One course could make the difference in graduating within six years, according to an Ohio State study.
Students who take Individual Learning and Motivation Strategies during their first quarter at OSU are about 45 percent more likely to graduate within six years compared to similar students who don't take the class, according to a study done by Bruce Tuckman, a professor of education at OSU and creator of the class, and Gary Kennedy, a graduate student in education.
Tuckman said he found in the study that course-takers were six times more likely to come back for their sophomore year in comparison to students who didn't take the class. Although the study tested first-quarter freshmen, Kennedy said that any student, regardless of grade point average or rank, could take the course.
"When they come into this class, it's like a cocoon," Tuckman said. "They're in this little world that we made for them. After the class is over, they're able to build their own cocoon because they know the things they are supposed to do. They've had so much practice at it."
Students enrolled in the class, listed as EPL 259, are taught four strategies and eight sub-strategies, Tuckman said.
These strategies developed through 216 assignments, all of which are expected to be completed over the course of one quarter. The assignments range in size from just one paragraph to two pages.
Even though a lot is required out of the students, Tuckman said they are given the work in small amounts.
"One of the sub-strategies we offer is called bite-size pieces, and we teach them how to break things down," Tuckman said. "We don't give them a mouth-full. We give it to them in bite-size pieces."
Some other skills the students learn include building self-confidence, learning from listening, preparing for exams and taking responsibility and putting in the effort needed to succeed.
Despite all the information that students are expected to learn, the study has shown that the class is working.
Students who took the class had an average GPA of 2.85 over each of their first four quarters, compared to 2.74 for those who didn't take the class. The first-quarter students who were studied were compared to people who didn't take the class but matched on gender, ethnicity, class rank and standardized test scores, Kennedy said.
The class enrolls 1,000 students each quarter, Tuckman said, and they are divided into 11 sections.
Pat Dugan, a senior in psychology, took EPL 259 last quarter and is now enrolled in EPL 359, Technology Enhanced Learning Strategies. He said he has noticed a progression in his study habits.
"After I took 259, I realized that there were a lot of things I hadn't been doing right in my academic career, and it kind of helped me hammer out some of things I haven't been doing," Dugan said.
"This class was a nice follow-up to that. You learn a lot more about technology and how to use that and phase that into education and just different aspects of technology in the modern world."
Drew Sullivan can be reached at sullivan.462@osu.edu.
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