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University of Vermont
Nutrition & Dietetics
Level of Course:
Graduate and Professional Certification
Instructor:
Carolyn Siccama
Course Subject:
Fundamentals of Nutrition
Number of community participants:
Unspecified
"Be willing to reconsider your notions of online interaction."
Between Summer 2018 and Summer 2019, Dr. Carolyn Siccama integrated Yellowdig into 7 online graduate courses, 5 online undergraduate courses, and 1 professional certificate course at the University of Vermont. Courses ranged in duration from 15 days to 15 weeks. She provided guidance on point settings and content strategy and collaborated with faculty as they reconceptualized their notions of online interaction and engagement.
By The Numbers
13
Communities
2.75
Conversation Ratio
24
Posts per Student on Average
Results
Dr. Siccama implemented a wide variety of point settings. Out of 13 Communities, she enabled points for Reactions in 8 Communities; points for Accolades in 11 Communities; and points for receiving Comments on Posts in 12 Communities. The point value of Comments relative to Posts also varied from Community to Community.
A graph reflecting the relationship between the comment word count and conversation ratio in Dr. Siccama's courses.
The results show that while not statistically significant by conventional standards (p=0.17), there was a moderate positive correlation between Comment:Pin Point Value and Conversation Ratio (r=0.40). In other words, when Dr. Siccama increased the point value of Comments relative to Posts, students tended to have more sustained conversations.
Our findings with Dr. Carolyn display that students become more engaged when commenting to a peer's post, as it creates a more sustained conversation. This improves class morale as a more closely-connected and involved class body is supported.
Yellowdig is an interactive discussion board that allows students to dive deeper into the course material, ask questions, and connect over the class material.
~
Anonymous UVM Student from Yellowdig's 2020 Student Survey
About the Instructor
Carolyn Siccama
B.S. (University of Vermont), M.Ed. (Farmington State University), Ed.D. (University of Massachusetts, Lowell)
Instructional Designer for Continuing and Distance Education
Dr. Siccama earned her B.S. in Dietetics at the University of Vermont, her M.Ed. in Nutrition Education at Framington State University, and her Ed.D. at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell. She is currently an Instructional Designer for Continuing and Distance Education at the University of Vermont. She teaches Fundamentals of Nutrition online and collaborates with the Center for Teaching and Learning to facilitate the Teaching Effective Online faculty development program.
About the Institution
University of Vermont
The University of Vermont is a top research university of a perfect size, large enough to offer a breadth of ideas, resources, and opportunities, yet small enough to enable close faculty-student mentorship across all levels of study, from bachelor’s to M.D. programs. Students’ educational experience and activities are enriched by the location — from the energy and innovation of Burlington to the forests, farms, and independent spirit of Vermont. UVM provides students endless ways to explore the world, challenge ideas, and dig in on the most pressing issues of our time (https://www.uvm.edu/about_uvm).
