Getting Started on Course Redesign Jennifer L. Hearne, Ph. D Getting Started on Course Redesign Jennifer L. Hearne, Ph.D. Baltimore, Maryland January 25, 2011

Overview NCAT & MCRI Institutional & Course Readiness www.thencat.org Institutional & Course Readiness UMES Team & Principles of Chemistry I Efficiency and Effectiveness Strategies Key Aspects Assessment Implementation Issues Motivational Factors

NCAT & MCRI Goals of the MCRI Adopt new ways to improve student learning outcomes Demonstrate these improvements through rigorous assessment Reduce institutional costs Release instructional resources for other purposes Develop the internal capacity of USM Faculty and Staff to continue the redesign process Teams bring experts from many areas to work together.

Institutional Readiness Does your institution want to control or reduce costs? Does your institution want to increase productivity? Academic productivity of students Academic course offerings Scholarly activity of faculty

COURSE READINESS High drop-failure-withdrawal rates Poor student performance in subsequent courses Creates a bottleneck Student & Departmental complaints Course drift -> Inconsistent learning outcomes Difficulty finding qualified personnel

UMES & MCRI University of Maryland Eastern Shore Thelma B. Thompson, Ph.D., President Charles Williams, Ph.D., Vice President for Academic Affairs MCRI Team at UMES Yan Y. Waguespack, Ph.D. Joseph M. Okoh, Ph.D. Gladys G. Shelton, Ph.D Charles Williams, Ph.D. Amelia G. Potter James R. Hayes University System of Maryland Teams bring experts from many areas to work together.

Principles of Chemistry I Population Caters to science and health professions students 20% of freshman class 73% Freshman 6% nontraditional Goals Basic atomic and molecular theory Nomenclature Reaction stoichiometry Gas laws

Principles of Chemistry I Academic Issues Inconsistent knowledge of incoming students 55% student retention rate Lack of coordination among the professors teaching the sections of the course leading to course drift and inconsistent learning outcomes

NCAT REPLACEMENT MODEL Replaces in-class time with online, interactive learning activities May keep remaining in-class activities the same or may make significant changes May schedule out-of-class activities in computer lab or totally online so that students can participate anytime, anywhere

Key Aspects of Redesign Infusion of technology components Use of integrated staffing Offering of individualized, active assistance Restructure the course

Redesign Strategy NCAT Principle #1: Redesign the whole course. Restructure the course - Chemistry 111E Results Eliminates course drift Eliminates duplication of effort Creates opportunities for integrated staffing Reduced faculty preparation and presentation time

REDESIGN STRATEGY NCAT Principle #2: Encourage active learning. Incorporate technology-based exercises Recitation or PBL sessions Results Student learning and interaction with materials/each other Reduced faculty preparation and presentation time Reduced grading time Recitation is an informal class meeting conducted by the LA/ULA and myself. Students often work in small groups to solve problems. Competitions are offered during class and recitation. Competitions generally consist of 3-5 questions (it is classwork with an edge!). Students may work individually or in groups. The first to finish gets approximately 3 bonus points, second gets 2, and third gets 1 added to the classwork grade. Papers from all students are collected.

REDESIGN Strategy NCAT Principle #3: Provide students with individualized assistance. Dedicated Computer Lab Integrated Staffing: Undergraduate Learning Assistants (ULAs) and Learning Assistants (LAs) Recitation Results Students are provided with help when they need it (electronic or human intervention). ULAs will be selected from students at the junior or senior level who have performed with distinction (i.e., earned a grade of A in Chemistry 111). ULAs will serve as a liaison between faculty and students enrolled in Chemistry 111E, provide insight into strategies for high levels of achievement through informal settings in which students can ask questions, aid students in the review course materials and the development of skills needed to be successful in Chemistry 111E, aid in recitation delivery, and help the professor with grading exams. During the Pilot Phase I had one LA, Amakoe, and one ULA, Krystal. Amakoe received his BS in chemistry from UMES in December of 2007, Krystal will receive her BS in chemistry during the upcoming academic year.

