Incorporating Transparency into an Online Respiratory Care Curriculum

Purpose: The Transparency in Learning and Teaching (TILT) framework has been shown to impact student academic success, improve retention rates, and increase reported course satisfaction. This instructional strategy has demonstrated effectiveness in traditional, online, and underrepresented student groups. This project aimed to revise one elective 7-week course in an online undergraduate degree advancement (DA) program in Respiratory Care to incorporate the TILT infrastructure and assess retention and satisfaction pre and post-implementation. Methods: The methodology can be characterized as evaluative, non-experimental research. An objectives-oriented approach was used to retrospectively evaluate the pedagogical change (TILT) and its degree of instructional impact on student satisfaction and retention. Four sections of the course were evaluated: two in Summer 2022 (pre-TILT) and two in Fall 2022 (post-TILT). Results: There was no difference in the retention rate (90-96.7%) of students in the course pre and post-TILT implementation. The response rate on course evaluations was markedly increased post-TILT implementation. Responses were consistent in that directions for completing assignments pre-TILT were easy to follow (M = 4.65, 4.64), but seemed to have somewhat increased post-TILT (M= 4.78-4.89) on similarly worded evaluation items. There was a slight increase in the agreement of satisfaction with the learning experience and transparency of instructional and assessment criteria post-TILT, though more prevalent in the first seven-week sessions. Conclusions: Incorporating the TILT strategy into one online course within a DA curriculum influenced student satisfaction, instructor presence, and response rate on course evaluations.