GETTING STARTED ON COURSE REDESIGN

1
GETTING STARTED ON COURSE REDESIGN
2
TODAYS DISCUSSION

• Overview of the Methodology and Findings of the
  Successful Redesign Projects
• Examples from Successful Institutions
• Readiness for Course Redesign
• Opportunities to Get Started

3

• Established in 1999 as a university Center at
  RPI funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts
• Became an independent non-profit organization in
  2003
• Mission help colleges and universities learn how
  to use technology to improve student learning
  outcomes and reduce their instructional costs

4
TRADITIONAL INSTRUCTION
Seminars
Lectures
5
BOLT-ON INSTRUCTION
6
WHATS WRONG WITH THE LECTURE?

• Treats all students as if they are the same
• Ineffective in engaging students
• Inadequate individual assistance
• Poor attendance and success rates
• Students fail to retain learning

7
WHATS WRONG WITH MULTIPLE SECTIONS?

• In theory greater interaction
• In practice large class size
• In practice dominated by the same presentation
  techniques
• Lack of coordination
• Inconsistent outcomes

8
WHAT DOES NCAT MEAN BY COURSE REDESIGN?

• Course redesign is the process of redesigning
  whole courses (rather than individual classes or
  sections) to achieve better learning outcomes at
  a lower cost by taking advantage of the
  capabilities of information technology.

9

• PROGRAM IN
• COURSE REDESIGN
• To encourage colleges and universities to
  redesign their approaches to instruction using
  technology to achieve cost savings as well as
  quality enhancements.

50,000 students 30 projects
10
SUMMARY OF RESULTS

• 25 of the original 30 showed improvement 5
  showed equal learning
• 24 measured retention 18 showed improvement
• All 30 showed cost reduction
• Results in subsequent national and state and
  system programs have continued to show comparable
  results

11
TAKING COURSE REDESIGN TO SCALE

• The Roadmap to Redesign (R2R)
• 2003 2006 (20 institutions)
• Colleagues Committed to Redesign (C2R)
• 2006 - 2009 (60 institutions)
• Programs with Systems and States
• 2006 present (80 institutions)
• The Redesign Alliance
• 2006 present (70 institutions)
• Changing the Equation
• 2009 2012 (34 institutions)

12
QUANTITATIVE

• Statistics
• Business Statistics
• Introductory Statistics
• Elementary Statistics
• Economic Statistics
• Computing
• Computer Programming
• Information Technology Concepts
• Computer Literacy
• Information Literacy
• Tools for the Information Age

• Mathematics
• Developmental Math
• Pre-calculus Math
• College Algebra
• Discrete Math
• Introductory Algebra
• Elementary Algebra
• Beginning Algebra
• Intermediate Algebra
• Linear Algebra

13

• SCIENCE
• Anatomy and Physiology
• Astronomy
• Biology
• Ethnobotany
• Chemistry
• Geology

• SOCIAL SCIENCE
• American Government
• Macro and Microeconomics
• Psychology
• Sociology
• Urban Affairs

14

• PROFESSIONAL
• Elementary Education
• Education The Curriculum
• Engineering
• Organizational Behavior
• Public Speaking
• Accounting
• Nursing
• Nutrition

• HUMANITIES
• Developmental Reading
• Developmental Writing
• English Composition
• Communication Studies
• Understanding the Visual and Performing Arts
• History of Western Civilization
• Great Ideas in Western Music
• Spanish
• World Literature
• British Literature
• Women and Gender Studies

15
NCAT METHODOLOGYRelevance and Utility

• Discipline math literature
• Age traditional working adults
• Institution small large
• Location on-campus at a distance
• Redesign current new courses
• Level introductory advanced

16
WHY REDESIGN?Have a high impact!

• Consider
• High drop-failure-withdrawal rates
• Student performance in subsequent courses
• Students on waiting lists
• Student complaints
• Other departmental complaints
• Lack of consistency in multiple sections
• Difficulty finding qualified adjuncts

17
WHAT DO THE FACULTY SAY?

• Its the best experience Ive ever had in a
  classroom.
• The quality of my worklife has changed
  immeasurably for the better.
• Its a lot of work during the transition--but
  its worth it.

