Online Tools Support Professor's Commitment to Student Success Through Course Evaluation and Feedback

While statistics may be a difficult subject for many students, UC's Chris Swoboda makes it easier for students to learn by breaking his Statistical Data Analysis I and II courses up into small online modules and units.

Swoboda, an assistant professor in the School of Education, said making the courses available online has made the course accessible to more students, and it also creates an environment that allows them to personalize their learning experience. 

The course formats include extensive use of discussion boards, online tests and quizzes, web links, electronic feedback on homework, and instructions for Lynda.com and other web-based resources. Course videos include recorded lectures, tutorials for sample problems and explanations for discussion board questions. 

“These short, on-demand pieces or modules that people can learn from really serve a lot of people well, especially in an area that can be more challenging for some people,” Swoboda said. “We try to set things up to really support them.”

Swoboda said the online format is perfect for giving students practice quizzes, which provides students with immediate feedback as well as lets the instructor know where students need additional help. 

He discovered that eLearning can truly be used to enhance teaching and learning after developing the courses online and realizing he'd eliminated the challenges of teaching the courses face to face, such as students losing focus during a long lecture. Instead, students can get more comfortable with the material and fully understand it before moving forward. 

“I’m always open for ideas of how to reach students,” Swoboda said.

With students in nursing, education, health promotion and many more concentrations, Statistical Data Analysis invites students from a broad range of backgrounds and varying levels of experience. While Swoboda looks for new ways to engage with students, he also enjoys seeing how they apply course material to projects relating to their own disciplines. 

Swoboda and his colleague Maria Palmieri take student feedback very seriously, modifying the course throughout the semester based on students’ suggestions. He said students are the best sources to learn from, as they are the ones actually experiencing the course. 

“I think in the online format it’s actually easier to get questions because they’re more anonymous,” Swoboda said.  Students may be more unwilling to speak up if they need help in a large lecture hall, he said. 

Heather Moore, a UC Blue Ash College assistant professor of radiologic technology who took both courses, said the online format allowed her to watch videos and listen to explanations as many times as she needed. A discussion board thread that allowed for peer review of homework prior to official submission was also helpful. 

“[The course] was very well designed and allowed for a supportive atmosphere where instructor-to-student and student-to-student interactions facilitated a great deal of learning,” Moore said. “What made it easy to engage in this course was the consistency of the weekly course format and of weekly submission deadlines.”