PoP Define Mode: Part 1

Define Mode Activity

Part A: 5 Whys? Root-Cause Analysis

• Why 1? Retention is lower in online courses because students are not prepared to take an online course.
• Why 2? Students are not prepared to take an online course because they lack the necessary resources such as a computer, textbook, or a reliable Internet connection.
• Why 3? Students lack the necessary resources because they may be living on a budget or fixed income and can’t afford the resources.
• Why 4? Students may be living on a budget or fixed income and can’t afford the resources because they may have come from a low income family environment, lost their job, waiting on financial aid money, or may have fallen on hard times due to family or personal emergencies and responsibilities or illness.
• Why 5? Students may have come from a low income family environment, lost their job, waiting on financial aid money, or may have fallen on hard times due to family or personal emergencies and responsibilities or illness because the circumstances may have been inherited, the result of a lengthy government process (financial aid), or circumstances beyond on their control.

Part B: Why-How Ladder

View the Why-How Ladder online here.

Part C: POV (Point of View) Want Ad

Web programming teacher seeks goal-oriented, prepared, and busy students interested in successfully completing and earning a good grade in an 8-week online college course!

• Willingness to commit to an approximately 18 hour weekly time investment and read, study, and learn the course material.
• MUST have access to a reliable computer and Internet connection. This may include spending time at a library or using Starbucks or Panera Bread’s free Wi-Fi.
• MUST be able to purchase the course textbook and engage with the material. This may include highlighting, adding notes to pages, dog-earing pages, or applying sticky notes to pages to mark important content. Colorful highlighting, colorful sticky notes, and creative note taking are recommended.
• MUST have a hectic schedule that includes one or more of the following: a full-time job, multiple jobs, family responsibilities, a full-time course load at a college.
• MUST be prepared to learn a full semester of content in half the amount of time. This includes working on assignments during work, during other courses, at odd times during the day or night, and on vacation.
• Self-motivated, goal-oriented individuals with good time management skills and a desire for success and accomplishment in advancing their education or learning a new skill, is recommended.