Faculty Instructional Support Moving beyond putting courses online to curriculum redesign

The numbers tell a story, but what story?

Drill down into college and department numbers Adoption rates are uneven Which departments are higher adopters? What factors might contribute?

College of Engineering Number of Courses Using WebCT Civil/ Environmental Materials Science Electrical /Computer Mechanical Chemical 2000 (F) Fall 2001 (W) Winter 2001 (S) Spring 2001 (J) Summer 2001 (F) Fall 2002 (W) Winter 2002 (S) Spring 2002 (J) Summer 2002 (F) Fall

College of Arts and Sciences: Arts and Humanities Number of Courses Using WebCT French Art Music Art History Arts/Science Languages Philosophy English 2000 (F) Fall 2001 (W) Winter 2001 (S) Spring 2001 (J) Summer 2001 (F) Fall 2002 (W) Winter 2002 (S) Spring 2002 (J) Summer 2002 (F) Fall Italian Spanish

Arts & Science: Natural Sciences and Mathematics Number of Courses Using WebCT Linguistics Science/Culture Statistics Computer/Info. Science Chem/Biochem Psychology Geography Geology Mathematics Biology 2000 (F) Fall 2001 (W) Winter 2001 (S) Spring 2001 (J) Summer 2001 (F) Fall 2002 (W) Winter 2002 (S) Spring 2002 (J) Summer 2002 (F) Fall

What accounts for different adoption rates? 3 different scenarios Department chair mandates adoption (Chemical Engineering) Languages  Spanish requires WebCT for grading Spanish Intro.  Languages has 2 IT professionals skilled in pedagogy Biology has a number of faculty interested in curricular change through problem based learning

Which strategy results in Course Redesign? An observation In Biology, the faculty involved in introductory Biology have a long interest in PBL and submitted PEW grant proposals. Significant time considering course redesign. In the absence of an institution wide assessment, we observe that more course redesign takes place among these faculty

UD participates in consortium study Main goal: determine whether or not web use changes the way faculty members teach 9 institutions participated 56 online responses 38 in-depth interviews

Specific Research Goals Purpose: To learn from faculty with experience using the Web for instruction:  How does its use change what happens in the classroom?  What is the impact of any changes?  What is the Web’s potential for enhancing instruction?  What support services are needed to facilitate reaching that potential?

Faculty Participants Identified by LTC Representatives  “ Experienced” Web Users: having taught a Web-enhanced course for no less than four (4) semesters  Using “rich” Web instruction: content (text, graphics, audio or video) interaction (activities, quizzes, etc.) and communication ( , discussion, and/or group work)  “Reflective”: able to articulate thoughtful, reflective insights into teaching and learning in their classrooms  Variety in disciplines

Study Summary Faculty are reporting less change than we anticipated Changes reported have potential for significant impact on student learning  Increased interaction among students and between students and instructors  Higher expectations and higher level instruction  Better organized courses  Better prepared faculty and students

Do adoption rates mean course redesign? An Observation Faculty who are not exposed to pedagogy use a CMS:  For "efficiencies" such as easy access to course materials online.  They do not substantially change the way they teach. Faculty who understand pedagogy are more apt to  use CMS to make better use of space and time  These faculty change their teaching style

Environment that encourages both Pedagogy and Technology Adoption Partnerships Faculty Development Institutional Support Support Team  Technical staff (media specialists)  Instructional designers Robust Technological Infrastructure

Partnerships Institute for Transforming Undergraduate Education (ITUE) General Education Initiative Written and Oral Communications Task Force (WOC/TF)

ITUE Fellow describes use of WebCT Communication Tools Faculty member skilled in both PBL and WebCT Led class through a problem on justice for the terrorists Used online groups in class to address the problem

Faculty Development PRESENT, a one stop teaching, learning and technology center for faculty Collaborative faculty institutes Showcases

Faculty friendly, teaching, learning, and technology center

Showcase Faculty Work

Institutional Support Grant proposals for Course Redesign Funding by Provost Solicitation by Deans Matching funds by department

Elements of grant proposal

Support Half of IT support staff have masters degrees in education Wide range of skills—programming, digital media specialist, graphics, Course Management Systems expertise. Instructional designer Form support teams for projects with Librarians and Center for Teaching Effectiveness staff

Course Redesign Projects Biology Education Consumer Studies Plant and Soil Science Psychology ITUE – small projects

ITUE Small Projects Small grants of staff and student time Awarded to ITUE fellows 2 examples:  Harry Shipman and E-labs for Physics  John Deiner and Online Newspaper for Political Science

E-labs in Physics

Online Newsletter for Politics of Developing Nations Student learn by doing Study contemporary economic, political and social issues in Third World Take on collaborative roles and produce a newsletter Research on the web and publish on the web

Assess Advocate for institution-wide assessment effort (such as University of Central Florida). Participate in consortium study. Publicize results

Rich environment provides opportunities to improve learning and for technological adoption Bob Neeves example of plasticized body parts. Learned PBL from IT staff. Taught two ways—lecture and PBL and found that PBL was more effective!

Lessons Learned Numbers do not tell the whole story To change the curriculum, need to change how faculty perceive teaching and learning Infuse the campus culture with a variety of ways for faculty to learn about pedagogy and to reinforce that learning Faculty readiness is one of the major factors to consider (Pew grant lessons learned )