Students Selfmanagement:

1
Students Self-management E-course, E-tutoring
and Online Support System
Mare Teichmann Professor of psychology
BALTECH Conference in Riga, March 13 14,
2008 Attractiveness of Science and Technology
Education Problems and Solutions with Student
Enrolment in Science and Technology Programs
2
Introduction

• Theoretical background
• Preliminary work
• Students Self-management E-course
• Students E-tutoring or Coaching
• and Online Support System (SEOS System)
• The Impact

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Theoretical background

• There exists a growing body of evidence that the
  
• first-year students drop-out rate has reached a
• critical point in many universities as more
  students
• drop out than graduate (Wiji et al. , 2007
  Allensworth, Easton, 2007)

• The ongoing debate about the first-year
  students
• drop-out has shown that the decision to persist
  in
• or leave university is affected by multiple
  factors
• interacting in a cumulative way

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• In recent years, there have been some
  interesting
• studies focusing on two predictors of students
• dropping out of university, namely
• - poor skills of time management and
• - poor financial management
• Leonhard F. Bernold (2007) established that
  problems with poor time management were listed by
  25 of the freshman cohort at the end of the
  first semester
• Some empirical findings suggest that there
  exists a strong relationship between students
  skills of time management and them dropping out
  (B.C. Britton A. Tesser,1991)

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• The notion that there exists a causal
  relationship between
• students money management knowledge and dropping
  
• out is wildly accepted (McGlynn, 2006)
• For example,
• Marriots (2007) findings demonstrate that 34 of
  
• students have difficulties in balancing their
  finances
• and it indicates significant gaps in their
  personal financial
• knowledge

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Preliminary Work

• Our first steps were
• examination of tutors and
• doing a Pilot Study in order to map the problems
  first-year students have at TUT
• analysis of freshmens problems

• Students Self-management E-course and the
  E-tutoring
• or Coaching and Online Support System (SEOS
  System)
• was developed for decreasing the first-year
  students
• drop-out rate trough
• - improving their time management as well as
  personal
• financial management knowledge and skills and
• - offering them individual assistance, advice and
  guidance

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Students Self-management E-course
The course content reflects the TUT students
need to improve their knowledge and skills for
successful coping at university

• Course Content
• personal objectives, decision-making and problem
• solving, establishing own priorities
• time management
• support for students in increasing their
  financial
• awareness
• gives them guidelines for effective learning
• coping with stress

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Self-management E-course
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B. Each Digital Teaching Tool consists

• video-based lecture

• some written material
• for student reading

• MP3 audio version of the lecture

• slides shown during the lecture
• DVD version of the lecture

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C. Course Design The self-management E-course
(1.0 ECTS) consists of six different Digital
Teaching Tools as well as of e-tutoring with a
member of the academic staff and of three
independent credit assignments (an analysis of
personal goals and problems, a time management
audit and a financial resources analysis)
The E-course Self-Management, Digital Teaching
Tool Time Management http//deepzone2.ttu.ee/hh
p0020/ej/ej2.htm
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E-tutoring or Coaching and Online Support System
(SEOS System)

• Freshman Test
• The freshman test was drawn up based on the
  analysis
• of the problems TUT students have
• It is a questionnaire consisting of 75 questions

All responses are on a 5-point Likert-type scale
The anchors are very definitely is not a
problem (1 point) and very definitely is a
problem (5 points)
http//www.pekonsult.ee/ttu.php
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B. SEOS System
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• Examples of Behavioural Guidelines (Instruction)
  
• The student has problems choosing appropriate
  course
• materials He/she is advised to
• contact the lecturer conducting the course
• consult with librarians
• c) consult with senior students
• d) consult with his/her fellow students taking
  the same
• course
• The student has problems with time management
• He/she is advised to a) use the Digital Teaching
  Tool
• Time Management of the self-.management
  E-course
• b) conduct a personal time management audit and
  analyse
• the findings

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Examples of Freshman test results
1 point very definitely is not a problem 5
points very definitely is a problem
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Freshmen Goals and Problems
Time Emotions Personal Knowledge Financial
Travel Sport Relationshops Health Free time
/ leasure Work Studies University

HELP!
Goals Problems
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Time management
PC
Studies 356 210
Hygiene
Self-dependent study
Proportion - 2/3 lectures, seminars, labs and 1/3
self-dependent study
Cleaning
Reading
Music
Everyday activities
Leasure
Sport
NB!
Friends
Eating
Transport
TV
Work
Sleep
Free time rest
Study at TUT
Time (h min)
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Financial management The Freshmen Budget
Expenses

Estonian crown (1 15,56 Est crown)
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Expenses
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Resources / Incomes
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The Impact of Students Self-management
E-course, Students E-tutoring or Coaching and
Online Support System (SEOS System)

• The most important outcomes were the
  self-management E-course
• and the SEOS System as instruments for decreasing
  the students
• drop-out rate in their first year of studies
• The self-management E-course and the SEOS System
  were launched
• in autumn 2007, and were an instant success with
  TUT students
• 508 TUT first-year students registered for this
  optional course
• (close to 30 the first-year students accepted at
  TUT this academic year,
• among them the drop-out rate was 0)

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Thank You!
BALTECH Conference in Riga, March 13 14,
2008 Attractiveness of Science and Technology
Education Problems and Solutions with Student
Enrolment in Science and Technology Programs