Frustrated by your students not reading your syllabus? Is there a better way? This 45 minute, hands-on presentation will show you how to create an infographic syllabus based upon a quantitative research study of at-risk students which evaluated the impact of syllabus design on the retention of course information.
The role of higher education is to promote the education of individuals. Examination and revision of methods used to provide information to students on the path to learning is key. This is especially important for online students as persistence in online courses is 10-20% lower than traditional face-to-face courses (Angelino, Williams, & Natvig, 2007; Lehman & Conceicao, 2013; Wojciechowski & Palmer, 2005). Bates and Khasawneh (2007) suggest that instructional strategies which provide a positive learning experience are crucial for building a student’s online learning self-efficacy beliefs. This ultimately fosters positive expectations by the student and encourages the use of technology for learning. Online educators and institutions need to identify elements critical to successful and effective learning (Lee & Faulkner, 2011). According to Arbaugh (2010), the success of online courses can be measured by the students ease with external factors such as the design of the learning environment.
The syllabus is the student’s first impression of the course and may serve as a mechanism to demonstrate the instructor as competent and caring while supporting a culture of engagement between the instructor and student (Lusted, 1986; Saville et.al., 2010). However, faculty frequently do not consider that the syllabus is the first communication tool with the students (Habanek, 2005; Ludwig, Bentz, & Fynewever, 2011; Slattery, & Carlson, 2005). The student’s first impression of the course is based upon the interaction with the faculty and the syllabus and this initial interaction will either encourage or discourage students from remaining in the class.
Syllabus design is historically based on best practices, and a transition to an infographic syllabus is considered a disruptive innovation to the status quo of education (Christensen & Irying, 2015; Mocek, 2016). The syllabus is utilized to provide students with key information regarding course expectations, however, students are not necessarily reading or retaining this important information. Today's students communicate using multimodal means e.g. graphics, text. In academia, including, online learning, words and text are the primary sources of knowledge, and images function merely as illustrations, contrary to the students’ preference for multimodal communication (DeTure, 2004, Mocek, 2016; Swan, 2004). This dichotomy may be one reason for students’ difficulty retaining critical syllabus information related to the course requirements and ultimately the lack of student engagement (Dabbaugh, 2007; Thompson, 2007)
Mocek’s (2016) study reveals that faculty should consider changing the way they view sharing critical information on a syllabus. This study found that students retained the information used in a infographic syllabus over the long term when both graphics and text are paired. The cognitive theory of multimedia learning (Mayer, 2014), supports multimedia learning’s potential for all students, including online. Cognitive theory of multimedia learning and visual literacy principles, along with infographic design features and textual requirements were utilized to create the infographic syllabus addendum for Mocek’s (2016) quantitative study. Mocek’s (2016) research found that the student’s focused upon key areas identified as important by the students. All other syllabus information was deemed as non-critical elements and were used primarily for non-learning purposes by faculty, programs and institutions. The provision of an infographic syllabus focuses specifically on what is important to students. A traditional text-based syllabus should also be provided to students in order to serve the other needs which is a win-win for both students and higher education.
It is important for students to be able to control the access and flow of information in their online course in order to engage the learner and increase persistence and retention of students (Glazer & Murphy, 2015; Lusk et al., 2009). The use of multimedia modalities support increased persistence and engagement, however, technology issues can impede this engagement, especially when students find it difficult to find critical course information (Arbaugh, 2010; Mayer, 2014; Mocek, 2016; Peltier, Schibrowsky, & Drago, 2007). The creation of an infographic syllabus does take time and effort and will require faculty to plan and develop the syllabus in a new way. By providing an infographic syllabus, students will be able to easily navigate their online course by focusing on the five critical syllabus elements found in Mocek’s (2016) study. During this 45 minute, hands-on workshop, attendees will create an infographic syllabus which will be uploaded and used within the learning management system so that students will not only find this information quickly and easily, but can use it to navigate their online course.
References:
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