Course Redesign Project
Spring 2009
History and Purpose of the Course Redesign Project
As Eli Noam stated in his keynote talk at the 1996 ASIS meeting: “True teaching and learning are about more than information and its transmission. Education is based on mentoring, internalization, identification, role modeling, guidance, socialization, interaction and group activity. In these processes, physical proximity plays an important role.” In that spirit, the GTP/ATLAS/ITS Course Re-Design Project brings faculty, graduate students, and staff together to share expertise and information while upgrading all participants’ skill levels.
In 2004 the Provost invited Dr. Laura Border, director of the Graduate Teacher Program (GTP), to design a project that was to be collaborative between the GTP, the Alliance for Technology, Learning, and Society (ATLAS), and the ITS staff. Dr. Border completed a draft of a project to support faculty and graduate students who want to design (or redesign) a course that they teach to include technology. In spring of 2006, she enlisted Dr. Mark Werner, ITS, and Dr. Deborah Keyek-Franssen, ATLAS to assist with the project, and recruited 39 faculty and staff to help with the project in the capacity of expert consultants.
This collaboration led to the GTP/ATLAS/ITS Course Redesign Project, whose goal is to help faculty and graduate students create blended courses.
Course redesign is a complex and time-consuming process. It can be difficult for faculty to undertake course redesign on their own in the ever-expanding world of information technology. The benefits of participation in the project are the pedagogical and technological education all participants receive.
International collaboration with the Université de Liège in Belgium and Dr. Marianne Poumay has also benefited the project.
The project has created a milieu in which everyone learns from everyone else. ITS and ATLAS personnel have learned about teaching methodologies while GTP staff and the faculty and graduate students have learned about technology for course redesign. The project is modeled on a three credit class.
The participants attend two weekly workshops for a semester: one face to face in the classroom and one online. These workshops are led by pedagogical and technological experts who assist and guide the participants.
Research - Based Format
Using an online survey instrument (Zoomerang), the project collects data on participants’ needs and expectations entering the program as well as feedback on the utility of the project upon finishing the seminar.
A pre-test survey and a post-test survey are administered to track a participant’s knowledge of technology, pedagogy, learning, and perceptions of the project. The invited lecturers, project staff, and participants are all invited to complete exit surveys to continue a dialog about the most effective way to assist instructors as they implement technology in blended the classrooms. Project participants and presenters must be willing to sign a release form as all sessions are audio and video taped.
Course Redesign Project Spring 2009
The course redesign project’s third iteration takes place during the Spring Semester 2009. Participants must apply to join the project. The project meets Tuesday 8:30 AM - 10:30 AM during the spring semester. There is no cost to join the project.
Application
To ensure the best results possible participants are required to go through a selection process via an online application.
Potential Participants
- Faculty members who apply must have a graduate student as their assistant to help redesign the course.
- Graduate students who are an instructor of record may apply.
Spring 2009 Schedule
Face to Face Workshop:
Tuesday mornings from 8:30 am to 10:30 am, January 27 - April 28
One-hour Online Session: TBA in agreement with participants' schedules.
What Does It Mean To Implement Technology in Teaching?
Our work in the project leads us to propose that using technology in teaching requires:
- An understanding of the variety of technologies available.
- An understanding of how the various technologies trigger various learning styles.
- Being able to apply the technologies effectively to one’s disciplinary content to improve student learning.
- An understanding of when to use technology through on-line or face-to-face venues.
- An understanding of how best to assign work on-line.
- An understanding of how best to test on-line.
- An understanding of how best to integrate diversity and nonbiased teaching in an on-line or face-to-face environment.
- An understanding of how to manage conflict in an on-line or in a face-to-face environment.
- An understanding, how to judge student performance in an on-line or in a face-to-face environment.
- Most of all technological pedagogical content knowledge means a willingness to continually implement new techniques and keep an open mind regarding the dynamic nature of technology.
