Good News! New is Good: Novelty as a Key Feature of Advanced Academic Programs that Create Positive Learner Experiences

This study sought student voices to examine the key characteristics of an out-of-school learning experience, designed to provide enrichment to students with above grade level academic talent. Using open-ended questions on a program evaluation survey, the study gauged the perceptions of 205 students who partook in a university-based academic summer program in Greece. Data analysis took a content analysis approach, which identified the major themes of student perceptions regarding their program and in-course experiences. By triangulating these responses with student ratings of overall satisfaction, we found that the experience of novelty was a key factor that set apart highly satisfying program and course experiences from less satisfying experiences. Another key finding with implications for future program design was that students perceived and depicted such novelty in two distinct forms, namely, content novelty and pedagogical novelty.