Transcript Slide 1

Tech Review Kickoff
Kris Leppien-Christensen, Ph.D.
Curriculum Chair
Tech Review Kickoff (Fall Flex 2012)
1
http://www.ivywise.com/newsletter_february12_juniors_kick_off.h
Overview
•
•
•
•
The Curriculum Process
COR – A Contract
Components of a COR
Loose Ends
Tech Review Kickoff (Fall Flex 2012)
2
The Curriculum Process
Faculty
Originator
Articulation
Officer
Departmental
Review
Technical
Review
Departmental
Staff
Curriculum
Committee
Academic
Senate
Board of
Trustees
Tech Review Kickoff (Fall Flex 2012)
Chancellor’s
Office (State)
3
COR – A Contract
• Serves as a contract between the college
and the:
– Faculty
– CCCCO
– Community
– Employers
– Transfer Institutions
– Students
Tech Review Kickoff (Fall Flex 2012)
4
COR – A Contract
• Document approved by the CCCCO
• Grants us the authority to offer the
course
• Establishes standardized content of the
course
– All instructors are legally required to teach
all of the material indicated in the COR
– Should form the basis of all syllabi
Tech Review Kickoff (Fall Flex 2012)
5
COR – A Contract
• A public record that is easily accessible
Chancellor’s Office approved proposals are public record
pursuant to the California Public Records Act
(Government Code § 6250 et seq.). Therefore, the
Chancellor’s Office provides access to a college’s
approved proposal (including the accompanying
curriculum) to colleges, individuals, or organizations
upon request. (PCAH, 4th ed., 2012, p. 16)
Tech Review Kickoff (Fall Flex 2012)
6
Course Numbers
• Course Number
– All courses should be numbered beginning
with 6XX
– Final course numbers are assigned by the
Curriculum Office
• 1-99 (UC Transferable)
• 100-199 (CSU Transferable)
• 200-299 (AA/AS Degree Applicable,
nontransferable)
• 300-399 (Remedial, nontransferable)
• 400-499 (Vocational, nontransferable)
Tech Review Kickoff (Fall Flex 2012)
7
Course Titles
• Should effectively represent the intent
and nature of the course
• Might be dictated by transfer institutions
• Should be in ALL CAPS
• Limited to 60 characters
• Short Titles
– Limited to 30 characters
– Appears on the student’s transcript
Tech Review Kickoff (Fall Flex 2012)
8
Course Catalog Description
• Provides a brief summary/description of the
course
• Should differentiate it from other courses offered
at the college
• Does not begin with “This course . . .”
• May consist of short phrases rather than
complete sentences
• Should be consistent with the goals, objectives,
and content of the course
• If grading options have changed, the catalog
description should be updated to include such a
change
Tech Review Kickoff (Fall Flex 2012)
9
Course Catalog Description
• The catalog description often begins with a short
paragraph (course description) that provides a welldeveloped overview of topics covered.
• Identification of the target audience depending on
whether the course is required for the major, degree or
certificate, transfer, etc., will assist students in their
educational planning.
• Prerequisites, corequisites, advisories and/or limitations
on enrollments must be listed.
• Designation of course repeatability must be listed.
• Lecture/lab/activity/studio hours and units are included.
• Field trip potential or other requirements that may impose
a logistical or fiscal burden upon the students should be
included along with an option for alternatives.
(ASCCC, Spring 2008, p. 10)
Tech Review Kickoff (Fall Flex 2012)
10
Class Schedule Description
• Limited to 360 characters
• Often an abbreviated version of the catalog
description
• Should include all of the essential
information from the catalog description
• Should be appealing and easy to understand
• If grading options have changed, the
schedule description should be updated to
include such a change
Tech Review Kickoff (Fall Flex 2012)
11
Start Date
• Course are proposed and reviewed for
the following academic year
• Course going through Tech Review in Fall
2012 have a Fall 2013 start date
• Exception – Special Topics courses
Tech Review Kickoff (Fall Flex 2012)
12
Justification
• Required for all new courses and courses
with substantial changes
• Should specify:
– Appropriateness to CCC mission
– The need for the course
– That adequate resources are available
• Must meet:
– Curriculum standards
– Compliance requirements
Tech Review Kickoff (Fall Flex 2012)
13
Class Hours/Units
• Used to indicate the number of hours per
week that a student will spend in lecture,
lab, etc.
• A minimum of two hours of outside work
must be completed by the student for
every one hour spent in lecture
• Labs are presumed to have little or no
homework; thus, 3 hours equal one unit
of credit.
Tech Review Kickoff (Fall Flex 2012)
14
Class Hours/Units
1 unit lab course = 48 contact hours
1 unit lecture course = 16 contact hours
3 unit lecture course = 48 contact hours
4 unit lecture course = 64 contact hours
5 unit lecture course = 80 contact hours
Tech Review Kickoff (Fall Flex 2012)
15
Class Hours/Units
• One credit hour or unit should encompass no fewer than
48 hours of coursework (course time in or out of class).
