What Is the Value of a Campus Classroom Experience Anyway?

Innovative learning environments such as massively online open courses (MOOCs) present interesting questions about traditional in-class, on-campus learning experiences.  We previously demonstrated that in-person social networks can significantly influence student performance and retention.  For example, women who know the most connected or the top students in class experience 13-15% rise in their grades relative to those who did not.  Yet, key questions remain about how these networks develop and why they are effective.  For example, how do in-person student networks form over the course of a semester?  What do students gain from these networks?  Do students cluster based on their Felder-Soloman learning styles, grades, or connectivity?  How does classroom seating correlate with student performance and course evaluations?  This talk will discuss our findings for each of these questions.