Faculty Development Module: Align Learning Tasks with Learning Outcomes H. Jean Bryan DePaul University

 DePaul – the largest Catholic university in the United States  824 full-time faculty  23,600 students  Entrepreneurial online programs

Instructional Technology Development  A university-wide service unit  Consultation, training, designated production projects  Five consultants, each assigned specific academic units  Operations, development units

Online Teaching Institute  Supports online re-certification program in School of Education  Open to other departments, schools  Limited participants each session  First offered Summer 2003, again December 2003  Courses delivered via Blackboard

Each Institute Participant…  Signs participation agreement  Matched with instructional technology consultant  Designs Blackboard “draft” site  Participates as a student  Provides consultant TA role in site

The Problem – The Opportunity  Varied design experience  “Stuck” in 2-3 learning activities  Perception, staff telling faculty how they ‘should’ teach  Guide participants thru re-thinking a course  Provide re-useable tool

Overview: Module and Worksheet  Introduced in First Week  Provide Examples, Definitions  Personalized Template w Goals  First Assignment: Design Activities  Meet with Instructional Consultant  Template Referenced in other modules  Institute Models Active Learning

The Worksheet

The Module  Communication: Student- Student, Student-Instructor  Provide support – worksheet, template, guidance  Provide resources

Module – Part I

Module – Part II

Results - Positive  Worksheet as “Most Useful Tool”  “It was the process of deconstructing my class and the process of my teaching that forced me to analyze how I interact with my students. That analysis helped identify areas that needed change.”

Results - Positive  Makes the process concrete, visible  Provides common language  Encourages early intervention  Focuses discussion on outcomes rather activities  Broadens learning activity scope  Emphasizes strategies not content

Results - Concerns  Incomplete templates  Blackboard’s limited collaborative features  “One-time” learning

Next - Summer 2004  More fully integrate template into other modules  Move ‘Organization’ earlier in the Institute schedule  Follow-up on the instructional design aspects of the Institute

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