Susan Eliason Ed. D. and Christine Holmes, Ed. D

Anna Maria College, Paxton, MA

Pedagogical Preparation from a Student and Course Designer

Perspective

Anna Maria College • Career-oriented liberal arts college • Distinguished faculty and small class sizes

(10 to 1 ratio)• Offers certificate programs and associate's,

bachelor's, and master's degrees • As of October 15, 2008, there were 1001

undergraduate and 332 graduate students enrolled at AMC.

• Of the 258 Traditional Freshmen that were enrolled for the Fall 2007 36% were considered low income 37% were considered 1st generation.

• 50 Full-time and 129 Adjunct Faculty

Rationale

• There is a powerful link between educational beliefs and the teaching and learning practices of teachers. (Northcote, 2009)

• Faculty members develop conceptions about teaching based on their experiences as a student or novice teacher, and may have established an orientation to teaching that could limit the way they provide instruction (Holmes, 2004).

4

Semester Action Types of Courses Taught

Faculty Involved

Faculty Certified

Spring 2005

AMC adopted WebCT as a CMS to support a grant cohort

Online Supp Hybrid New Total FT PT 0 1 3 3 3 0 0

Summer 05

1 2 4 1 4 0 0

Fall 05 0 6 2 3 7 0 0 Spring 06 0 9 9 3 10 0 0 Summer 06

Nursing program adopts WebCT Early adopters attended WebCT conference

0 3 3 1 11 0 0

Fall 06 Established Electronic Learning and Teaching (ELT) committee Developed shell for training including standardized template for AMC courses First Certification course

2 15 6 4 15 7 1

Spring 07 January course May course revised based on feedback to focus on 30 % on technology and 70% on pedagogy Approved Online Course Syllabi Template

2 12 8 3 2 5 0

Fall 07 1 3 Spring 07 Used Electronic Course Request

Form approved March 2008 & Policy And Procedure Manual For E-Learning And Teaching approved April 2008

5 0

Fall 08 Two tier certification 4 students withdrew and 1 did not meet requirements

4 6 1

Spring 09 Course Designer certification 4 6 Summer 09

2 did not meet requirements for certification

1 8

Total 51 Faculty certified in 2 ½ years 36 15

Online 76-100%Hybrid 26-75%Supplemental 0-25%

Planning Process

Planning Process• Resources

– Quality Matters– WebCT !mpact 2006 8th Annual User

Conference presentations– Seven principles for good practice in

undergraduate education (Chickering & Gamson, 1987)

– Understanding by Design (Grant & Wiggins)– Bloom’s Taxonomy– National Academy of Education’s Preparing

teachers for a changing world: What teachers should learn and be able to do

Planning Process• Pedagogical Objectives

– Discuss effective teaching and learning strategies to: • Gain attention and inform learners of the objectives• Activate prior knowledge• Present content in a ‘chunked’ format (breaking down

content into areas of focus)• Provide learning guidance (case studies, graphs, pictures, &

analogies)• Practice skills to guide learners in their practice of new

information• Providing specific and immediate feedback• Demonstrate mastery of subject (portfolio, project, papers)

– Utilize a variety of questioning strategies (open-ended, clarifying, values, connective, relational, synthesizing, and application)

– http://courses7.blackboard.com/webct/public/home.pl

Homepage

Course Content

Resources

Communication Tools

Implementation

• In role of student; practice discussion facilitation– Read: 2 paragraphs on textbooks

on the next slide– Review the sample question – Alone or with a partner, write a

question in paragraph form

Implementation• While textbooks have long been a central

component in traditional, bricks-and-mortar-based curricula, they have been slow to join the technological revolution. Indeed, in some ways, the textbook is symbolic of "old school" education; as a cumbersome, expensive compendium of accepted wisdom, the textbook could be seen as standing in the way of the personalized, readily modified, self-constructed knowledge that contemporary students demand and developing technology allows. But the textbook has important functions in both the traditional and online classrooms. As centralized collections of key information, textbooks can help students manage, analyze, and filter the mass of information now available literally at the click of a mouse.

