Transcript Faculty/IT Partnering to Transform Learning George Watson Leila Lyons

Faculty/IT Partnering to Transform
Learning
George Watson
Leila Lyons
Janet de Vry
University of Delaware
Agenda: IT/Faculty Partnership
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2 part interactive Case Study– 30 minutes
What is PBL? –10 minutes
UD institutional supports –15 minutes
Faculty projects–10 minutes
Questions–10 minutes
Case Study part 1
• Instructions to groups
Case Study part 2
• Instructions to groups
Case Study Debriefing
Characteristics Needed
in College Graduates
High level of communication skills
Ability to define problems, gather and
evaluate information, develop solutions
Team skills -- ability to work with others
Ability to use all of the above to address
problems in a complex real-world
setting
Quality Assurance in Undergraduate Education (1994) Wingspread Conference,
ECS, Boulder, CO.
Recommendations from the
Carnegie Foundation
Make research-based learning the
standard.
Build inquiry-based learning
throughout the four years.
Link communication skills and course
work.
Use information technology effectively.
Cultivate a sense of community.
Boyer Commission Report
What I know best I have
taught…
…the individuals learning the most in the
teacher-centered classrooms are the teachers
there. They have reserved for themselves the
very conditions that promote learning:
actively seeking new information,
integrating it with what is known,
organizing it in a meaningful way, and
explaining it to others.
Page 35, Huba and Freed, Learner-Centered Assessment on College
Campuses: Shifting the Focus from Teaching to Learning, 2000
What is Problem-Based
Learning?
PBL is a learning approach that
challenges students to “learn to learn,”
working cooperatively in groups
to seek solutions to real world problems.
PBL prepares students
to think critically and analytically, and
to find and use appropriate learning
resources.
“The principal idea behind PBL is
that the starting point for learning
should be a problem, a query, or a
puzzle that the learner wishes to
solve.”
Boud (1985)
What are the Common
Features of PBL?
Learning is initiated by a problem.
Problems are based on complex, real-world
situations.
All information needed to solve problem is not
initially given.
Students identify, find, and use appropriate
resources.
Students work in permanent groups.
PBL: The Process
Students are presented with a problem. They
organize ideas and previous knowledge.
Students pose questions, defining what they
know and do not know.
Assign responsibility for questions, discuss
resources.
Reconvene, explore newly learned information,
refine questions.
The Problem-Based Learning
Cycle
Overview
Mini-lecture
(as needed)
Whole Class
Discussion
Preparation of
Group “Product”
Group Discussion
Assessment
(when desired)
Problem, Project,
or Assignment
Group
Discussion
Research
ITUE History
• Created in 1997 to promote reform of
undergraduate education through faculty
development and course design.
• Initially funded by NSF Institution-Wide Reform
of Undergraduate Education
• ITUE Fellows receive hands-on experience in
employing active learning strategies (PBL) and
effective use of technology in their classrooms.
ITUE–Faculty
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PBL training from practitioners
Collegial environment
Ongoing peer support
Funding and recognitions through grants
Provide faculty who ask, “How can I make
learning more active?”
Elements Encourage both
Pedagogy and Technology Adoption
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Administrative Vision
Robust Technological Infrastructure
Partnerships
Faculty Development/Encouragement
Institutional Support
Support Staff
Partnerships
• Institute for Transforming
Undergraduate Education (ITUE)
• General Education Initiative
• Written and Oral
Communications Task
Force (WOC-TF)
ITUE Fellow describes use of
WebCT Communication Tools
Faculty member
skilled in both PBL
and WebCT
Led class through a
problem on justice
for the terrorists
Used online groups
in class to address
the problem
10 Goals
Goal #1 All students will attain
effective skills in
• quantitative reasoning
• the use of information technology
• oral and written communication
Task Force on Oral and Written
Communication Skills
The mission of the Task Force on Writing
• formulate a plan with specific action steps
• to ensure that undergraduates at UD obtain and improve
• critical communication skills during their courses of study
The synergy of partnerships
Active learning
instructional
technology
“Faculty friendly”
Collaborative workspace
• Similarities between PRESENT and PBL
classrooms
• Flexible furniture
• Flexible equipment
IT Support
• Half of IT support staff have masters degrees in
education
• Wide range of skills—programming, digital
media specialist, graphics, Course Management
Systems expertise.
• Instructional designer
• Form support teams for faculty projects with
Librarians and Center for Teaching Effectiveness
staff
PRESENT programs
• Collaborative winter and summer teaching,
learning and technology institutes
• Year long training program
• One-on-one consultations and
collaborations
• Projects to implement faculty
teaching/learning goals
• Showcase and publicize faculty projects
Faculty Encouragement
Showcase Faculty Work
Institutional Support
Elements of grant proposal
Course Redesign Projects
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Biology
Education
Consumer Studies
Plant and Soil Science
Psychology
ITUE –technology assistance projects
ITUE Technology Assistance
Grants
• Grants staff and student time to apply
active learning to a specific course
• Awarded to ITUE fellows
• 2 examples:
– Harry Shipman and E-labs for Physics
– John Deiner and Online Newspaper for
Political Science
Departmental Support
• Chemical Engineering
IT Support Lessons Learned
• To change the curriculum, need to change
how faculty perceive teaching and learning
• Infuse the campus culture with a variety of
ways for faculty to learn about pedagogy
and to reinforce that learning
• Partnerships with faculty can help with
faculty readiness
• At UD the ITUE is a major contributor
Institutional Support
• Examples of additional elements of
institutional support?
Faculty Perspective on
Partnership
• Complementary strengths
• Ongoing technical support
• Ideas into reality
Partnership Success
Adoption rate of WebCT by ITUE faculty
double that of full faculty
PBL/IT projects
• John Deiner in Political Science
• Charlene Hamilton in Nutrition and
Dietetics
• Harry Shipman in Physics
Online Newsletter for Politics of
Developing Nations
•Students learn by doing
•Study contemporary
economic, political and
social issues in Third
World
•Take on collaborative
roles and produce a
newsletter
•Research on the web
and publish on the web
Nutrition and Dietetics
Internship
Simulates a real world
interview:
Student makes choices
and receives feedback
based on those choices
E-labs in Physics
Other IT/Faculty
collaborations
• Joint WebCT/ITUE weeklong institute
• WebCT discussion group training cotaught by faculty and IT in PBL format
• PBL Clearinghouse
• Pilot of wireless carts for PBL classroom
Why partner to transform
learning?
• What do ITUE faculty bring to transforming
education?
• What do IT professionals bring?
• What other campus groups are important?
• What elements of the UD experience
could you adapt to your own campus?
Wrap Up