Transparency Teaching in the Virtual Classroom: Assessing the Opportunities and Challenges of Integrating Transparency Teaching Methods with Online Learning

Abstract

The existing literature on transparency teaching in higher education reveals that the adoption of transparent-oriented assignments improves the learning outcomes for underserved students at the introductory level, and decreases the rate of attrition among the student population with the highest risk of dropping out. Concurrently, the continued demand for online education programs has resulted in the expansion of course and degree offerings, and a steady increase in online student enrollment nationwide. However, a number of recent studies find that while the goal of online education is to improve access to higher education, that historically underrepresented groups report lower course completion rates and poorer grade performance in online classes, when compared to underrepresented students enrolled in hybrid and in person courses. Utilizing a quasiexperimental design, this article evaluates the implementation of transparency teaching methods in the online classroom versus the in-person classroom to determine if student learning outcomes vary according to course modality, focusing specifically on outcomes among the underserved student population. The goal of this study is to establish that transparent teaching methods help mitigate the negative effects of the virtual classroom for underserved students.

Keywords:

• Online learning
• diversity
• learner outcomes
• problem-based learning
• online teaching

Notes

Notes

1 UNLV is also recognized as a Hispanic Serving Institution and an Asian American, Native American, and Pacific Islander-Serving Institution (AANAPISI).

2 Twenty-five percent of UNLV students are Hispanic, 7% are Black, 14% are Asian, and 38% are White.

3 Lyle, Michael. (2017). “How Students Are Overcoming the Nation’s Education Inequality”. Las Vegas Sun, July 24. https://lasvegassun.com/news/2017/jul/24/how-students-are-overcoming-the-nations-education/

4 See https://www.unlv.edu/news/article/ahead-class and https://knpr.org/knpr/2016-04/first-generation-college-students-get-extra-help-graduate

5 As higher education students matriculate the probability of graduating increases, which is why a Milestone course is analyzed as opposed to a First Year Experience course. The expectation is that these students are more likely to possess equivalent skillsets since they have successfully advanced to this stage of their academic career. The implication is that underperformance can be more accurately attributed to the variant teaching models than the collective aptitude of the students.

6 See page 3 of “Understanding the Underserved Learner, 2014.” The ACT National Curriculum Survey. http://www.act.org/content/dam/act/unsecured/documents/STEM-Underserved-Learner.pdf.

7 The first author taught all four courses as the primary instructor of record.

8 It is important to note that GPA refers to the student’s numerical final grade in the single course examined in this study, PSC 302-Political Science Research Methods. It does not refer to the student’s overall GPA in their major or in fulfillment of their baccalaureate degree.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Tiffiany O. Howard

Tiffiany O. Howard, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Political Science and the Director of the Center for Migration, Demography, and Population Studies (CMDP) at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). She earned a joint doctorate degree in political science and public policy from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor and joined the UNLV faculty in 2008. Dr. Howard has been awarded several prestigious and nationally recognized research fellowships and visiting scholar positions—including the Ford Foundation Postdoctoral Scholar Fellowship, the APSA Centennial Center Visiting Scholar Fellowship, the Department of Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency-VIPCAT Research Fellowship, and the Black Mountain Institute Faculty Research Fellowship. Dr. Howard is the author of The Tragedy of Failure (Praeger Security International/ABC-CLIO, 2010) and Failed States and the Origins of Violence (Routledge, 2014); the coauthor of Sex, Power and Politics (Palgrave, 2016); and series coeditor of Migration, Demography and Environmental Change: Global Challenges (University of Nevada Press). Other notable peer reviewed publications appear in Civil Wars, Studies in Conflict and Terrorism, and the National Political Science Review.

Mary-Ann Winkelmes

Mary-Ann Winkelmes (PhD, Harvard, 1995) has held senior leadership roles in the campus teaching centers at Harvard University, the University of Chicago, and the University of Illinois. Currently, Dr. Winkelmes is the Director of Instructional Development and Research and an Associate Graduate Faculty member in the Department of History at the University Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). Her work to improve higher education learning and teaching, especially for historically underserved students, has been recognized nationally by the Chronicle of Higher Education and by the POD Network’s Robert J. Menges Award for Outstanding Research in Educational Development. She is also the founder and director of the Transparency in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education Project (TILT Higher Ed), which promotes direct conversation between teachers and students about equitable methods of teaching and learning. Dr. Winkelmes is a Senior Fellow of the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) and a partner in the AAC&U’s LEAP project—Transparency and Problem-Centered Learning. She also serves on the executive committee of the Nevada Humanities Board of Trustees.

Marya Shegog

Marya Shegog, PhD, MPH, CHES, is currently the Director of Health Programs at The Lincy Institute at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) and an Assistant Professor within the School of Community Health Sciences Department of Environmental and Occupational Health. She is a graduate of the University of South Carolina, Arnold School of Public Health where she attained her Master’s and PhD in Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior and a graduate Certificate in Women’s Studies. Dr. Shegog’s career spans across two decades and includes public and private sectors, community development, corporate research and organizational planning, evaluation and implementation. She has received countless awards, commendations, and recognitions for her efforts in HIV/AIDS prevention, health equity and community development. Dr. Shegog is one of the editors of the Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice and, actively participates in creating unique research and community development partnerships that support knowledge, education, and improved health outcomes in southern Nevada.