Implementation• And the concept of the textbook is evolving along

with other elements of education. e-Book technologies can reduce the weighty mass of paper to a single, small appliance. Electronic textbooks offered online can include multimedia resources and reach beyond themselves via hyperlinks that facilitate individual exploration. Online versions are easily modified as information changes; can be personalized by learners via annotation, indexing, and interactive features; and can be made affordable for students around the world. In short, the textbook won't be going away, but it must evolve, both technologically and pedagogically.

• Source: Email message received on Friday September 12, 2008 from James L Morrison requesting submissions for a special issue of Innovate. (http://www.innovateonline.info)

ImplementationThe question is open-ended, stimulates discussion

and debate, is original, is relevant, and elicits a range of responses. The paragraph is written in sentences which are complete, clear, and concise. Include page numbers as a reference (as appropriate). Most effective questions are 50-150 words and begin with a link to the reading. Attitude, opinion, and application questions usually get reflective responses. Ask a question which cannot be answered by looking up the answer in the reading materials.

Implementation

• Sample Question: Reading the above paragraphs made me think further about the function of a textbook in my courses. I expect that students will read and reflect on the text information. We use the text to begin classroom or electronic discussions. I wonder, how textbooks shape the interaction between teacher and student and the role of the teacher in education. What are your thoughts?

Implementation• Share your sample questions in discussions

– Go to Discussions– Select the topic: Sample Questions from

Module 1– Select Compose message– Enter a title for your question in the subject

field– Paste or write your question in the message

field.– Select Post – Update listing to view your posted message

Assessment of Participants

• Comments on facilitation of discussion – self reflection:– How did it feel to be a facilitator?– How did it feel to be a participant?– How might you provide feedback on discussions? – What criteria would you use? Refer to pages 9-10 in

syllabus– How will you encourage students to be active and

involved?– How much will participation and discussion be worth

in your course?

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WebCT Discussion Rubric Criteria Does Not Meet

Expectation Meets Expectation Exceeds Expectation

Points

Frequency Less than two postings are made on one day; postings are late in the discussion period and may not allow time for others to read and respond

Two or more postings are made on only one day; at least one posting is made early enough in the discussion period to allow time for others to read and respond

Two or more postings are made on at least two different days; at least one posting is made early enough in the discussion period to allow time for others to read and respond.

/1

Initial posting contains 4 essential elements Use of references

Postings do not include any references to text material or relevant personal experiences.

Postings include at least one reference to text material and/ or relevant personal experiences. References are cited using APA format

1. Student mentions at least 2 specific points from the chapter. 2. There is a clear relationship between new information to old information learned in the course to date. 3. There is a clear relationship between information in text to personal experience. 4. References are cited using APA format.

/3

Contribution to Learning Community Comprehension

Postings do not critically engage with key ideas from the course or the perspectives of fellow participants. It is not evident from the posting that the participant understands either the discussion question or the ideas referenced.

Postings engage with ideas from the course or the perspectives of fellow participants and make a positive contribution to the conversation. It is evident from the posting that the participant understands the discussion question and the general ideas referenced in the course.

Postings include pertinent, connected or applicable information. Postings offers critical analysis of a key theme or existing post(s) which deepens or extends the conversation. It is evident from the posting that the participant understands the discussion question and the key ideas from the course.

/.5

Mechanics Tone

Comments do not have a coherent structure and the flow of the writing is hard to follow. Posting has multiple grammatical or spelling errors.

Comments contribute valuable information with only one or two grammatical or spelling errors. Postings have elements of a positive, supportive or professional tone.

Comments are clear and concise formatted in an easy-to-read style that is free of grammatical or spelling errors. Postings have a positive, supportive and professional tone.

/.5

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Facilitator only grading

Effective Facilitation of Discussion

The student fulfilled the responsibilities of a facilitator to deepen dialogue and focus learning while remaining flexible, adaptive, proactive, responsive, and resilient.

The student responded to each participant’s initial posting and other postings as relevant.