REDESIGN STRATEGY NCAT Principle #4: Build in ongoing assessment and prompt (automatic) feedback. Technology-based program Hints Provides solutions Instantaneous grading Cumulative grade postings Results Enables practice Provides diagnostic feedback for focused time on task CengageNOW: Tracks student time and progress Provides hints before, during and after solving a question. Provides the solution to questions. Grades assignments immediately after student finishes. Allows students to see individuals grades on assignments and cumulative grade in CengageNOW. Cumulative class grade is posted on my door each Monday – this grade determines if a student is required to attend recitation.

REDESIGN STRATEGY Principle #5: Ensure time on task and monitor student progress. Web-based program/technology Classroom management system implementation ULAs/LA monitor students’ time-on-task Results Milestone-learning ULA and LA monitor student activity in the computer lab to ensure time on task.

KEY ASPECTS OF REDESIGN Infusion of technology components Integrated staffing Individualized, active assistance Restructure the course

INFUSION OF TECHNOLOGY Blackboard CengageNOW http://login.cengage.com/sso// Tutorials and exercises that can be repeated in an attempt to earn a perfect score Hints/Answers -> Instantaneous grading Grade management Monitors time-on-task Establishment of a Chemistry Computer Lab

INDIVIDUALIZED ASSISTANCE & INTEGRATED STAFFING ULAs and LA monitor students’ time-on-task in computer lab Offer on-demand assistance Cumulative grade posted every Monday Office door/Blackboard CengageNOW grade available in student account Call or text from 8AM-9PM

RESTRUCTURED CHEMISTRY 111 Course Section Size Meetings Sections / Professors per academic year Integrated Staffing Traditional Chemistry 111 Up tp 40 MWF 50 min 7/6 No Pilot Chemistry 111E Up to 80 M 75 min + 2h in computer lab Recitation offered 1 Yes Chemistry 111E Up to 114 MW 50 minutes + 1h in computer lab 3/2

ASSESSMENT Choose the measurement method Use of historical data Parallel offering of Traditional and Pilot Section of Redesigned Course Minimize differences between the student populations in the traditional and Pilot Section offerings Use the same measures and procedures to collect the data for the Pilot and Full Implementation

SUCCESS OF STUDENTS

Traditional Course Pilot Course 54.5% A-C 65.7% A-C 61.1% enrolled in CHEM 112 61.8% enrolled in CHEM112 61.9% earned A-C In comparison to students enrolled in the Traditional course section, Pilot course section students were: 7.4% more likely to earn the grade of A, B or C in Principles of Chemistry II (Chemistry 112)

COST ASSESSMENT Large saving in materials development and instruction. Curriculum Development: Materials Acquisition, Materials Development Instruction/Evaluation Face-to-face class meetings Hand grading Human monitoring and course administration Coordinated development and delivery and shared instructional tasks Interactive tutorial software Automated grading Course management software Peer interaction or interaction with other personnel

WHAT HAPPENS TO THE SAVINGS? Stay in department for continuous course improvement and/or redesign BIOL111 CHEM112 Provide a greater range of offerings at upper division or graduate level Accommodate greater numbers of students with same resources Stay in department to reduce teaching load and provide more time for research

IMPLEMENTATION ISSUES Faculty perspectives Technology Administrative issues Scheduling Teaching load

MOTIVATIONAL FACTORS Professional Development Opportunities Publications Presentations Publicity Increased opportunity to work directly with students who need help Reduced time spent on grading Ability to try different approaches to meet different student needs Opportunity for continuous improvement of materials and approaches

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS NCAT – Carolyn Jarmon and Carol Twigg USM – Don Spicer, Nancy Shapiro and Stan Jakubik UMES –Team, Administration, ULAs and LAs, MARC U*STAR and MBRS RISE Programs Contact: JLHearne@umes.edu