in my class this quarter ended up being “better study skills,” “motivation,” “grades,” and “success.”

Once the categories are established, two or three students are chosen to use the category titles to create a sentence or two that summarizes the categories.  This sentence or two becomes the class’s mission statement. This quarter the mission statement that resulted from the above categories was “To improve/obtain better study skills and motivation in order to receive an A and to be successful in all classes and successful in life.” 

At this point the students are aware of the goals for the class and the direction of the course.  This activity is valuable because the students have learned teamwork from day one, the students feel they have a voice in setting the goals for the class, and I learn a lot about the class in a brief period of time.  I have done this often enough that it usually takes about 20 minutes of class time at the most, but the positive class attitude that develops from this activity is worth every minute of time spent on it.

–Beverly Brown, Adjunct Professor, College Survival Skills, North Central State College, OH

Forum Image OptionClass Mission Statements Forum

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National Conference

A Festival for
Learner-Centered Educators
April 11-13, 2019
DoubleTree by Hilton
Anaheim–Orange County, CA

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Learner-Centered Strategies that Improve Student Success and Retention

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Workshop Testimonials

I have attended a lot of workshops and conferences–On Course is by far the best!
Alford
Director, Title III and Success Center
Southwestern Illinois College, IL
You have created a workshop that, in my 25 years of professional development, is by far the best experience I’ve ever had.
Jennifer Meehl
Academic Advisor
Landmark College, VT
This workshop has taken a hardened, crusty educator and softened her once again to be committed and energized to become the best person and teacher she can be.
Chris Landrum
Counselor
Mineral Area College, MO
The On Course Workshop was the most productive learning experience I have had in years.
Kelli Rush
Faculty, Business
Campbellsville University, KY
Ways I think the workshop could be improved? You can’t improve on perfect!
Dan Villaire
Faculty, English
Saginaw Valley State University, MI
I arrived as a skeptic, but by the end of the first day I was converted. These strategies are practical and timely. I am looking forward to implementing them in my courses.
Rodney R. Brooks
Faculty, Accounting
Glendale Community College, AZ
Our college needs to offer this workshop for all faculty, full and part-time.
John McGill
Associate Dean, Biology
York Technical College, SC
This workshop transformed my professional and personal life.
Susan Pitcher
Director, TRIO
Bay College, MI
I’m a better instructor because of On Course.
Mary Lou Ng
Faculty, Mathematics
N. Alberta Institute of Tech., Alberta, CN
In my 31 years of teaching this was the best and most critically needed of any workshop I have ever attended.
Susan Duncan
Faculty, Humanities
El Camino College, CA

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