Students go through a competency-based education programs at their own pace and engaging them might seem difficult. At Brandman University, we have discovered many ways to continuously involve them as they progress through their courses. Some of these engagement modalities include milestone posts, discussion board posts and chatrooms.
With students going through a competency-based education program at their own pace, it may seem difficult to get them to engage with the tutorial faculty. At Brandman, we have discovered many ways to continuously involve them as they progress through their online courses.
Brandman University, a nonprofit school, offers undergraduate business and information technology degrees in competency-based format. It is important for the students to continuously interact with faculty throughout the program for the Federal government to continue awarding financial aid, so we have created many ways to do this. These include milestone posts; discussion board posts; and final assessment preparation, which often includes online meetings.
Milestone posts are our newest form of engagement. After different sections throughout each competency, students are asked complex questions to ensure they have read the material and can apply it. The posts are either affirmed or the students are asked to elaborate more. Each post is given ample feedback from the faculty member. Whether or not the post is affirmed depends on a rubric created for all milestone posts.
Discussion board posts are a way to connect students to faculty and other students as well. These can be read by students who come to the same part of the competency later on since they are progressing at their own pace. Faculty are able to comment and like the posts as well.
Online meetings are one way for us to really connect with students. We use a platform called Adobe Connect, where we can see the students, share documents, talk, and type comments. It is a wonderful program, and it can also be tracked to show that we are meeting with students in the platform.
Dr. Margaret Moodian joined Brandman University as a Tutorial Assistant Professor of Humanities and Social Sciences in 2016. In this role she helps develop content for the competency-based programs and continuously helps with improvement. Join her for an informative talk on different ways of engagement with students in Brandman’s competency-based program. This program does make a significant impact on students’ lives!