The Influence of Syllabus Tone on Student Engagement in a Wellness Course
This study examines the impact of changing the tone of a traditional syllabus to make it more learner-centered. The researchers examined a required wellness course that serves over 8,000 students per year at a large, four-year public university in the southern United States. Concerns about student p...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
University of North Carolina Wilmington
2020-05-01
|
| Series: | Journal of Effective Teaching in Higher Education |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://jethe.org/index.php/jethe/article/view/25 |
| _version_ | 1818946558831362048 |
|---|---|
| author | Amy Howton Mandy McGrew Liyuan Liu Lauren L. Staples Herman E. Ray |
| author_facet | Amy Howton Mandy McGrew Liyuan Liu Lauren L. Staples Herman E. Ray |
| author_sort | Amy Howton |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This study examines the impact of changing the tone of a traditional syllabus to make it more learner-centered. The researchers examined a required wellness course that serves over 8,000 students per year at a large, four-year public university in the southern United States. Concerns about student progression through programs and graduation rates had prompted a number of faculty to look into ways to increase these numbers. The investigators changed the tone of the syllabus to determine if a more learner-centered document would increase the chances of students interacting with the syllabus and, in turn, increase the success rates in the course. The results indicated that few students spent sufficient time reading the syllabus to take in all the information regardless of the tone used within the document, so the tone, by itself, did not impact student success. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-20T08:16:56Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-55b438b251204fff8ed4a62995e32a90 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2578-7608 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-20T08:16:56Z |
| publishDate | 2020-05-01 |
| publisher | University of North Carolina Wilmington |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Effective Teaching in Higher Education |
| spelling | doaj.art-55b438b251204fff8ed4a62995e32a902022-12-21T19:47:06ZengUniversity of North Carolina WilmingtonJournal of Effective Teaching in Higher Education2578-76082020-05-013110.36021/jethe.v3i1.25The Influence of Syllabus Tone on Student Engagement in a Wellness CourseAmy Howton0Mandy McGrew1Liyuan Liu2Lauren L. Staples3Herman E. Ray4Kennesaw State UniversityKennesaw State UniversityKennesaw State UniversityKennesaw State UniversityKennesaw State UniversityThis study examines the impact of changing the tone of a traditional syllabus to make it more learner-centered. The researchers examined a required wellness course that serves over 8,000 students per year at a large, four-year public university in the southern United States. Concerns about student progression through programs and graduation rates had prompted a number of faculty to look into ways to increase these numbers. The investigators changed the tone of the syllabus to determine if a more learner-centered document would increase the chances of students interacting with the syllabus and, in turn, increase the success rates in the course. The results indicated that few students spent sufficient time reading the syllabus to take in all the information regardless of the tone used within the document, so the tone, by itself, did not impact student success.https://jethe.org/index.php/jethe/article/view/25syllabus, tone, learner-centered, online course, student success |
| spellingShingle | Amy Howton Mandy McGrew Liyuan Liu Lauren L. Staples Herman E. Ray The Influence of Syllabus Tone on Student Engagement in a Wellness Course Journal of Effective Teaching in Higher Education syllabus, tone, learner-centered, online course, student success |
| title | The Influence of Syllabus Tone on Student Engagement in a Wellness Course |
| title_full | The Influence of Syllabus Tone on Student Engagement in a Wellness Course |
| title_fullStr | The Influence of Syllabus Tone on Student Engagement in a Wellness Course |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Influence of Syllabus Tone on Student Engagement in a Wellness Course |
| title_short | The Influence of Syllabus Tone on Student Engagement in a Wellness Course |
| title_sort | influence of syllabus tone on student engagement in a wellness course |
| topic | syllabus, tone, learner-centered, online course, student success |
| url | https://jethe.org/index.php/jethe/article/view/25 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT amyhowton theinfluenceofsyllabustoneonstudentengagementinawellnesscourse AT mandymcgrew theinfluenceofsyllabustoneonstudentengagementinawellnesscourse AT liyuanliu theinfluenceofsyllabustoneonstudentengagementinawellnesscourse AT laurenlstaples theinfluenceofsyllabustoneonstudentengagementinawellnesscourse AT hermaneray theinfluenceofsyllabustoneonstudentengagementinawellnesscourse AT amyhowton influenceofsyllabustoneonstudentengagementinawellnesscourse AT mandymcgrew influenceofsyllabustoneonstudentengagementinawellnesscourse AT liyuanliu influenceofsyllabustoneonstudentengagementinawellnesscourse AT laurenlstaples influenceofsyllabustoneonstudentengagementinawellnesscourse AT hermaneray influenceofsyllabustoneonstudentengagementinawellnesscourse |