Slides from the workshop moderated by Carolyn Jarmon at the 2010 Winter Faculty Institute. University of Delaware, Jan 5, 2010.

1. REDESIGNING STUDENT
LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS

2. TODAY’S DISCUSSION
 Getting Started
 Principles of Course Redesign
 Readiness Criteria

3. A STREAMLINED REDESIGN
METHODOLOGY
“A Menu of Redesign Options”
• Five 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

4. QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER
• What are the obstacles to starting a large-
scale course redesign in your department?
• What issues do you need to consider?
• What evidence would you need to overcome
the obstacles?
• What information do you need to gather?
Where might it come from?
• What process, if any, might help overcome
the obstacles?

5. WHAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT
THING THAT WE HAVE LEARNED
ABOUT QUALITY AND COST?
The factors that lead to
increased student
learning and
increased student
retention are the
same as those that
lead to reduced
instructional costs!

6. FIVE PRINCIPLES OF
SUCCESSFUL COURSE REDESIGN
#1: Redesign the whole course
– Quality: Eliminate “course drift”;
greater course coherence and quality
control
– Cost: Eliminate duplicate effort;
create opportunities for alternate
staffing

7. FIVE PRINCIPLES OF
SUCCESSFUL COURSE REDESIGN
#2: Encourage active learning
– Quality: “Learning is not a
spectator sport.”
– Cost: Reduce faculty preparation
and presentation time; reduce
grading time
(e.g., interactive software, peer
learning teams)

8. FIVE PRINCIPLES OF
SUCCESSFUL COURSE REDESIGN
#3: Provide students with individualized
assistance
– Quality: Students get help when they
are “stuck” and stay on task rather
than giving up: software tutorials, F2F
in labs or help rooms, “beep a tutor,”
SMARTHINKING
– Cost: Apply the right level of human
intervention: peer tutors, course
assistants

9. FIVE PRINCIPLES OF
SUCCESSFUL COURSE REDESIGN
#4: Build in ongoing assessment and
prompt (automated) feedback
– Quality: Enables practice, diagnostic
feedback, focused time on task
– Cost: Good pedagogy with large
numbers of students; individual and
group assessment; faculty spend time
on what students don’t understand

10. FIVE PRINCIPLES OF
SUCCESSFUL COURSE REDESIGN
#5: Ensure sufficient time on task and
monitor student progress
– Quality: Self-pacing vs. milestones for
completion; points for engagement
– Cost: Course management systems
can reduce costs while increasing
oversight

11. READINESS CRITERIA
• 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?

12. READINESS CRITERION #1
Course Choice
• What impact would
redesigning the
course have on the
curriculum, on
students and on the
institution—i.e.,
why do you want to
redesign this
course?

13. FACTORS TO CONSIDER WHEN
THINKING ABOUT HIGH IMPACT
• 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

14. READINESS CRITERION #2
Redesign Model
• Which redesign model do you
think would be most appropriate
for your redesign? Why?
• What aspects fit your particular
discipline and your particular
students?

15. READINESS CRITERION #3
Assessment Plan
• Which assessment
model do you think
would be most
appropriate for
your redesign?
Why?

16. ASSESSMENT GOAL
To establish the
degree to which
improved
learning has been
achieved as a
result of the
course redesign.

17. ASSESSMENT PLANNING
Step 1. Establish the
method of obtaining data.
Step 2. Choose the
measurement method.

18. ESTABLISH THE METHOD
OF OBTAINING DATA
• Baseline “Before”
(traditional) and
“After” (redesign)
• Parallel Sections –
Compare traditional
sections and
redesigned sections

19. CHOOSE THE MEASUREMENT
METHOD: FIVE MODELS
A. Comparisons of Final Exams
B. Comparisons of Common Content
Items Selected from Exams
C. Comparisons of Pre- and Post- Tests
D. Comparisons of Student Work using
Common Rubrics
E. Comparisons of Course Grades using
Common Criteria

20. READINESS CRITERION #4
Cost Savings Plan
• Which cost
savings strategy
do you think would
be most
appropriate for
your redesign?
Why?

21. COST SAVINGS GOAL
Create cost savings
that can be used to
sustain ongoing
redesign, to fund
future operations and
to free up resources
for program and/or
institutional priorities.

22. WHAT’S YOUR ENROLLMENT
SITUATION?
• Is your enrollment
growing or
projected to grow?
• Is your enrollment
stable or
declining?

23. ACCOMMODATE
ENROLLMENT GROWTH
• Increase the number of sections.
• Increase the section size.
• Change the mix of personnel
teaching the course.
Mix and match for greater savings!

24. U OF TENNESSEE
Spanish
Traditional Redesign
• 57 sections (~27) • 38 sections (~54)
• Adjuncts + 6 TAs • Instructor-TA pairs
• 100% in class • 50% in class, 50% online
• $167,074 • $56,838 ($1496/section)
($2931/section) • 2052 students @ $28
• 1529 students @ $109

25. STABLE COURSE ENROLLMENT
• Reduce the number of sections and
increase the section size. (Reduce the
number teaching the course.)
• Reduce the number of graduate
teaching assistants (Only 9 of 30
projects!)
• Change the mix of personnel teaching
the course (Adjuncts, undergraduate
learning assistants.)
Mix and match for greater savings!

26. THE MATH EMPORIUM
at Virginia Tech
Traditional Redesign
• 38 sections (~40) • 1 section (~1520)
• 10 tenured faculty, 13 • 1 instructor, grad &
instructors, 15 GTAs undergrad TAs + 2 tech
• 2 hours per week support staff
• $91 cost-per-student • 24*7 in open lab
• $21 cost-per-student

27. READINESS CRITERION #5
Learning Materials
• Are the faculty able
and willing to
incorporate existing
curricular materials
in order to focus
work on redesign
issues rather than
materials creation?

28. READINESS CRITERION #6
Active Learning
• Do the faculty
members have an
understanding of
and some
experience with
integrating elements
of computer-based
instruction into
existing courses?

29. READINESS CRITERION #7
Collective Commitment
• Describe the
members of your
team, the skills they
bring to the project
and what their roles
will be in both the
planning and
implementation
phases of the project.

30. NCAT PLANNING RESOURCES
http://www.thencat.org/R2R/R2R_Planning_Resources
.htm

31. REDESIGNING STUDENT
LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS
Carolyn Jarmon, Ph.D.
cjarmon@theNCAT.org
www.theNCAT.org