7 Ways to Measure Successful Online Student Learning – Part 2

In part 1 of this article, I cover the first 3 ways to measure online student success.

Here are four more. Enjoy.

4.Scenario-based learning.

Many courses follow this structure,

1. Teach the material
2. Quiz them
3. Teach some more
4. Quiz them
5. …
6. Give them a final quiz

Depending upon the material you teach, there could be opportunities to get the student off the computer and the course applying what they learned. Could they be writing about it in a notebook? Is there an opportunity to apply what they have done in a real or simulated situation? What offline learning components can you add to your course to get them to better understand your material?

You can then have them come back and report on how they did as part of an exercise.

5.Community discussion.

Group discussions in virtual classroom, forum, private Facebook group or WhatsApp group are a great way for students to work with other students to learn your material. They can ask each other questions and get answers without you, or anyone on your team, needing to get involved. Students can compare notes to see if others are struggling with a specific topic. Listening into these conversations could be a great way to gather feedback you can use to make improvements.

This is also a way for students that understand the materials to confirm their learning. If you can teach the material, you certainly know it. Helping others out in a group discussion can become an additional learning experience for them.

6.Exit surveys or satisfaction polls.

Checking in with learners during the course or after they’ve completed it is a good way to keep tabs on how well learners are doing. When learners are still taking the course, it’s best to keep check-ins brief. It could be just a thumbs-up or thumbs-down. You could include emoticons they can click to tell you how it’s going.

That will help you understand how they feel at that moment.

After they complete a course, you can ask for more feedback.

7.Reviews and recommendations.

Learners may not want to tell you how they’re feeling, but they may leave a review. Many course authors fail to ask for review and this is a big mistake. Giving students specific instructions on how they can submit a review is a good way to get the feedback you need. These can also be used as testimonials you can use to promote your program.

You can also ask them how likely they would be to recommend your course to a friend. Asking them for the name and contact information of their friend is a way to reach out and recruit more students.

Use the feedback you receive to make your course better

The information you can collect using these recommendations are priceless for making adjustments in your course materials. If you’re hearing from your students that the lessons are too long, you can break them down into smaller segments. If learners are struggling to pass quizzes, you can review the material being tested to improve the lesson. You might consider shortening the quiz or offering more frequent, shorter quizzes. If learners are dropping out at some point in your course, you can use that as a time to check in with them personally to see what support they need to finish.

And if you are getting positive feedback, don’t rest on your laurels. Listen to what your learners love and focus on doing more of what works. There’s always more you can learn, so always be listening.

Hope this helps!