INCREASING STUDENT LEARNING and REDUCING INSTRUCTIONAL COSTS: The Case for Redesign

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INCREASING STUDENT LEARNING and REDUCING
INSTRUCTIONAL COSTS The Case for Redesign
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TODAYS DISCUSSION

• Overview of the Methodology and Findings of the
  Successful Redesign Projects
• Examples from Successful Institutions

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• 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

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TRADITIONAL INSTRUCTION
Seminars
Lectures
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BOLT-ON INSTRUCTION
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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

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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

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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.

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• 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
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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

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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)

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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

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

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

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• 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

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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

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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

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WHY INSTITUTIONAL TEAMS?

• Faculty experts
• Administrators
• Technology professionals
• Assessment experts

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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.

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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

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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.
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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

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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

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INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGYNorthern Arizona
University

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

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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

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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

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INTRODUCTORY PSYCHOLOGYUniversity of Maryland
Baltimore County

• Replacement Model
• ? lecture time shift to discussion
• Integrated clicker questions to ? interactivity
• Created common multiple choice exams
• Added weekly small group activities
• Assigned 1½ GTAs for student support
• Sequenced content for more engaging start
• Peer Mentors for class activities, tutoring,
  exam prep
• Targeted 20 failure rate.

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INTRODUCTORY PSYCHOLOGYOutcomes

• ? the number of sections required each semester
  and ? class size.
• ? withdrawal rates retaining students.
• ? Mean scores on unit exams
• ? the need for two faculty each year can offer
  another upper level course each term
• Freed up University classroom space
• ? the need for graduate teaching assistants from
  2 grad students to 1 grad student
• Leveraged existing resources to fund Peer Mentors
• Cost per student 65 to 58

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DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGYUniversity of Maryland
Baltimore County

• Replacement Model ? class meeting to 4
  times/semester shift to Unit discussion sessions
• Created faculty agreed upon final exam
• ? use of online essays and weekly chapter exams
• Weekly discussion board entries
• Videos with online questions after viewing
• Assigned 1 GTAs for database management and
  student support
• Targeted ? course drift, ? technology use,
  ?student enrollment

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DEVELOPMENAL PSYCHOLOGYOutcomes

• Course grade distributions maintained
• Uniform course content w/ departmental agreement
• Failure rate maintained at 5
• ?number of students enrolled
• ? writing assignments
• ? two faculty a year teaching the course
• Freed up classroom space for additional courses
• ? to ½ GTA
• Cost per student 158 to 74 per student

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Challenges for Both Redesigns

• Faculty
• Willingness to learn and deal with technology
• Agreement on common content and measures
• Accuracy of online quizzes and technology
  glitches
• Roles of Graduate TA and Undergraduate Peer
  Mentors
• Pedagogy change and classroom technology
• Routine updates of technology and software

• Students
• Freshman adjustment curve
• Preparedness for new pedagogy using adult
  learning principles
• Problem-solving technology issues
• Working in groups used to individual performance
• Routine updates of technology and software

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GENERAL PSYCHOLOGYFrostburg State University

• Undergraduate Learning Assistants
• Field Experience course for top students
• Leadership in Psychology Certificate Program
• Supplemental Instructor (SI)
• Receive additional training based on national SI
  program
• Interning as a ULA
• Research experience included

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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

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GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY Chattanooga State CC

• Traditional Classes
• total enrollment approximately 1500 per year
• 7 on-ground sections main campus (100 students
  per section)
• 3 on-ground sections at satellite campuses
  (40-50 students per section)
• 5 online sections (30-40 students per section)
• Contact Hours
• each on-ground section meets 2 hours per week
• 2 optional one-hour help sessions per week
• Faculty
• 4 full-time faculty (one serves as department
  chair)
• 5 adjunct instructors

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GENERAL PSYCHOLOGYChattanooga State CC

• Redesigned Course
• Improved student learning pre and post test
  data verification
• Online and on-ground students have the same
  materials and opportunities
• Faculty available for all students (on-ground and
  on-line)
• Increased learner-focused curriculum
• One website for all on-ground students maximum
  peer interaction and interactive mastery learning
  opportunities

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GENERAL PSYCHOLOGYChattanooga State CC

• Flexible scheduling
• Eliminate drop/add confusion - students can
  enroll in any open section and attend any section
  with a seat as many times as they wish
• Now, I know. I need the lecture. can begin
  attending any or all lectures
• Job change. Cant come to class. or My baby
  is due next week. - not a problem just complete
  everything online without benefit of lecture
• Wow, if Im sick one day or my car breaks down,
  I can take the exam on one of the other days it
  is offered.

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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

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A STREAMLINED REDESIGN METHODOLOGYA Menu of
Redesign Options

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

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INCREASING STUENT LEARNING and REDUCING
INSTRUCTIONAL COSTS The Case for Redesign

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

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QUESTIONS?