A Study to Examine Post-licensure Students’ and Faculty Members’ Perceptions of the Efficacy of an Online Tutorial Program

Shirlene Newbanks, MSN, RN Beverly Schaefer, Ed.D. RN Authors

Objectives Identify the significance of the study. Describe the intended audience. Discuss an educational strategy to provide adult learners with a review of basic writing skills. Discuss ways students can improve their writing skills in a short amount of time and with little faculty effort. Generate ideas for expanded research in this area. Objectives

Significance of the Study Adult students & writing skills? Strategies to improve writing skills? Significance of the Study

Our Real Life Scenario RN-BSN Program (Post-licensure) Hybrid (online and onsite) Prescriptive curriculum 7 Core Courses- 8 weeks each 8 Topics Courses – 4 weeks each (electives) 1,299 students enrolled Faculty: 18 full time faculty 125 adjunct faculty Desired Program Outcome Communicate with interprofessional team Prepared for graduate school Our Real Life Scenario

Significance of the Study Faculty Efforts Rubrics Explicit instructions Individualized feedback Tip Sheets Class time to teach writing Significance of the Study

Who could use this? Professions that do not need to communicate in writing? Communication technology Intended Audience???

Methodology Spring 2014 (March- June) Quantitative\–mixed methods design IRB approval Questionnaire - SurveyMonkey Faculty & Student - 13 questions 5 point Likert Demographics Open-ended questions Methodology

Response Students n=103 Faculty n=19 Response rate: Undetermined- low Subjects: Students n=103 Faculty n=19 Response

Describe the Strategy Educational Strategy Tools: Textbook Entry level course Two weeks Tools: Textbook On-line tutorials Unlimited drill and practice Mastery- 80% (60 points/1000) Describe the Strategy

Tutorial Topics Four Required Lessons Grammatical Sentences Clarity and Style Punctuation Spelling and Mechanics Tutorial Topics

Students’ Survey Results

(n=105)

(n=105)

(n=104)

(n=104)

(n=104)

Positive students’ comments Has been and will continue to be a good resource in my writing journey. Very beneficial in all of my writing assignments. Cannot imagine the hardships I would have faced without it. Great review since I graduated from college almost 30 years ago. It made learning more enjoyable. Positive students’ comments

Is not beneficial for those with a previous college degree. It was enough to make a person want to quit the program. Program was redundant and extremely time consuming. Negative comments

Faculty Survey Results

(n= 19)

(n= 19)

(n= 19)

n=19

n=19

n=19

Positive Teacher Comments I have seen a big improvement in student’s writing skills since IWU adopted it. The part I found most helpful was the section on wordiness. Some students said it was a good review. I’ve heard from some students that they enjoyed and learned from it. Positive Teacher Comments

Negative Teacher Comments I did not see an improvement. Many problems with the tutorials and grading. Some students had difficulty accessing the program. Negative Teacher Comments

Ideas for expanded research? Your ideas? Where should we go next? Where could you go from here? Ideas for expanded research?