Student Motivation: Purdue University Signals program

If you talk something up enough, and demonstrate enough relevant (to them) examples, even the hardest to get on board with a new technology idea/tool/method will get excited too.

I frequently tell my parents about new instructional technology ideas that I have. My Dad always listens enthusiastically which I always thought was sweet, although a bit surprising. I know that I can wax on occasionally when I’m excited about something techie and I really assumed that he tuned me out half of the time.

This afternoon, while having our daily chat on the phone, he asked me if I was familiar with Purdue University. He remarked that they had a new program called Signals that he thought I should look up. This program, apparently, is a new student motivational tool that is having some great results. So I searched online and found this article. According to the article, Purdue University “has launched a first-of-its-kind computerized system that will track student academic progress and warn students in real-time if they need work in certain areas”. It uses red, yellow, and green lights to inform students of their progress in different classes.

Check out this site which shows examples of the Signals system using fictional students.

I love the red, yellow, green concept. When I was working in an elementary setting, teachers would use lights like these to let students know how they were doing with their progress on a task or to remind them about appropriate volume levels when indoors (i.e. green – just right, yellow – getting too loud, and red – too loud!). At the high school level, I’ve used red, yellow, and green cones at computer work stations with students in the past. Green meant ‘I’m fine and working’, Yellow meant ‘I need some help when you get a chance’ and Red meant ‘HELP now!’.

It’s interesting to learn that Purdue’s students have been so motivated by their new system.