Managing Increased Online Enrollment with Team Teaching and SAM Melinda White and Sandy Keeter Seminole State College of Florida

About your Instructors  Melinda White and Sandy Keeter  Laverne and Shirley slide show Laverne and Shirley slide show

History  VP/Dean challenged us to increase enrollment and average class size  Looked for creative ways to re-design without making more work, yet maintain quality

Increased Enrollment CGS2100 – Office Applications

Higher Average Class Size CGS2100 – Office Applications

Why Re-design?  The current economy makes reducing costs while serving more students imperative  Data tell us that we need to improve course completion, re-enrollment rates and student learning outcomes in gateway courses  Examining what we do, how we do it, and the results we achieve is imperative for accreditation, and for continuous renewal as a vibrant, high-quality college  What do we want to be sure to preserve at Seminole State?  The human, personal touch with students  The community college mission and culture  Faculty responsibility for teaching and student learning

Opportunities  Expand use of technology and computer-based learning to supplement classroom teaching  Provide structured practice for students  Reduce faculty routine grading of homework  Facilitate learning assessment  Explore team teaching to take advantage of respective strengths of faculty  Improve student learning across all sections of a course, whether taught by FT or adjunct faculty

Goal  To reduce costs significantly while maintaining and even improving quality by piloting course re-design  The primary source of savings would be larger class sizes in appropriate courses, appropriately re-designed

Think Outside the Box  You are driving down the road in your car on a wild, stormy night, when you pass by a bus stop and you see three people waiting for the bus: 1.An old lady who looks as if she is about to die. 2.An old friend who once saved your life. 3.The perfect partner you have been dreaming about.  Which one would you choose to offer a ride to, knowing that there could only be one passenger in your car?

Possible Solutions  This is a moral/ethical dilemma that was once actually used as part of a job application.  You could pick up the old lady, because she is going to die, and thus you should save her first.  Or you could take the old friend because he once saved your life, and this would be the perfect chance to pay him back.  However, you may never be able to find your perfect mate again….

WINNING Solution!  The candidate who was hired (out of 200 applicants) had no trouble coming up with his answer. He simply answered: 'I would give the car keys to my old friend and let him take the lady to the hospital. I would stay behind and wait for the bus with the partner of my dreams.‘ Think OUTSIDE the BOX when thinking about course re- design – there is not always one answer or one choice!

Course Redesign Efforts  Rather than our administration telling us what to do, we came up with solutions we could live with and proposed our ideas to them  Decided to “pilot” a few of our ideas by coming up with a course shell we both could use and eventually share with others

Tackling the Problem  Attended Course Redesign Conference  Met with faculty from various disciplines to brainstorm/share ideas  Hired student assistant to help re- design from a student perspective

Concerns  30+ sections of Office Applications with 30 students/class per term  Class size and enrollment nearly doubled in last five years  Did not want to make course easier by requiring less; need to maintain quality  Wanted to keep personal touch with students  Didn’t want to add more work to already overloaded professors

Our Plan – how we did it  Last summer we combined all of our online Office Applications sections into one ANGEL site and integrated SAM PROJECTS  Both added as course designers so we could make changes as we go…  Used ONE syllabus – with our contact info  No concern for whose student was whose  Two teachers working from one course site, online ≈16+ hours/day

Feedback  Feedback was great (except for a select few.. )  College student surveys praised us for attentiveness, helpfulness, quick response  White, Melinda and Keeter, Sandy “They are truly two very caring and supportive Professors.”

Cost Justification  Enrollment skyrocketed so we asked Dean for course grading assistant if we increased class size by 30% Faculty only Faculty with Assistant Student Per Section3045 Number of Sections Required for 180 Students64 Cost if Taught by Adjunct Faculty with Master's Degree $9, $ 6, Cost of Student Assistant per Term $ 0 $1, Total Spent $9, $7, Savings to College for One Term for 180 Students $1, Average Cost Per Student $ $ 43.64

Things to Think About  Who to team teach with  How choose an assistant  Unique Institutional needs  How to organize class  Who grades, who answers discussions?  Sub possibilities

Who to team teach with?  Someone you trust, teaches similarly  Same work ethic/skills  Complementary personalities – not just like you  Partner with someone strong in your weak areas and vice-versa

Team Teaching Tips  Open to change  Willing to try out new ideas  Flexibility  Meet weekly to discuss issues  Make updates to course as needed  Respect and support each other’s ideas and decisions

Other Things to Consider  All instructors must know content well  Lab Manager/DL Department onboard  Be open to CHANGE  Decide who does what, when?  Knowing partner well prevents surprises later

Course Grading Assistant  Choose course assistant from pool of your best students – good work ethic, trustworthy  We hired former student, made an A in this course, Education Student at UCF

Course Assistant Prep  Required to take Angel/Sakai training  Worked through all assignments/exams  Provided course re-design ideas from a “student perspective”

Course Assistant Responsibilities  Angel “Designer Rights”  Proof entire course for errors and inconsistencies; fix problems  Attend weekly meetings to discuss course issues or concerns  Make changes to online material as needed or requested by instructors  Grade assignments within 24 hrs

Course Assistant Benefits  Student assistant worked average of 8 hours/week, made $1500/semester  Equivalent to what an adjunct makes in one class, but she was working equivalent of 2 classes  Flexible schedule, can work from home  Good work experience for resume  Meets with students as needed

Improved Grades  More passing grades, less withdrawals

Suggestions  Provide Welcome Letter, Campus Orientation and Orientation Quiz to go over FAQs  Build online community with good discussions  With SAM Projects - allow multiple chances to learn from mistakes, consistency in assignments/grading  Require PRACTICE Tests for Exam Success  Make THEM turn in Reports so they take ownership of grade  Quick Feedback; better results

Course Setup  Angel Course Content and SAM Setup Angel SAM

Problems  Making assignments CLEAR  $/time for course re-design efforts  Too many students in one course?  How many is too many?  How many instructors/sections can work well together?  Huge discussion boards  System problems at home – SAM/Angel

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