Presenter:
Marianne M. Rexer, Wilkes University
Description:
Research indicates that students' learning performance can be improved through student involvement in the learning process. Students can be involved in their learning through classroom participation, reading the assigned material, and completing the assignments. This poster session will show how professors can utilize CD-ROM technology to increase student participation in the classroom, increase their reading of the course material, and increase their students' grade performance. This has already been accomplished for a Managerial Accounting class. This class utilized a CD-ROM text for student use outside of the classroom. Incentives, monitoring of homework, and student awareness of the class performance were all used to increase student performance. Not only did the performance of participating students increase, the number of students participating also increased. The design seemed to be more enjoyable for students than simply reading the text and confirmed the professor's expectation that the students who put in the effort would have a more robust learning experience. As a result, the number of students completing the homework increased 16% and the overall classroom test average increased 4 points. Professors will learn how they can design their course to achieve optimal results while increasing student enjoyment.
