At a Glance
Institution:
University of Saskatchewan
Instructor:
David Kraichy
Course Name:
Human Resources Management
Course Material in Use:
Schwind, Canadian Human Resource Management: A Strategic Approach, 13e
Resource in Use:
Connect with SmartBook
Course Type:
Face-to-face and Online
Integration:
Blackboard + Canvas Learning Management Systems
Course Enrollment:
200 students total per academic year
The Challenge: Improve Engagement in Online Learning
Before the use of Connect, Dr. Kraichy was concerned that students were not engaging with course material until shortly before exams, leaving students stressed and sometimes unprepared for their assessments.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and transition to online learning, Dr. Kraichy had even less contact with students. To combat this lack of engagement, he wanted to provide students with a tool to help them learn course concepts and identify areas where they needed to spend more time reviewing. This shift to remote learning and desire to improve overall course engagement were major deciding factors to implement Connect in his course.
“I was looking for a tool to motivate students to keep up to date with their textbook readings.”
Dr. Kraichy started using Connect in his Human Resource Management course in the spring of 2020. He uses the SmartBook feature to create weekly assignments that correspond to each course module (10 assignments in the fall/winter terms, and 6 assignments in the spring term) with a combined value of 15% of students’ final grades.
“I found it easy to implement Connect in my course. I followed the step-by-step instructions on the McGraw Hill website, and it took me only a few minutes to pair it with Blackboard and Canvas Learning Management Systems. Also, creating the SmartBook assignments was a straightforward process with a few clicks.”
With Connect, a greater proportion of students are engaging with course material more regularly. By assigning SmartBook content, students were able to keep up to date with their course readings, more easily learn basic course concepts, and ultimately be more prepared for exams. Dr. Kraichy saw improvements in overall student engagement with the course materials after implementing SmartBook assignments.
Using SmartBook technology has not changed the way Dr. Kraichy teaches his course, rather, it compliments his teaching and allows students to keep up with course materials.
“Before COVID-19, my average class attendance was 75% with 23% of students attending every class, but it was impossible to determine whether or not students were reading and engaging with their course materials. Introducing SmartBook assignments provided confirmation that 50% of my students were engaging with the course material on a weekly basis.”
Dr. David Kraichy (PhD) is an Assistant Professor at the Edwards School of Business at the University of Saskatchewan. David’s research focuses on understanding how organizations identify, develop, and retain their high potential and talented employees. His research has been published in various outlets such as the Journal of Managerial Psychology, Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences, Journal of International Business Studies, and Personnel Psychology.
To make the implementation of Connect smoother and more effective for fellow instructors, Dr. Kraichy shares his top tips:
- To avoid student fatigue, limit SmartBook assignments to 35 concepts (approximately 60 minutes per assignment).
- In order to decide whether a topic is a key concept for the course learning goals, use the Preview Sample Questions associated with each concept.
- He also recommends previewing each SmartBook assignment in its entirety to ensure that the concepts and associated questions are relevant to the course objectives and to find out how long it takes to complete the assignment.