Running Head: LEARNING STRATEGY WORKSHOP SERIES ASSESSMENT 1

Fall 2017 Learning Strategy Workshop Series Assessment:

Summary & Recommendations

Rachel Fielding

Seattle University
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Introduction

This document provides a summary of student assessment feedback from each of the four

Fall 2017 Learning Strategies Workshops offered by Learning Assistance Programs (LAP) at

Seattle University. This document includes the following sections: overview of workshops

provided, overarching assessment themes, recommendations for improvement informed by

learning theory and best practices, and a potential internship description for follow up work.

Workshop Overview

LAP provided four learning strategies workshops during Fall quarter. Each workshop was

offered on two separate days of the week at two separate times. Workshops were offered every

other week and were held in weeks 3, 5, 7 & 9 of the quarter. The following workshops were

facilitated by LAP during Fall quarter 2017:

• Effective Organization and Time Management Strategies

o Facilitator: Angie Jenkins

o Wednesday 10/4/17 2:00 – 3:00 PM; Thursday 10/5/17 12:30 – 1:20 PM

o Attendance: 21

• Study Strategies and Learning Strengths

o Facilitator: Rachel Fielding

o Wednesday 10/18/17 2:00 – 3:00 PM; Thursday 10/19/17 12:39 – 1:20 PM

o Attendance: 21

• Academic Success with Generalized Anxiety

o Facilitator: Melissa Pico

o Wednesday 11/1/17 2:00 – 3:00 PM; Thursday 11/2/17 12:39 – 1:20 PM

o Attendance: 31

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• Preparing for Finals

o Facilitator: Elsa & Monet; Brennan & Shayan

o Wednesday 11/15/17 2:00 – 3:00 PM; Thursday 11/16/17 12:39 – 1:20 PM

o Attendance: 23

A total of 96 people attended workshops during Fall quarter 2017. By decreasing the number of

workshops offered, and spreading our offerings to a bi-weekly model, we saw an increase in

attendance from Winter quarter 2017. In Winter quarter 2017, an average of 5 participants

attended each of our 9 workshops. During the Fall 2017 quarter, an average of 24 participants

attended each of our 4 workshops.

Workshop Assessment Themes and Trends

At the end of each workshop, participants were provided with a half sheet assessment

form in which they were asked to provide feedback. The following themes emerged from a

population of 96 responses.

Effectiveness & Helpfulness

• 91% of participants agreed or strongly agreed the workshop topics were helpful to their

learning

• 47% of participants agreed or strongly agreed the learning strategies presented were new

to them

• 92% of participants agreed they will use the suggestions presented to them

Marketing

• 79% of participants heard about workshops from their professor

• 2% of participants heard about workshops from their friends

• 6% of participants heard about workshops from their advisor

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• 10% of participants heard about workshops from LAP directly

• 3% of participants heard about workshops from Canvas

• 15% of participants heard about workshops via email/ student announcements

• 5% of participants heard about workshops via a flyer on campus

What Participants Wished Was Done Differently

Common trends in participant comments included:

• Desire to physically move around more

• A want for more detailed examples of how to study

• Making the presentation available online

• More interactive activities

• Less text on slides

• The need for more inclusive language

• Use less paper

• Incorporate more “new” examples and strategies

Scheduling

• 84% of participants agreed the workshop schedule worked for them this quarter

• Those that did not agree advocated for later times and Friday availability

Recommendations for Improvement

Based on the assessment trends of the Fall 2017 workshop series, and current research, the

following recommendations are suggested to improve the Learning Strategy Workshop Series:

• Understand the Population Served as Adult Learners

o Applying learning theory

o Centering student feedback and perceived needs in workshop development

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• Increase Accessibility

o Utilizing technology

o Experimenting with days and times

• Re-Frame the Space

o Integrating reflective activities

• Focus on Marketing Strategy

Understanding the Population Served as Adult Learners

An important approach to serving the population of students seeking support from

Learning Assistance Programs is recognizing that they are a diverse population of adult learners.

