INCREASING STUDENT SUCCESS
& REDUCING COST:
The Case for Course Redesign
TODAY’S DISCUSSION
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Overview of the Methodology and Findings
of the Successful Redesign Projects
Examples from Successful Institutions
Readiness for Course Redesign
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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
TRADITIONAL INSTRUCTION
Seminars
Lectures
“BOLT-ON” INSTRUCTION
WHAT’S WRONG
WITH THE LECTURE?
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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
WHAT’S WRONG WITH
MULTIPLE SECTIONS?
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In theory: greater interaction
In practice: large class size
In practice: dominated by the
same presentation
techniques
Lack of coordination
Inconsistent outcomes
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.
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
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
TAKING COURSE REDESIGN
TO SCALE
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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 (38 institutions)
QUANTITATIVE
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Mathematics
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Developmental Math
Pre-calculus Math
College Algebra
Discrete Math
Introductory Algebra
Elementary Algebra
Beginning Algebra
Intermediate Algebra
Linear Algebra
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Statistics
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Business Statistics
Introductory Statistics
Elementary Statistics
Economic Statistics
Computing
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Computer Programming
Information Technology
Concepts
Computer Literacy
Information Literacy
Tools for the Information
Age
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SCIENCE
– Anatomy and
Physiology
– Astronomy
– Biology
– Ethnobotany
– Chemistry
– Geology
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SOCIAL SCIENCE
– American
Government
– Macro and
Microeconomics
– Psychology
– Sociology
– Urban Affairs
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HUMANITIES
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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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PROFESSIONAL
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Elementary Education
Education: The
Curriculum
Engineering
Organizational Behavior
Public Speaking
Accounting
Nursing
Nutrition
NCAT METHODOLOGY:
Relevance and Utility
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Discipline: math &
literature
Age: traditional &
working adults
Institution: small & large
Location: on-campus &
at a distance
Redesign: current & new
courses
Level: introductory &
advanced
WHY REDESIGN?
Have a high impact!
Consider
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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
WHAT DO THE FACULTY SAY?
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“It’s the best experience
I’ve ever had in a
classroom.”
“The quality of my worklife
has changed
immeasurably for the
better.”
“It’s a lot of work during
the transition--but it’s
worth it.”
REDESIGN MODELS
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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
REDESIGN CHARACTERISTICS
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Redesign the whole course—not just a
single class
Emphasize active learning—greater
student engagement with the material
and with one another
Rely heavily on readily available
interactive software—used
independently and in teams
Mastery learning—not self-paced
Increase on-demand, individualized
assistance
Automate only those course
components that can benefit from
automation—e.g., homework, quizzes,
exams
Replace single mode instruction with
differentiated personnel strategies
Technology enables good pedagogy with large #s of students.
GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY
Chattanooga Community College
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Course Structure:
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total enrollment ~1500 per year
7 sections - main campus (~100 students/section)
3 sections - satellite campuses (~40-50 students/section)
5 online sections (30-40 students per section)
each section meets 2 hours/week w/2 1-hour help
session/week
Uniform learning objectives and student learning
outcomes across all sections
Student Buffet – students can attend class or use
online approach as they need – changing as often
as they need to
Improved student learning – pre and post test data
GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY
Chattanooga Community College
Buffet Model provides flexible scheduling
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Eliminate drop/add confusion - students can enroll
in any open section and attend any section with a
seat as many times as they wish
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“Now, I know. I need the lecture.” – can begin
attending any or all lectures
“Job change. Can’t come to class.” or “My
baby is due next week.” - not a problem just
complete everything online without benefit of
lecture
“Wow, if I’m sick one day or my car breaks
down, I can take the exam on one of the other
days it is offered.”
GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY
Chattanooga Community College
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Streamlined management - eliminating replication
of work
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set of modularized course components that map to desired
learning outcomes (one site – one syllabus – one set of
materials developed collaboratively)
mass emailing and replication of course calendar: most
weeks students receive an informative email --“ How are
you doing?”, Office Hours, Due Date Reminders, Study
Tips, “Where are you?”, …
Increased office time for other course development
or research
Attention to students’ diverse learning styles
Less dependence on adjunct faculty instructors
Decreased demand upon classroom space
WOMEN’S STUDIES
Arizona State University
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2 courses – one lower division, one upper division
Enrollment ~2400 students annually
Issues: diverse student body, increasing
enrollment, no higher order thinking
Replace 1 lecture with online small discussion
groups monitored by UGAs and GTAs and use of
low stakes quizzes
Outcomes – higher grades on common finals,
decreased # of course grades of D
increased class size from 150-200 to 400 and
reducing the number of sections from 9 to 4.
INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY
Northern Arizona University
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Large (2,000/year) foundational, survey-style class,
meeting 3x per week for lecture
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Redesign includes
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Large team-taught F2F section with 400 students/section
(back to back for 800 student per semester)
SRS for required attendance, in-class assessment
Early intervention system; team approach for GTAs
Web assignments and required, repeatable online quizzes
Learning: Mean performance in redesign went from
31.2% (pre-test) to 40.2% (post-test), or .72 of 1 SD.
• Cost savings: sections 11 to 8 in one year
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FACULTY BENEFITS
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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
A STREAMLINED REDESIGN
METHODOLOGY
“A Menu of Redesign Options”
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Six Models for Course
Redesign
Five Principles of Successful
Course Redesign
Cost Reduction Strategies
Course Planning Tool
Course Structure Form
Five Models for Assessing
Student Learning
Five Critical Implementation
Issues
Planning Checklist
How do these examples relate
to
GETTING STARTED?
READINESS CRITERIA
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What does it mean to be “ready”
to do a major course redesign?
Is your institution ready?
Which courses are “ready”—i.e., are
good candidates for a
comprehensive redesign?
READINESS?
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Institutional willingness to change
Departmental willingness to change
Availability of needed facilities and technology
Faculty readiness to use technology-mediated
materials and pedagogies
Student willingness and readiness to use
technology-mediated materials and pedagogies
Faculty willingness to implement the redesigned
course consistently and collaboratively
WHY INSTITUTIONAL TEAMS?
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Faculty experts
Administrators
Technology
professionals
Assessment
experts
INCREASING STUDENT SUCCESS
& REDUCING COST:
The Case for Course Redesign
Carolyn Jarmon, Ph.D.
[email protected]
www.theNCAT.org
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READINESS?
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Institutional willingness to change
Departmental willingness to change
Availability of needed facilities and technology
Faculty readiness to use technology-mediated
materials and pedagogies
Student willingness and readiness to use
technology-mediated materials and pedagogies
Faculty willingness to implement the redesigned
course consistently and collaboratively
GROUP ASSIGNMENTS
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B
C
D
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Criterion #1
Criterion #2
Criterion #3
Criterion #4
Criterion #5
Criterion #6
ASSIGNMENT
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For the Readiness Criterion assigned
to your group:
What are the obstacles to meeting this
criteria?
– What issues do you need to consider?
– What evidence would help you overcome
the obstacles?
– What information do you need to gather?
– What process, if any, might help
overcome the obstacles?
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Choose one person to report back.
QUESTIONS?