• The course outline of record should justify or validate
these hours relative to the units being listed.
• Articulation agreements and other external factors may
need to be considered.
• While examples often rely upon using the traditional 3
hours per week to determine a unit, the credit hour or unit
is more appropriately defined by hours per course, which
more easily allows for alternative term lengths.
(ASCCC, Spring 2008, p. 16)
Tech Review Kickoff (Fall Flex 2012)
16
Grading Method
• Used to establish whether the course can
be taken as Pass/No Pass, Credit/No
Credit, etc.
• “NC” should be selected for non-credit
courses
• If the grading method is being changed,
the catalog and schedule descriptions
should be updated to reflect the change
Tech Review Kickoff (Fall Flex 2012)
17
Repeatability
• Most courses that were once considered
repeatable because they were “activity”
courses are no longer repeatable
• With very few exceptions, courses should no
longer be marked as repeatable
– Contact the Curriculum Office for guidance
• Even courses that have exceptions (e.g.,
vocational) are still considered nonrepeatable
– They are “repeatable” only through the petition
process
Tech Review Kickoff (Fall Flex 2012)
18
Degree/Transfer Applicability
• If it is believed that a new or revised course
will be transferable, the Articulation Officer
must be contacted before Tech Review
– For UC transferable courses, this may require
planning as early as the semester prior to Tech
Review
• Comparable transfer courses must be
identified
– Information must include the university, the
title of the course, and its ID
Tech Review Kickoff (Fall Flex 2012)
19
Requisites
• Three types:
• Prerequisites
• Required before enrolling in the course
• Corequisites
• Required to be taken simultaneously with
another course
– Recommended Preparation
• Advised to meet before or in conjunction
with enrollment in a course
– Students are not required to complete the
recommended preparation as a condition of
enrollment.
Tech Review Kickoff (Fall Flex 2012)
20
Requisites
• Established to indicate the “required preparation for success
in the course . . . as determined by the curriculum
committee in compliance with title 5, section 55003.”
(PCAH, 4th ed., 2012, p. 42)
• Established through statistical validation and/or content
review
• When content review is utilized, the required learning
objectives from the requisite course must be linked to the
learning objectives of the course with the requisite
– Demonstrated on the “validation” page in CurricUNET
• If the requisite is outside of the discipline, the department
in which the requisite course resides must be contacted
prior to Tech Review
• Must be established and/or reaffirmed during Tech Review
Tech Review Kickoff (Fall Flex 2012)
21
Requisites
• Any course requiring another course as a requisite must
demonstrate the need through one of several methods.
• Validation, when required, at a minimum must include a content
review described below.
• For pre- and corequisites, the course outline must document
entry skills without which student success is highly unlikely.
• For advisories, the course outline must document entry skills
which are either necessary but are likely to be obtained by other
means or, while not necessary, would broaden or enhance
student learning but are not fundamental to student success.
• Requisites may have implications for articulated courses.
• Limitations on enrollment should be fair and reasonable and
should produce consistent evaluation results.
(ASCCC, Spring 2008, p. 18)
Tech Review Kickoff (Fall Flex 2012)
22
Lecture Content & Lab/Learning
Center Content
• Taken together, the content of the course, the methods of
instruction, the assignments, and the methods of evaluation
must be described in the COR in a manner that is integrated
and leads to the achievement of the course objectives
(PCAH, 4th ed., 2012, p. 12)
• Specify the content in order to “provide distinct
instructional content and specific instructional objectives”.
(PCAH, 4th ed., 2012, p. 18)
• Specific enough to justify the unit value of the course
• Written in outline form to indicate how the various topics
relate to one another
• Ensures that all students who take the course are exposed
to the same content
• Faculty are required to teach all of the content specified in
the COR
Tech Review Kickoff (Fall Flex 2012)
23
Lecture Content & Lab/Learning
Center Content
• Content needs to differ from other
related courses
• Lab content needs to be differentiated
from lecture content
•The content element contains a complete list of all
topics to be taught in the course.
•The list should be arranged by topic with subheadings.
•Content items should be subject based.
(ASCCC, Spring 2008, p. 28)
Tech Review Kickoff (Fall Flex 2012)
24
Learning Objectives
• Establishes the skills and/or knowledge
that a student should have upon
completion of the course
• Written using Bloom’s Taxonomy
• At least one learning objective should
include an element of critical thinking
– e.g., analysis, synthesis, or evaluation
Tech Review Kickoff (Fall Flex 2012)
25
Tech Review Kickoff (Fall Flex 2012)
26
Learning Objectives
• Objectives should be stated in terms of what students will
be able to do.
• Objectives should clearly connect to achievement of the
course goals.