These students often have many roles and responsibilities outside of their academic programs,

which can limit their time for additional academic responsibilities and needs (Osam, Bergman, &

Cumberland, 2017). For example, adult learners face various situational barriers including

balancing full-time school with full or part time work, athletics, extra curricular activities, family

responsibilities, and community engagements (Osam et. al., 2017).

Integrating adult learning theories. When it comes to understanding how to best serve

students who seek learning assistance support services, learning theories can and should be

applied. Learning Assistance Programs at Seattle University should consider incorporating

Rogers’ humanistic Learning theory and McClusky’s theory of margin into practice in order to

best understand and serve their students. Implications for current practice include relationship

building, facilitating self-directed learning practices, and creating an expansion of services to

promote accessibility for all students.

Rogers’ humanistic learning theory. Carl Rogers (1983) is credited, along with

Maslow, with establishing a perspective of learning focused on human nature (Merriam &

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Bierema, 2014). Under Rogers’ perspective, humanism posits that learning is about the

development of the fully functioning person (Merriam & Bierema, 2014). Merriam and Bierema

(2014) discuss how Rogers was able to establish a “student-centered versus teacher-centered

approach to learning” from his work as a client-centered therapist (p.30). In this student-

centered humanistic approach to learning, “the teacher is considered a facilitator of self-directed

learning, rather than a dispenser or knowledge” (Burgan & Congos, 2008; Merriam & Bierema,

2014, p.30). Student centered learning theory empowers the learner to take responsibility for

their own academic development, encouraging them to seek growth without dependence on

others to supply knowledge directly (Burgan & Congos, 2008). When student-centered learning

theory is employed, the helping professional empowers the student to direct their own learning

through congruence (genuineness), positive regard, and empathic understanding (Burgan &

Congos, 2008). Under the student-centered approach to learning, the helping professional serves

as a guide (rather than a subject expert) to support the student in reaching their learning needs

through self-direction (Merriam & Bierema, 2014).

When students seek services from Learning Assistance Programs at SU, they are usually

seeking a facilitator to help guide their learning, rather than someone to provide them with direct

answers. Students generally wish for the focus to be on their individual learning needs, not the

needs of staff or faculty to give explicit direction and control learning (Burgan & Congos, 2008).

Additionally, when students of this population seek learning support services, they want to be

understood through their own frames of reference, not via the perspective of their support

professional (Burgan & Congos, 2008).

McClusky’s theory of margin. McClusky (1963) established an adult learning theory

influenced by motivation known as the theory of margin. The theory of margin (also known as

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the power-load-margin) is a conceptual model addressing motivation as a measure of how many

resources (or power) a learner has to offset the demands of their work load (Creel, 1996;

Merriam & Bierema, 2014). In McClusky’s theory, load can be defined as the life demands

required by a person at any given time, while power is defined as the resources a person can use

to cope with their load (Merriam & Bierema, 2014). The ratio of power (resources) to load

(demand) is considered to be the margin in one’s life (Creel, 1996). A low margin may indicate

that a student is under too much stress, whereas a high margin could indicate a person is not

under enough of a load to reach their full learning potential (Merriam & Bierema, 2014). The

theory posits that adults need enough margin to handle life’s load of challenges, changes, and

crises (Merriam & Bierema, 2014). Stevenson (1982) built on McClusky’s theory by identifying

a host of internal and external factors that can affect load and power including: self, family,

relationships, and environment (Merriam & Bierema, 2014). Additionally, the theory of margin

argues that adult learners can carry a high load as long as they have comparable power to cope

with it (Merriam & Bierema, 2014).

Many students seeking services from SU Learning Assistance Programs have a high load

to balance, making McClusky’s theory of margin applicable. For instance, many students pursue

their education while working, managing their households, serving as caretakers to children and

the elderly, and remaining active members in their communities (Merriam & Bierema, 2014).

With such high loads on their shoulders, these students must have a reasonable level of power

(resources) to help them remain successful, and Learning Assistance Programs often serves as

one of their go to resources. Conversely, some students that fall into this population have less of

a life load to balance, but are still able to use Learning Assistance Programs as a source of power

for coping with the demands of their academic programs.

