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Student Success, Retention & Engagement | On Course

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Student-Chosen Rules/Wise-Choice Process

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Promoting students’ experience of autonomy enhances their intrinsic motivation, educational studies reveal.  However, promoting this sense of freedom and self-determination in students is easier said than done!  Consider…

“Research shows that students say they like and prefer to have teachers who tell them what to do and then show them how to do it over teachers who give them choices and ask them to discover how to solve problems….The same research, however, shows that the students of autonomy-supportive teachers actually show more positive educational outcomes.”  –Johnmarshall Reeve, Motivating Others

I recall one of my students saying, “I wish you’d just tell us exactly what you want us to know.  I’ll memorize it, and you’ll see it word for word on the final exam.”  I’m reminded of a cartoon depicting a classroom: Up front is a big audio tape player and in all of the students’ chairs are perched little tape recorders; there are no “humans” in the classroom.  Consider…

“The challenge is to be autonomy supportive even with individuals who pull on us to control them.  It is the more passive, compliant, and defiant individuals who are more in need of an optimal interpersonal context–of involvement, autonomy support, and sensitive limit setting–but it is these individuals whom we have the hardest time giving it to.” –Edward Deci, Why We Do What We Do

I find being an autonomy-supportive instructor to be one of my greatest challenges as an educator.  But, when the students “get” it, oh, lordy, what a feelin’!

APPLICATION: How can I structure the learning environment so my students experience autonomy?

1) STUDENT-CHOSEN RULES:  I ask students to choose the rules they will impose upon themselves in order to achieve the outcomes and experience they want from the course.  Another option is to allow them to determine the consequences of breaking their own rules.  This strategy was employed by former professional basketball coach Pat Riley with his players; you can read about how he does it in his book, The Winner Within.

2) DECISION-MAKING PROCESS:  Instead of solving students’ problems or giving them advice, teach them a decision-making process. I use one called the Wise Choice Process, a six-step decision-making process that usually reveals that students know what their best choices are and that, as adults, they are free to determine what they will do about their problems.  The Wise Choice Process is explained in Chapter 2 of On Course.

–Skip Downing

Institutional Studies

Read compelling data from twenty seven colleges and universities using the On Course textbook.

 

These studies demonstrate increases in retention, success and persistence rates as high as 27%.

Book a Workshop!

We have 12 engaging campus workshops and keynote offerings addressing a wide range of student success topics.

 

Contact us for more information!

On Campus Workshops

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Workshops can be held virtually or in person!

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Workshop Testimonials

I told my Dean that if I took every workshop and conference I had ever attended and rolled them into one, it would not equal what I learned and gained from your workshop.
Jan Trollinger
Faculty, English
Paine College, GA
I’m a better instructor because of On Course.
Mary Lou Ng
Faculty, Mathematics
N. Alberta Institute of Tech., Alberta, CN
I have attended a lot of workshops and conferences–On Course is by far the best!
Debbie Alford,
Director, Title III and Success Center
Southwestern Illinois College, IL
Since first attending one of the summer retreats in 1997, I’ve held nine On Course workshops for our college, and I plan to offer more.
Philip Rodriquez
Director, Student Affairs
Cerritos College, CA
On a scale of 1-10, I rate the overall value I received from the workshop as a 15.
Deborah Rayner
Faculty, Computer Science
Harford Community College, MD
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
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
Thank you for making me a better teacher.
Gregory Walker
Faculty, Anatomy and Physiology
El Camino College Compton Center, CA
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
Our college needs to offer this workshop for all faculty, full and part-time.
John McGill
Associate Dean, Biology
York Technical College, SC

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