• Objectives should be concise but complete: ten objectives
might be too many; one is not enough.
• Objectives should use verbs showing active learning.
• Theory, principles, and concepts must be adequately
covered. Skills and applications are used to reinforce and
develop concepts.
• Each objective should be broad in scope, not too detailed,
narrow, or specific.
(ASCCC, Spring 2008, p. 24)
Tech Review Kickoff (Fall Flex 2012)
27
Assignments
• A minimum of three types of assignments must be
indicated:
– Typical reading assignments
• Must include reading assignments from a college-level text
• Assignments specific to the required reading should be
given in the form of an example
– Typical writing assignments
• e.g., “preparation of a 4 to 5 page research project in
which major analytical questions are discussed”
– Typical oral assignments
• Used to further establish that the course requires critical
thinking
Tech Review Kickoff (Fall Flex 2012)
28
Assignments
• Should provide enough detail to establish
that a minimum of two hours of
independent work is required for every hour
spent in lecture
– “For each hour of lecture, it is assumed that
students will be required to spend an additional
two hours of study outside of class.” (PCAH, 4th
ed., 2012, p. 46)
• The more specific the better for articulation
purposes
Tech Review Kickoff (Fall Flex 2012)
29
Assignments
•
•
•
•
•
•
Assignment examples, if provided, should reflect coverage of all
objectives and content.
Assignment examples can include supplemental reading materials
beyond the required text(s).
Optional and alternate assignment examples can and in some cases
should be included. (e.g. an alternate assignment allowed in lieu of a
required field trip or a cost-bearing assignment such as theatre tickets).
In addition to listing graded assignments, the developer of the course
outline should give the basis for grading, and relate assignments to skills
and abilities in objectives. For example, say written assignments that
show development of self-criticism.” Attach examples if needed.
Out-of-class assignments must be sufficient to show independent work.
The difficulty standard for degree-applicable credit courses requires that
assignments must reflect college-level effort, particularly in terms of
critical thinking
(ASCCC, Spring 2008, p. 37)
Tech Review Kickoff (Fall Flex 2012)
30
Methods of Evaluation
(MOEs)
• Stipulate how students will be assessed to
guarantee that the course objectives have been
met
• Should indicate how the student will be
assessed/evaluated
• Placed under the appropriate headings in
CurricUNET
–
–
–
–
–
Writing assignments
Problem solving demonstrations
Skills demonstrations
Exams
Other
Tech Review Kickoff (Fall Flex 2012)
31
Methods of Evaluation
(MOEs)
• Content must be included in all text boxes
– Simply checking the boxes (e.g., multiplechoice) is not sufficient
– It is never appropriate for all assessment items
to appear in the “other” box
• Should be linked to the learning objectives
– e.g., “Evaluation of the student’s ability to apply
appropriate major theoretical models to social
psychological phenomena”
Tech Review Kickoff (Fall Flex 2012)
32
Methods of Evaluation
(MOEs)
• In addition to listing graded assignments, the course
outline should describe the basis for grading or other
evaluations, and relate the methods of evaluation to skills
and abilities in objectives.
• Be sure that knowledge of required material constitutes a
significant portion of the grade as reflected in assignments
and methods of evaluation.
• The difficulty standards for degree-applicable credit,
nondegree-applicable credit and noncredit courses vary
quite a bit, particularly in terms of critical thinking, and
this should be reflected in the methods of evaluation.
(ASCCC, Spring 2008, p. 34)
Tech Review Kickoff (Fall Flex 2012)
33
Required Text
• At least one college-level text is required for all
college-level courses
• Textbook choice may be a determining factor for
articulation
• Provide all information:
–
–
–
–
–
–
Author
Title
Edition
Year of Publication
Publisher
ISBN
• Provided a justification for choice of text
– e.g., standard for discipline, most current, etc.
Tech Review Kickoff (Fall Flex 2012)
34
Library
• New course proposals are reviewed by the
library to ensure that resources are
available
• In most cases, the following boxes should be
checked in CurricUNET:
– “Materials in the Library support this class”
– “Library electronic resources support this class”
• If specific resources are needed, select the
“I recommend that we add” box and write
in the resources that will be needed
Tech Review Kickoff (Fall Flex 2012)
35
Loose Ends
• Ensure that the “credit” or “non-credit”
box is checked
• Only enter text into CurricUNET text
boxes
– Do not use tables
– If composing in another program, cut and
paste the text into Notepad first to remove
any formatting and correct it there before
cutting and pasting into CurricUNET
Tech Review Kickoff (Fall Flex 2012)
36
Loose Ends
• Use a web browser that has spell
checking
– e.g., Firefox, Chrome, etc.
• Bring printouts of certificates and/or
degrees to Tech Review
– Faculty should review them before Tech
Review and make necessary changes
Tech Review Kickoff (Fall Flex 2012)
37