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Centering student feedback and perceived needs. Based on the learning theories

discussed, it may be beneficial to begin each workshop within the Learning Strategy series by

asking the students in attendance what they hope to achieve from the session. An additional

approach would be to incorporate an end of quarter survey to be sent out to all workshop

participants to inquire about what they would like to see in terms of content for the next quarter

workshop series. Alternatively, LAP could create a suggestion box to sit at the front desk as a

way for students to express their workshop interests, ideas, and needs. By surveying the

students that typically attend, and providing space for visitors to LAP to provide feedback

surrounding topics they would like to see covered, LAP would be able to better center their

workshop offerings around what is important to the students they serve, and develop programs

that cater to their diverse needs.

Increasing Accessibility

When students have much to balance, seeking additional academic support outside of the

class-room is one of the first things to go from one’s concept of the time they have to allocate to

certain tasks. This can be seen in the assessment responses related to students seeking alternate

dates and times to attend workshops, and in the desire for workshop presentations to be made

available on-line. Learning Assistance Programs can begin to utilize technology as a means to

increase workshop accessibility (in-turn strengthening their place as a source of power for their

students). Additionally, LAP should consider experimenting with new days and times for the

workshop series in order to understand what works best for the population served.

Utilizing technology. With the progression of time, higher education has seen a

corresponding progression of technology use as new information technologies have been

integrated into research, instruction, and learning at virtually every institution across nearly all

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academic disciplines (Fuchs, 1998). In the past decade, development of digital technologies has

been tremendous, providing new possibilities and tools for online learning (Dinevski & Radovan,

2013; Fuchs, 1998). Osam, Bergman, and Cumberland (2017) specifically suggest implementing

opportunities to allow for students to interact one on one with staff by using technology to build

academic support connections (Osam et. al., 2017). Implementing a way for students to obtain

some of the academic support they seek in a virtual environment would allow them to do so

without the need to be in the library, which in turn assists with their ability to better balance their

school load. One consideration in doing this would be for Learning Assistance Programs to

develop an environment more reflective of universal design learning. As defined by the CAST

website, universal design for learning is a framework that strives to optimize teaching and

learning for all populations based on scientific insight regarding how humans learn (“About

Universal Design,” 2017).

With regard to the Learning Strategy Workshop Series, LAP can begin to implement a

universal design structure by engaging with online technology to optimize support. The Center

for Academic Success at LMU has seen success through their Virtual Learning Center initiative

which serves as an online portal for students housing workshops, videos, assessment quizzes,

strategies, and learning and time management tools and resources (“Virtual Learning Center,”

2017). This Virtual Learning Center at LSU is designed to provide interactive resources to help

students achieve their academic goals without having to be on-campus (“Virtual Learning

Center,” 2017), increasing accessibility to students who may possess high life loads to balance.

Recognizing the limited time and resources available at SU, Learning Assistances

Programs can seek to utilize Canvas as a smaller scale stepping stone to an initiative such as the

Virtual Learning Center at LSU. By creating and maintaining a Canvas page in which all

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students registered in TutorTrac are granted access, LAP would have great flexibility in the

degree to which they can support their students virtually, with the potential for incremental

growth as time and resources permit. The primary recommendation here would be to begin by

converting Learning Strategies Workshops to an on-line webinar format, and housing them as

individual clickable modules within Canvas. To begin to achieve this, LAP would ask each

workshop facilitator to hold one on-line webinar via Zoom. The Zoom platform is available to

Seattle University staff and students, and would provide the tools to allow workshop facilitators

to record their presentations. Holding on-line webinars would also give students the opportunity

to engage with facilitators to ask questions in the virtual space. Alternatively, facilitators could

utilize Zoom as a tool to simply record voice over of their presentation. As workshops are either

offered or recorded in webinar format, they can then be uploaded to the Canvas website with any

supplemental documents used within the in-person space. Eventually, this Canvas page could

incorporate separate modules for each webinar, as well as modules for additional academic

support resources, assessments, worksheets, and all scheduled offerings by the department. By

beginning with converting learning strategy workshops into on-line webinars or presentations, all

students registered at Seattle University would be able to access and utilize them at any time, and

re-visit them as often as is useful to them. This type of online environment could also

encompass discussion boards for each workshop in which students could ask questions and

receive answers from workshop facilitators, LAP staff, and peers.

