When COVID-19 disrupted in-person learning, Jackson College's Radiography program faced a steep drop in first-time exam pass rates,but a strategic shift to Clover Learning helped not only recover lost ground but also surpass pre-pandemic outcomes.
The Program
Jackson College is a public college located 40 miles west of Ann Arbor in Jackson, Michigan. Between 15-25 students are accepted each year into the College’s two-year, full-time Radiography program to pursue their Radiography Associate in Applied Sciences (A.A.S.) degree. While administrators are working to improve the program’s completion and first-time registry exam pass rates, the program boasts a 100% job placement rate.
“I want to keep the teaching environment in person in the classroom, but online tools are helpful to hold students accountable.” - Joseph Shackelford MA RT(R), Radiography Program Director, Jackson College
The Challenge
Increase first-time registry exam pass rates.
As a rural campus, Jackson College’s Radiography program was inherently vulnerable to the impacts of COVID and remote learning. With a smaller applicant pool than more urban programs, the academic backgrounds and needs of accepted students are more varied than those found in programs that select from a larger applicant pool for specific experiences or metrics. For Program Director Joseph Shackelford, this is a strength of the program: “Our program is designed to be a face-to-face program, and prep for the board exam is done in groups.” This allows Shackelford and his colleagues to collaborate with students to understand their needs and provide customized support.
But when classes suddenly went remote in 2020 during COVID, it was very problematic, especially for those students needing additional support. The first-time registry exam pass rate for the first cohort of remote learning students decreased 21% compared to the previous year. Although students were provided with various online resources, including lectures and podcasts, the inability to ensure students exercised multiple learning strategies and received customized support hindered student achievement.
The Solution
Couple online resources with in-person experiences to maximize student learning.
In the spring of 2020, Jackson College’s Radiography students began using Clover Learning video lessons as the program quickly transitioned to online learning in the wake of COVID. However, Shackelford and his colleagues soon found several benefits and potential uses for Clover Learning beyond simply replacing in-person lectures. For subsequent cohorts, the program began providing two-year access, allowing students to utilize Clover Learning throughout their time in the program to build understanding and review concepts discussed during in-person sessions.
First-year students are assigned to complete a Clover Learning video lesson and post-lesson quiz on a topic they’ve just covered during their in-person lecture. As Shackelford explains, this helps both successful and struggling students by providing more opportunities to review and different approaches to the material. “I like students to hear more voices than just ours. The way the questions are worded gives [the students] a unique perspective.” Shackelford also notes that students find Clover Learning video lessons more engaging than other online lectures they have tried.
In their second year, students use Clover Learning in conjunction with other exam prep programs in the fall semester, then transition to solely Clover Learning for their final spring semester before the registry exam. According to Shackelford, “Clover Learning is closer to the board exams - and students say that, too. The mock exams are done really well and really model the registry exam.”
The Result
First-time exam pass rates surpassed pre-COVID levels.
Following this deeper integration of Clover Learning into the curriculum, the first-time exam pass rate for the program’s 2022 cohort was 12% higher than the first year post-COVID. Since then, the program’s first-time exam pass rate has risen higher than pre-COVID levels: the pass rate for the most recent 2024 cohort was 90%.
Shackelford highlights the byte-sized nature of Clover Learning video lessons as one of the reasons students have benefited from this resource. He describes the approach of some curricula they used prior to Clover Learning as “every week - let's eat the elephant, not one bit at a time.” The digestible nature of Clover Learning’s short videos pairs perfectly with Shackelford’s own approach to focus on a specific topic each week, helping his students break down challenging subject matter.
And, of course, throwing in some humor here and there helps, too! Shackelford is known to his students as “Rad Dad” because of all the Dad jokes he likes to tell to help cultivate culture in his classroom. Building that rapport with students establishes the buy-in he’ll need to tap into as the semester goes on to ensure students keep writing, socializing, and interacting through collaborative learning opportunities. Selecting a curricular resource that supports this approach is important for Shackelford. “I love what Clover Learning is doing. It’s just great people every time. It means a lot to me - I love organizations who create a great culture, and that’s who I work with.”
