Key Assertion:
Students with limited bandwidth are disadvantaged in their courses
and across institutions of higher education.
Students with limited bandwidth are disadvantaged in their courses
and across institutions of higher education.
Higher Education Recommendation 1: Streamline bandwidth demands to align w/ objectives
Students with less available bandwidth are less likely to be successful when there are high extraneous bandwidth demands (e.g. traditional courses). Extraneous bandwidth demands can be reduced by aligning cognitive load with objectives
Some strategies to reduce extraneous bandwidth demands in courses:
Students with less available bandwidth are less likely to be successful when there are high extraneous bandwidth demands (e.g. traditional courses). Extraneous bandwidth demands can be reduced by aligning cognitive load with objectives
Some strategies to reduce extraneous bandwidth demands in courses:
- Help students prioritize what they focus their bandwidth on
- Streamline administrative processes
- Reduce barriers to accessing valuable opportunities, and then provide structured support for them
- Support teaching & learning practices that:
- Align learning tasks & assessments with objectives
- Utilize more active learning and inclusive pedagogy
- Use the science of learning to adjust bandwidth demand expectations
Higher Education Recommendation 2: Provide equitable access to valuable opportunities
Students with less bandwidth are more likely to be disadvantaged in terms of access to experiences that will lead to engagement and success
What to do to improve equity:
Students with less bandwidth are more likely to be disadvantaged in terms of access to experiences that will lead to engagement and success
- Students have to garner additional bandwidth to engage in unrequired experiences they actually need to be truly successful, like internships, research, experiential learning, study abroad, etc.
- Criteria like GPA, which is highly influenced by depleted bandwidth (see Recommendation 1) are often used to determine access to high-impact experiences
What to do to improve equity:
- Make high-impact practices available to and required for (i.e. supported) all students
- NOTE: Replace (don't just add to) high cognitive-demand tasks/requirements that are not as impactful
- Recognize that GPA is influenced by multiple bandwidth-draining factors like poor physical and mental health, hours worked at a job, family demands, housing and food insecurity, etc.
- Don’t use GPA as the primary measure of learning, performance, potential, ability, and success.
- Critique & re-envision selection criteria/ideas of “student success”
- Align with the objectives of opportunity
- Give credit for (seldom-recognized) relevant strengths
- Expand to non-traditional criteria and selection processes