Experimenting with alternative dates and times. Also important to note is that an

online solution will not necessarily work for all students within the population served by LAP, as

the use of technology can be an additional barrier to success for some. With that being said,

LAP should continue to hold in person learning strategy workshops bi-weekly. In an attempt to

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increase the accessibility to the in-person format, LAP should consider experimenting with

offering their workshops on various days of the week throughout the quarter. In the assessment

feedback, students advocated for workshops to take place at later times and on Fridays. It would

be beneficial for LAP to experiment with a new workshop schedule to see if attendance increases

or decreases. If future assessment shows an increase in workshop attendance, an increase in

accessibility has likely been achieved. By experimenting with alternative day and time offerings,

LAP will be able to gain a better understanding surrounding workshop attendance. Based on the

Fall 2017 assessment, workshop attendance has the potential to increase if offered on Fridays,

earlier in the day, or after 3:30 PM.

Additionally, Lazaros and Flowers (2014) suggest advising students to try to find ways to

devote less time to nonacademic obligations by asking for support from friends, family, and

work, and making compromises with regard to social commitments. This practice can be

incorporated in the learning strategy workshop series, individual consultations, and tutoring

sessions within LAP.

Reframing the Space

One of the largest trends that emerged in the assessment of the Fall quarter workshop

series was that the learning strategies presented were not considered new to over half of

attendees. With that being said, it is important to note that the learning strategies presented were

still considered new and useful to 47% of attendees. To help mitigate this issue, LAP can

consider reframing their approach to workshops offered each quarter.

One approach LAP can take to re-frame the way each workshop is presented is by

acknowledging that while each strategy itself may not be new for everyone, the way each are

presented throughout the workshop may provide a new perspective or approach to consider. At

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the start of each workshop, it may be helpful for the facilitator(s) to provide context for the why

of the workshop, and to let the audience know that some of the strategies presented may be new

to them, while others may serve as more of a refresher. By highlighting the value in re-visiting

the information that does not appear to be “new” to some participants, facilitators may be able to

gain more buy in and participation from the audience. Finally, encouraging those who may be

familiar with certain topics or strategies to share their input and perspective regarding what

works well for them throughout the workshop is a way to make these students feel heard, which

demonstrates a commitment by LAP to their time.

Integrating more reflective activities. In addition to the feedback surrounding

strategies presented, attendees also expressed a desire for a more interactive workshop approach.

By integrating more reflective and tangible examples into each workshop, LAP may see an

increase in the level of attendees who perceive strategies to be new and innovative. Providing a

space for students to reflect on their own coursework, skills, and experiences is a way for them to

more deeply interact within each workshop. One example of a relatable interactive activity

would be to have students bring in exams, assignments, or papers they would have liked to have

a better grade on and use them to review the negative factors that caused their scores to be lower

than desired (“Learning Strategy Workshops,” n.d.). By integrating an approach like this into the

workshop series, students will be able to apply the positive strategies presented to specific

examples within their own work and experiences. This type of approach could be used in

workshops focused on time management, goal setting, study strategies, learning styles and more.

This approach would also provide an opportunity for students to share and discuss their personal

experiences as a means to learn from each other rather than solely from the facilitator.

Additionally, based on the assessment feedback, facilitators should consider implementing one to

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two activities throughout the workshop that are designed to get participants up and moving

around.

Marketing Strategy

The assessment data shows that most attendees of the Fall 2017 workshop series heard

about the workshops through their professors. Additionally, only 10% of attendees reported

hearing about the workshop series directly from Learning Assistance Programs, and 6% from

their advisors. One approach LAP can take to improving the workshop series is placing a

stronger emphasis on marketing strategy.

