Abstract
Statistics indicate that participation and access to higher education (HE) improved drastically, particularly through distance education. Despite the generosity of the massification of HE, a sizeable number of students do not complete their programs on record time. The majority of some of these students drop out. A convincing body of knowledge demonstrates that a plethora of factors contributes toward low student success rates in open distance learning (ODL) contexts. The main purpose of this conceptual argument is that technology-mediated constructively aligned pedagogical practices in ODL contexts can leverage student success rates. This chapter is qualitative and constructivist in nature and largely draws from the theory of constructive alignment and extant scholarship analysis to provide insights and understanding in improving students’ graduation rates in ODL settings. Drawing from the theory of constructive alignment, in this conceptual argument, it can be concluded that aligning the activities of the pedagogical practices (teaching, assessment, and learning outcomes) and delivering them through information and communication technology promotes students’ graduation rates.
Highlights
Most countries in the world prioritized the agenda to expand enrolments in higher education (HE) through aggressive policy changes
Nitecki [3] maintains that the universities that provide open distance learning (ODL) programs rely on technology to make higher education more accessible to students
This chapter does not intend to disregard some of the fundamental factors that are contributing to low success rates of students, but its focus is on the assumption that an ODL constructively aligned and technology-mediated teaching can improve students’ success rates
Summary
Most countries in the world prioritized the agenda to expand enrolments in HE through aggressive policy changes. 32 Trends in E-learning mass participation, providing equal access to affordable and quality university education for all women and men, which is a global goal for 2030” Supporting this view, Tsiplakides [2] declares that HE has experienced a significant expansion in many countries and this resulted in the massification of this critical societal sector. This chapter does not intend to disregard some of the fundamental factors that are contributing to low success rates of students, but its focus is on the assumption that an ODL constructively aligned and technology-mediated teaching can improve students’ success rates. The rest of the discussions include the following sections: perspectives on students’ success rates in ODL contexts, benefits of students’ success rates, the need for constructively aligned and technology-driven ODL curriculum, designing teaching strategies and assessment strategies, and the intended learning outcomes for improved student success rates
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