18
REDESIGN MODELS

• Supplemental Add to the current structure
  and/or change the content
• Replacement Blend face-to-face with online
• activities
• Emporium Move all classes to a lab setting
• Fully online Conduct all (most)
• learning activities online
• Buffet Mix and match according
• to student preferences
• Linked Workshop JIT workshops
• linked to a college level course

19
REDESIGN CHARACTERISTICS

• Redesign the whole coursenot just a single class
• Emphasize active learninggreater student
  engagement with the material and with one another
• Rely heavily on readily available interactive
  softwareused independently and in teams
• Mastery learningnot self-paced
• Increase on-demand, individualized assistance
• Automate only those course components that can
  benefit from automatione.g., homework, quizzes,
  exams
• Replace single mode instruction with
  differentiated personnel strategies

Technology enables good pedagogy with large s of
students.
20
SUPPLEMENTAL MODEL

• Maintain the basic current structure
• Change the content so that more is available on
  line
• Change interaction so that students are
  interacting more with the material
• Change the use of the time to reduce or eliminate
  lecturing and increase student interaction

21
Introduction to PsychologyNorthern Arizona
University

• 2000/year foundational, survey-style class
• 8-11 uncoordinated sections annually
• Issues
• Engagement. 63 study lt 2 hours per week
• Student learning and achievement
• Enrollment pressures and cost. 62/student
• Consistency. Non-permanent staff, divergent
  grade distributions
• Faculty perception, participation

22
INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGYNorthern Arizona
University

• Redesigned Course
• Team taught F2F section with substantial online
  components
• 400 students/section, back to back scheduling,
  coordination
• GTA team approach with early intervention
  specialist
• Student response system
• Required, repeatable online quizzes

23
INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGYNorthern Arizona
University

• Web assignments - 4 per semester
• Guided exploration and written reflection on
  web-based surveys and other activities
• Pilot research suggested these effectively
  complement material
• Email contact with struggling students
• Students in redesigned sections scored better on
  exams
• Costs reduced 63 -gt 42 per student
• 90 taught by FT faculty

24
REPLACEMENT MODEL

• Blend face-to-face with online activities
• Determine exactly what activities required
  face-to-face and reduce the amount of time to
  focus only on those activities in class
• Provide 24/7 online interactive learning
  materials and resources
• Include online self-assessment activities with
  immediate feedback

25
ENGLISH COMPOSITION Tallahassee Community College

• Primary goals
• Increase writing skills
• Improve student success (lt60)
• Increase consistency (100 sections)
• Replace classroom time with lab time and online
  activities
• Integrate reading and writing, provide immediate
  feedback and support collaborative learning
• Success rates Increased to 68.4
• Final essay scores increased (8.35 in redesign
  vs. 7.32 in traditional)
• Cost-per-student declined by 43

26
EMPORIUM MODEL

• Move all classes to a lab setting
• Permit the use of multiple kinds of personnel
• Allow students to work as long as they need to
  master the content
• Can be adapted for the kinds of students at a
  particular institution
• Allow multiple courses the same time
• Include multiple examples in math

27
THE EMPORIUM MODEL77 Cost Reduction (V1)30
Cost Reduction (V2)
28
EMPORIUM MODELUniversity of Alabama
29
PRE-CALCULUS MATHUniversity of Alabama

• PROBLEMS
• No support for multiple learning styles
• No flexibility in instructional pace
• Lack of student success
• D/F/W rates as high as 60
• Very high course repeat percentage
• Negative impact on student retention
• Significant drain on resources

30
PRE-CALCULUS MATHUniversity of Alabama

• 30-50 minute group meetings weekly
• 3-4 hours in lab or elsewhere working
  independently using software that presents a
  series of topics covering specific learning
  objectives
• Practice problems and assessments that cover
  defined learning objectives
• Quizzes taken multiple times with immediate
  feedback
• Tests available on demand with a specified
  completion date
• Instructors and tutors available in lab to
  provide individualized assistance

31
UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMASUCCESS RATES

• Fall 1998
• Fall 1999
• Fall 2000
• Fall 2001
• Fall 2002
• Fall 2003
• Fall 2004

• 47.1
• 40.6
• 50.2
• 60.5
• 63.0
• 78.9
• 76.2

32
DEVELOPMENTAL READINGNortheast State Community
College

• Reading Emporium
• Annual enrollment 500-550
• Problems High failure rate, course drift, one
  size fits all
• Goals improve outcomes, individualized student
  programs, reduce cost course costs
• Weekly group meetings, required lab hours, course
  notebook, early exit possible
• Results Nelson Denny test redesign increase
  20 points, 12 points more than traditional

33
FULLY ONLINE MODEL

• Moves all or most of the learning environment
  online
• Provides access to anyone, anywhere, anytime on
  demand
• Allows international groups of students to
  interact easily and learn from
  each other

34
U. OF S. MISSISSIPPIWorld Literature

• Redesign
• Single online section
• Team-taught by 4 faculty and 4 TAs
• 50 automated grading via WebCT 50 TAs
• 31 cost-per-student

• Traditional
• 16 20 sections (65)
• Taught by 8 faculty and 8 adjuncts
• Faculty do all grading
• 70 cost-per-student

• Redesign triples course capacity.