Increasing attendance. A shift in marketing focus of the learning strategy workshop

series may result in increased attendance. Each person that comes to Learning Assistance

Programs throughout the quarter should be informed and reminded about any and all upcoming

learning strategy workshops. Learning Assistance Programs should also consider reaching out to

all academic and program advisors on campus at the start of each quarter to promote the learning

strategy workshop series. By highlighting what each workshop will offer to the advisors on

campus they will be more equipped to refer their students to Learning Assistance Programs for

this kind of support.

One method of marketing that seemed to help during Fall quarter were the emails that

were sent to prior workshop attendees during each week in which a workshop was occurring.

One consideration for improving this approach would be to utilize the prior quarter’s e-mail list

at the start of each quarter to send out the new workshop schedule to people who have attended

in the past. This method could be utilized as a “welcome back to LAP” approach, in which the

workshop, facilitated study groups, language conversation groups, tutored course list, and

tutoring needs assessment blitz schedules could all be shared. By reaching out to the students of

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Seattle University directly, they may be more likely to engage with the programs LAP has to

offer.

Workshop descriptions. Lastly, in order to improve the experience of students

attending workshops, LAP should incorporate a brief synopsis or description about what the

workshop will entail into their marketing strategy so students understand exactly what they can

expect by attending. Currently, marketing flyers for the learning strategy workshop series include

the workshop title, facilitator name, dates, times, and locations. SMU currently incorporates

descriptions for each workshop they offer directly on their website (“Learning Strategies

Workshops”, n.d.). One of them reads:

“Low grades on your early or midterm academic warning reports? Come right in and start

over! You'll review current grades and determine the negative factors that have caused

them to be low. Then you'll choose positive steps to take to improve those grades. An

overview of techniques for managing time, texts, lectures, and tests gives specific

strategies for immediate use” (“Learning Strategy Workshops”, n.d.).

This workshop description allows students to understand exactly what will be discussed and

covered within the workshop. By incorporating a brief synopsis about each workshop into the

workshop flyer, LAP website, emails, and campus announcements, students would be better able

to understand how each workshop will serve them, thus yielding a potential increase in interest

and attendance, as well as positive post workshop feedback. When students know what to expect

going into a workshop, they will be better prepared to participate, and more equipped to assess

the effectiveness of the workshop as a whole.

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Summary and Conclusion

Students who attended Fall quarter learning strategy workshops expressed a desire for

more detailed and innovative examples, interactive activities, and increased accessibility in

person and on-line. Recommendations for improvement to the learning strategy workshop series

include applying learning theory to center student feedback and perceived needs in workshop

development, utilizing technology to increase accessibility for students, re-framing the space,

and an increased focus on marketing strategy.

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Burgan, M. W., & Congos, D. H. (2008). The student-centered SI leader and Carl Rogers.

Research and Teaching in Developmental Education 25(1), 3-9.

Creel, D. W. (1996). Transitions in adult development: Implications for adult education.

Research and Teaching in Developmental Education, 12(2), 61-69.

Dinevski, D., & Radovan, M. (2013). Adult learning and the promise of new technologies. New

Directions for Adult & Continuing Education, (183) 61-69. DOI: 10.1002/ace

Fuchs, I. H. (1998). The promise and challenge of new technologies in higher education.

Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, 142(2), 191-206. Retrieved from

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Lazaros, E. & Flowers, J. (2014). Keys to succeeding in a Masters program. Technology and

Engineering Teacher, February, 34-39.

Learning Strategies Workshops. (n.d.). SMU website. Retrieved from

https://www.smu.edu/Provost/ALEC/Workshops

Merriam, S. B., & Bierema, L. L. (2014). Adult learning: linking theory and practice. San

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Osam, K. E., Bergman, M., & Cumberland, D. M. (2017). An integrative literature review on

the barriers impacting adult learners’ return to college. Adult Learning 28(2), 54-60.

Virtual Learning Center. (2017). LSU Website. Retrieved from

http://www.lsu.edu/students/cas/makebettergrades/successresources/virtuallearningcenter

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