News Roundup: Active Learning Trends, Part-Time Student Success

This week, keeping up with active learning trends around the world and why institutions should focus on success for part-time students.

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Lessons Learned: Building Prior Learning Assessment Structures
Students’ prior experiences often directly apply to their programs of study, says Jacqueline Hill, associate provost of academic affairs at Miami Dade College. Hill advocates using prior learning assessments to gauge students’ knowledge of the material and award credit, which can improve retention, enrollment, and student success. (The Evolllution)

Active Learning Experts on Keeping Up with Trends Worldwide
Active learning research and trends from around the world can benefit classrooms in the United States, according to many active-learning experts. Suggestions include measuring the effectiveness of learning spaces and instructor preparedness, as researchers in Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom are doing, and using video technology to broadcast lectures to students on the other side of the world, among other ideas. (University Business)

Why Part-Time Students’ Success Matters
A study from EAB reveals that part-time student success in community colleges is essential for closing the achievement gaps for minority students. The report shows that Black and Hispanic students are more likely than White students to attend part time, which can negatively impact their ability to graduate. According to Christina Hubbard, colleges should focus on accommodating the needs of part-time students through measures such as creating shorter terms. (Inside Higher Ed)

Subverting That End-of-Semester Exhaustion
Because John Warner wanted to avoid student burnout, he asked students to submit their “big projects” early and spent the last two weeks of the semester having them engage in group activities and individual reflections. Warner discovered that the reflections were some of the best writing students had done through the course and the experiment was a success. (Just Visiting)