35
PRE-CALCULUS MATHRio Salado College

• Traditional
• 4 courses taught by 4 instructors
• Student interaction each instructor
• 49 cost-per-student
• Retention 59

• Redesign
• 4 courses taught by 1 instructor
• Student interaction interactive software, 1
  course assistant, and 1 instructor
• 31 cost-per-student
• Retention 65

36
BUFFET MODEL

• Assess each students knowledge/skill level and
  preferred learning style
• Provide an array of high-quality, interactive
  learning materials and activities
• Develop individualized study plans
• Built in continuous assessment to provide
  instantaneous feedback
• Offer appropriate, varied
• human interaction
• when needed

37
STATISTICSOhio State University

• Redesign students outscored traditional students
  on common exams (mean 78.3 vs. 70)
• Percentage of students needing to retake the
  course reduced from 33 to 12.
• Cost-per-student reduced from 191 to 132

38
LINKED WORKSHOP MODEL

• Retain basic structure of the college-level
  course, particularly the number of class meetings
• Replace remedial/developmental course with
  just-in-time (JIT) workshops
• Design workshops to remove deficiencies in core
  course competencies
• Workshops consist of computer-based instruction,
  small-group activities and test reviews to
  provide additional instruction on key concepts
• Students individually assigned software modules
  based on results of diagnostic assessments
• Workshops facilitated by students who have
  previously excelled in core course students
  trained and supervised by core course faculty
• JIT workshop activities designed so students use
  concepts during next core course class session,
  which in turn helps them see the value of the
  workshops and motivates them to do workshop
  activities

39
DEVELOPMENTAL MATHAustin Peay State University

• Fundamentals of Math
• Traditional 33 of students who took the
  developmental and the college-level course
  sequentially were successful.
• Redesign 70 of students who would have been
  assigned to a developmental course were
  successful in the course linked to a workshop.

• Elements of Statistics
• Traditional 23 of students who took the
  developmental and the college-level course
  sequentially were successful.
• Redesign 52 of students who would have been
  assigned to a developmental course were
  successful in the course linked to a workshop.

40
FACULTY BENEFITS

• Increased opportunity to work directly with
  students who need help
• Reduced grading
• Technology does the tracking and monitoring
• More practice and interaction for students
  without faculty effort
• Ability to try different approaches to meet
  different student needs
• Opportunity for continuous improvement of
  materials and approaches

41
A STREAMLINED REDESIGN METHODOLOGYA Menu of
Redesign Options

• Five Models for Course Redesign
• Five Principles of Successful Course Redesign
• Cost Reduction Strategies
• Course Planning Tool
• Course Structure Form
• Five Models for Assessing Student Learning
• Five Critical Implementation Issues
• Planning Checklist

42

• How do these examples relate to
• GETTING STARTED?

43
READINESS CRITERIA

• What does it mean to be ready to do a major
  course redesign?
• Is your institution ready?
• Which courses are readyi.e., are good
  candidates for a comprehensive redesign?

44
WHY INSTITUTIONAL TEAMS?

• Faculty experts
• Administrators
• Technology professionals
• Assessment experts

45
READINESS CRITERIA

1. Institutional Commitment to Change
2. Institutional Commitment to Strategic Use of
   Technology
3. Technology Readiness
4. Commitment to Learner-Centered Education
5. Commitment to Learner Readiness
6. Willingness to Use Active Learning Materials
7. Collective Faculty Commitment

46
GETTING STARTED ON COURSE REDESIGN

• Carolyn Jarmon, Ph.D.
• cjarmon_at_theNCAT.org
• www.theNCAT.org

47
Transportation to the Airport

• If you do not have a car, and have not already
  done so, you will need to schedule transportation
  back to the hotel or airport.
• Possible travel options
• Checker Cab 410-685-1212
• Jimmys Cab - 410-296-7200
• Royal Cab 410-327-0330
• Sun Cab 410-235-0300
•  The Airport Shuttle 800-776-0323
• Super Shuttle 800-258-3826

48
READINESS CRITERIA

1. Institutional Commitment to Change
2. Institutional Commitment to Strategic Use of
   Technology
3. Technology Readiness
4. Commitment to Learner-Centered Education
5. Commitment to Learner Readiness
6. Willingness to Use Active Learning Materials
7. Collective Faculty Commitment

49
GROUP ASSIGNMENTS

• A, H Criterion 1
• B, I Criterion 2
• C, J Criterion 3
• D Criterion 4
• E Criterion 5
• F Criterion 6
• G Criterion 7

50
ASSIGNMENT

• For the Readiness Criterion assigned to your
  group
• What are the obstacles to meeting this criteria?
• What issues do you need to consider?
• What evidence would help you overcome the
  obstacles?
• What information do you need to gather?
• What process, if any, might help overcome the
  obstacles?
• Choose one person to report back.

51
QUESTIONS?