Caroline L. Park

Why Do Students Withdraw from Online Graduate Nursing and Health Studies Education

Why do nursing and health studies graduate students who are enrolled in online programs decide to withdraw? The qualitative study reported in this paper investigated students’ self-identified reasons for withdrawing from an online graduate program in nursing and health studies. The focus of the study was Athabasca Universities’ Centre for Nursing and Health Studies (CNHS) online graduate program. Data were collected from program students who initiated withdrawal between the years 1999-2004. Using Rovai’s (2002) Composite Persistence Model as a framework for analysis, themes identified from withdrawing students’ notice of withdrawal letters are discussed. The major reasons for leaving can be placed into two categories, personal reasons (often related to life or work commitments) and program reasons (usually related to learning style and fit with career). These findings, and the resulting analysis, have implications for online program design and delivery and student support programs. With a better understanding of student reasons for leaving a program of studies, it will be possible to explore which program elements might be altered to improve the experience of online learning.

Minimising attrition: strategies for assisting students who are at risk of withdrawal

This paper explores strategies aimed at minimising attrition by encouraging persistence among online graduate students who are considering withdrawal. It builds upon earlier studies conducted by a team of researchers who teach online graduate students in health care at Athabasca University. First, in 2008–2009, Park, Boman, Care, Edwards, and Perry reviewed assumptions held related to attrition of online learners and defined key terms such as persistence and attrition. Next, Perry, Boman, Care, Edwards, and Park explored factors that influenced online students’ decisions to withdraw. Reported in this paper are strategies related to course design, course delivery, and programme organisation that could reduce attrition rates. An additional section of the paper focuses on strategies to ease the re‐integration of students who have withdrawn and subsequently want to return to their studies. Rovai’s Composite Persistence Model and Harter and Szurminski’s Project Assuring Student Success (PASS) programme are used as a framework for analysis and for generation of recommended strategies.

What is the value of replicating other studies

In response to a question on the value of replication in social science research, the author undertook a search of the literature for expert advise on the value of such an activity. Using the information gleaned and the personal experience of attempting to replicate the research of a colleague, the conclusion was drawn that replication has great value but little ‘real life’ application in the true sense. The activity itself, regardless of the degree of precision of the replication, can have great merit in extending understanding about a method or a concept. Copyright , Beech Tree Publishing.

Persistence and Attrition: What Is Being Measured?

The purpose of this article is to discuss four assumptions commonly held in relation to persistence and or attrition rates at institutions of post secondary education: that persistence is positive, that persistence is an indicator of a programs ability to satisfy student need, that persistence is lower in distance education programs and that comparisons of persistence rates have meaning. The assumptions are explored in relation to the literature and to the data generated by the first complete cohort of graduate students in the Centre for Nursing and Health Studies at Athabasca University. We further propose formulae to address both persistence and attrition in online educational programs and present the variations in rates that can be produced.

Debate as a Teaching Strategy in Online Education: A Case Study.

This reflective case study was based on our independent use of the debate as an online instructional approach and our shared interest in instructional techniques. Using narrative inquiry, we melded our data sources to analyze the findings, including our individual experiences with the technique. Our paper contributes to the field of research on instructional techniques (specifically debates), as well as online distance education. The findings suggest that the use of debates as instructional techniques in text-based paced and un-paced courses at the online undergraduate and graduate levels can contribute to improved learning outcomes and student satisfaction.

Teaching Health Professionals Online: Frameworks and Strategies

and complex topics such as human interaction. Additional examples of such topics are compassion, human connection, motivation, inspiration, and caring, topics that are often part of nursing and other human services curricula. As van Manen (1990) notes, poems help to expose the tacit and unspoken within the limitation of words. Poems have the potential to communicate the essence of topics that are difficult to write about, including personal beliefs, values, and philosophies. Since the poem that is to be paralleled by the students is written or chosen by the instructor, it gives learners insight into that instructor’s values, priorities, and attitudes. In this way, the parallel poetry activity is also a technique through which instructors share themselves with students. It offers the opportunity for students to come to know their instructor as a caring, compassionate person. PhotostorIes and audIo casts Opportunities for students to get to know their online instructors are often limited. Although a photo of an instructor may accompany each posting in a course forum, the teacher may not become as animated and real to learners as face-to-face instructors are. In order to create an invitational educational milieu, it is important for online teachers to find ways to disclose appropriate personality attributes and personal details to learners to reveal that they are caring individuals. In face-to-face teaching, students hear the instructor’s voice, see how instructors dress and present themselves, and often hear personal details integrated into class discussions or during shared breaks. All of these experiences help learners to know their teachers at an appropriate personal level. To achieve this level of intimacy online, teachers can use self-disclosure through a photostory or an audio cast. A photostory, which is a combination of images and voice, can be created using PowerPoint with voiceover narration or other opensource software programs. The most important consideration in

Outcomes of modified formal online debating in graduate nursing education.

Abstract Formal debating is a process for argumentation with a long history of use in classroom settings to promote students’ development of skills associated with influencing others. In an online, 14-week, MN nursing course, modified formal debate procedures and rules were used to address contemporary issues in nursing. A qualitative descriptive study of student’s reflections about engaging in the debate process was conducted involving 24 of 48 students representing three sections of this course taught by three professors during the 2009-2010 academic year. On analysis, the data revealed five categories of outcomes: 1) Risk Taking; 2) Defence of a Position; 3) Coverage of all Aspects; 4) Skill and Knowledge Transfer; and 5) Critical Thinking. Additionally, factors that influenced each of these outcomes are described. Study findings support the compelling benefits of debating in online learning environments using a format modified for use online.

Relating nursing theory to students' life experiences

Abstract Nursing is a dynamic field involving an interaction between scientific research and human need. Theoretical discussions often involve a complex of issues which are difficult to explore adequately in a typical lecture. This paper presents a teaching method which is highly interactive, moving students far beyond rote memorisation toward a deeper understanding of both the theory and practice of nursing. Numerous examples are given of the techniques application.