“Just Three Minutes”: A Learning Innovation for Struggling Students 2008 Instructional Innovation Award Presented By: Carol W. Springer School of Accountancy Georgia State University April 2008

Georgia State University 2 Problem 360 seat auditorium “DWF” rate rumored to be worst on campus 45%-55% over past several years All constituents believed trouble was “lack of student effort” Less than 50% attendance Low homework completion

Georgia State University 3 Goal of innovation Entice struggling students into expending more effort Ask for only 3 minutes Reduce intimidation Show that effort pays off Show improvement quickly Focus on “big ideas” Make goal of competence seem doable Have quick remedy available 24/7 No humiliation if it takes many repetitions

Georgia State University 4 Key aspects of innovation 3 minute presentations Ala carte Moderation (3 per chapter) Not a repeat of lecture No course credit for using Use tracked by ULearn Students not aware use was tracked Informality Short problems after each presentation

Georgia State University 5 Results 78% of the students accessed the Digital Tutor videos at least once during the course. Interestingly, this was higher than attendance rates (low 70%). End of course surveys revealed that high achievers did not try Digital Tutors because “they didn’t need to”.

Georgia State University 6 Results The average number of times each student accessed a video was 26.9 times (out of 27 videos produced). Generally, if they watched one, they watched EVERY video, and often they viewed videos multiple times.

Georgia State University 7 Results Use of Digital Tutors had a significant effect on course average, using Exam1 as a covariate to control for student ability (prior GPA not available to control for ability) (f=15.113, p<.001). This test was considered appropriate since most of the viewing activity was after Exam 1 (tutorials were posted two weeks before Exam 1 and word of mouth that they were “good” took a while to spread).

Georgia State University 8 Results Course DWF rate for Spring 2007 was 28.57% and Fall 2007 was 26.91%, down dramatically from 45% - 55% levels in prior years. Change in DWF rates achieved using 75% prior year exam questions to control for rigor. Due to the high level of repeat students, using full prior year exams was considered unwise. Modified questions mimicked prior exams as closely as possible.

Georgia State University 9 Results End of the course surveys revealed that Digital Tutors were the overwhelmingly favorite resource. Qualitative feedback indicated that students felt the professor “understood them” they had their own personal tutor the department and professor “cared” if they succeeded End of course SEIs included calls for digital tutors in other courses.

Georgia State University 10 Unintended benefits Professor dedication to “big ideas” Particular attention to common misconceptions surrounding “big ideas” Smaller ideas easier after big ideas digested Less pressure in class to cover common misconceptions Increased attendance

Georgia State University 11 Potential as model Innovation is not content specific, it is audience specific All content areas have “big ideas” and common misconceptions for weaker students Technology not the driving element Voice over PowerPoint enough Particularly powerful for large lecture formats lectures must “hit the center” of a wide range of ability and levels of preparation Exaggerated teacher to student ratios

Georgia State University 12 Great News Innovation elicited student effort WITHOUT ANY COURSE CREDIT to the effort. While faculty gripe, with good reason, about students short attention span and lack of effort, this innovation shows an upbeat view: struggling students are willing to try harder.

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