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The University of Nebraska–Lincoln
Department of Agronomy and Horticulture
Level of Course:
Undergraduate
Instructor:
A. McKinzie Sutter
Course Subject:
Genetic Principles in Agriculture
Number of community participants:
33
"The teacher serves as the cheerleader when students get the right answer and the expert when the right answer eludes students."
During Summer 2019, McKinzie Sutter used Yellowdig as a graded component of an online undergraduate course on genetic principles in agriculture. Professor Sutter's Community was a meeting space where students raised and answered each other’s questions. Professor Sutter refrained from answering students’ questions for 24 hours to give fellow students the opportunity to answer them, and she gave Accolades (formerly “badges”) for particularly helpful answers. In addition, students shared articles and videos that pertained to the course content. Finally, students were encouraged to @mention Professor Sutter or her co-instructor as a way of “raising one’s hand.”
By The Numbers
200
Posts
1.9
Proportion of 100% Participation Goal
0.54
Network Density
Results
On average, students in Professor Sutter's Community created 26 Posts and Comments and exceeded the 100% participation goal by 90%. Excluding Members who never commented or received comments, the average Community Member was connected to 18 out of 33 Members (network density = 0.54). Professor Sutter was connected to almost every other Member (32 out of 33) and commented on students’ Posts more often than students commented on her Posts (out-degree centrality = 0.91; in-degree centrality = 0.44).
Average activity level of individual students in Prof. Sutter's Yellowdig community
McKinzie enabled all point categories, including social points, and she made Accolades just as valuable as Posts (formerly “pins”) and Comments. She also enabled the weekly max, which may have led students to contribute more consistently over time.
Professor Sutter's Yellowdig Community is a beautiful example of how Yellowdig connects students in a virtual classroom. With 90% of students preferring Yellowdig discussions as a manner of learning to 2-hour Zoom sessions, Professor Sutter followed our recommended guidelines and saw the social value and educational success in this connection.
Make Yellowdig a learner-centered classroom. Let the students learn from each other and discuss topics from the course that they're interested in.
~
Professor A. McKinzie Sutter
About the Instructor
A. McKinzie Sutter
M.S., B.S. ( University of Nebraska–Lincoln)
Instructional Designer: Center for Transformative Teaching
McKinzie Sutter earned her M.S. in Natural Resources her B.S. in Fisheries and Wildlife at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. She worked as a Field and Laboratory Technician for the USDA-ARS before assuming her current role as Distance Education Specialist for the Department of Agronomy and Horticulture. She continues to teach in her area of expertise and is particularly passionate about creating student-centered learning in online spaces.
About the Institution
The University of Nebraska–Lincoln
The University of Nebraska–Lincoln was chartered as a land-grant university on February 15, 1869, to create opportunity for the state of Nebraska. A proud member of the Big Ten Conference, the Big Ten Academic Alliance, and the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU), Nebraska is classified within the Carnegie “R1: Doctoral Universities – Highest Research Activity” category. The university is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (https://www.unl.edu/about/).