The student lead discussion focusing on the question and encouraged reflection and critical thinking

/10

Summary for Facilitator includes all elements

What are your feelings about the reading and discussion of the text? (Reacting)

Think about your beliefs, values, cultural practices, and social structures in order to assess their impact on your daily actions. (Assumption analysis) Why do you feel this way? Your assumptions are socially and personally created in a specific historical and cultural context. (Context)

What did you learn this week that you would apply? Compile a list of resources you and others found helpful

generated through this discussion.

/5

Total for week : Facilitator /20

Participant /5

Course AssessmentReflecting on the Quality Matters materials, please rate the Faculty Certification

Course Design:

Quality of Course design (A rating scale)

Content

• What did you enjoy most about this experience?

• How could we improve the course?

• From the perspective of a WebCT student, describe your significant learning.

• From the perspective of a Course Designer, describe your significant learning.

• As a result of this course I would like to learn more about _________?

• How might you change your teaching based on this course?

Instruction

• How could course facilitation be improved?

Support Systems (A rating scale)

Infrastructure

• How can we improve the infrastructure of electronic teaching and learning at Anna Maria College?

Future GoalsParticipant Feedback Goals

Hire an instructional designer. Include the development of a Faculty Certification Instructor Guide.

Develop a WebCT ‘tip of the week’ that is posted on WebCT Faculty Forum

Completers of the Faculty Certification become members of the WebCT Facilitator Forum. “Tip of the Week” will be added to the Forum.

Build larger computer classrooms with improvement in connectivity to the internet

Space issues are being addressed by the college. New computer stations have been added to computer labs. AMC is transitioning to Angel CMS.

It is not the responsibility of the faculty member to have to “engage” a student. Student interest comes from intellectual and emotional maturity, both of which are out of the control of the faculty member

Comment identifies need to continue conversations about effective teaching practices through the Center for Teaching Excellence.

More “individualized” time with the instructor Develop a formal mentoring process (train the trainer model), and a voluntary peer review process. Continue to provide both online and face to face training for ‘land based’ instructors.

Training and support to accompany a transition to Angel CMS

With a goal for continuous improvement and excellence in teaching, we plan to continue offering a certification course

AMC Resources

• Faculty Guidebook

• CTE website

• Certification Binder– Policy and Procedure manual– Getting Started Guide – Syllabus for Certification Course

• Faculty Forum

References• Bloom B., ed. (1956). Taxonomy of educational objectives:

The classification of educational goals, handbook 1: Cognitive domain. New York: McKay.

• Chickering, A. W., & Gamson, Z. F. (1987, March). Seven principles for good practice in undergraduate education. American Association for Higher Education Bulletin, 39, p. 3-7.

• Henne, A. (2006, July) Template for the design and development of online courses. (PowerPoint Presentation) Presented at the WebCT Impact 2006: 8th Annual User Conference, Chicago, IL.

• Holmes, C. L. (2004). College teachers’ orientation to teaching: A comparative case study (Doctoral. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA. (UMI No. 3152707)

• Quality Matters: Inter-Institutional quality assurance in online learning. Retrieved July 8, 2009, from MarylandOnline, Inc. Web site: http://www.qualitymatters.org/

References• National Academy of Education. (2005). Preparing teachers for a

changing world: What teachers should learn and be able to do. (L. Darling-Hammond & J. Bransford, Eds.). John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated.

• Northcote, Maria (2009). Educational beliefs of higher education teachers and students: Implications for teacher education. Australian Journal of Teacher Education. 39(1), 69-81.

• Pasquale, S. & Sorcinelli, M. D. (2007, December). The scholarship of teaching and learning and faculty development: How it benefits faculty and the institution (PowerPoint Presentation) Presented at the New England Association of Schools and Colleges 122nd Annual Meeting and Conference, Boston, MA.

• Smith, R. M. (2006, July). Chunking revisited: Low investment, high yield course revisions. (PowerPoint Presentation) Presented at the WebCT Impact 2006: 8th Annual User Conference, Chicago, IL.

• Understanding by design resources. (n.d.). Retrieved December 3, 2006, from Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development Web site: http://www.ascd.org/portal/site/ascd/menuitem.6a270a3015fcac8d0987af19e3108a0c/