HOW TO REDESIGN A COLLEGE COURSE USING NCAT'S METHODOLOGY

Expanded Table of Contents

I. The Essential Elements of Course Redesign

  • Redesign the whole course and establish greater course consistency.
  • Require active learning.
  • Increase interaction among students.
  • Build in ongoing assessment and prompt (automated) feedback.
  • Provide students with one-on-one, on-demand assistance from highly trained personnel.
  • Ensure sufficient time on task.
  • Monitor student progress and intervene when necessary.
  • Measure learning, completion, and cost.

II. Getting Ready to Redesign

  • Assess Your Institution’s Readiness to Redesign
    • Campus Support
    • Financial Support
  • Prepare to Develop a Plan
  • Establish a Course Redesign Team
  • Take Advantage of NCAT Resources
    • Background Reading
    • Redesign Case Studies
    • Campus Visits
    • Redesign Scholars
  • Readiness Checklist

IIIA. Six Models for Course Redesign: Those Most Frequently Used

  • The Supplemental Model
  • The Replacement Model
  • The Emporium Model

IIIB. Six Models for Course Redesign: Those Less Frequently Used

  • The Fully Online Model
  • The Buffet Model
  • The Linked Workshop Model

IV. New Instructional Roles

  • Undergraduate Learning Assistant
  • Course Assistant
  • Early Intervention Specialist
  • Preceptor
  • Course Coordinator
  • Training for New Instructional Personnel

V. How to Reduce Instructional Costs

  • How redesign leads to reduced instructional costs
  • How to calculate the time instructors spend on the course: The Scope of Effort Worksheet
  • Three ways to restructure the course to reduce instructional costs
    • Have each instructor carry more students
      a. By increasing section size or
      b. By increasing the number of sections each instructor carries for the same workload credit.
    • Change the mix of personnel from more expensive to less expensive.
    • Do both simultaneously.

VI. How to Create Small within Large

  • Teams and Group Work
  • Student-Response Systems (Clickers)
  • Individualized Instruction via Online Tutorials
  • Mastery Quizzing
  • Modularization

VII. How to Assess Student Learning

  • How and when to obtain the data
    • Parallel Sections (Traditional and Redesign)
    • Baseline Before (Traditional) and After (Redesign)
  • Measures to use
    • Comparisons of Common Final Exams
    • Comparisons of Common Content Items Selected from Exams
    • Comparisons of Pre- and Posttests
    • Comparisons of Student Work Using Common Rubrics

VIII. How to Compare Completion Rates

  • Definition
  • Why grades are not valid comparative measures of student learning
  • Why look at both completion rates and measures of student learning

IX. How to Address Specific Faculty Concerns

  • Faculty Role
  • Faculty Workload
  • Faculty Training
  • Faculty Resistance

X. How to Deal with Technological Issues

  • How to Choose Software
  • Access Codes and Financial Aid
  • Textbooks
  • Computer Literacy
  • Student Computers
  • Students Doing Things Other Than Coursework In Class

XI. How to Ensure Student Participation  

  • Introducing the Course Redesign
  • Attendance/Participation
  • What to Do When Students Won’t Do the Work
  • What to Do If Students Don’t Like the Redesign

XII. Planning and Implementing the Redesign: A Timeline and Checklist

  • Four phases of implementing a course redesign
    • Planning and Development
    • Conducting a Pilot Term
    • Making Revisions to the Redesign Based on the Pilot Experience
    • Fully Implementing the Redesign in All Sections of the Course
  • Planning and Implementation Checklist
  • Building Consensus among All Stakeholders

XIII. Developing a Written Redesign Plan: Why It's Important

  • Redesign Model and the Eight Essential Elements of Course Redesign
  • Changes to the Traditional Course Structure
  • Learning Materials/Software
  • Assessment Method
  • Course Completion Forms
  • Cost Reduction Strategy and the Cost Planning Tool.
  • Ongoing Consensus
  • Timeline
  • Project Budget

XIV. Building and Maintaining Consensus

  • Initial and Ongoing Faculty Consensus about the Redesign
  • Initial and Ongoing Consensus among Campus Offices
  • Initial and Ongoing Consensus among Senior Administrators
  • Ensuring Sustainability: The Fundamentals
    • Executive Leadership
    • Faculty Leadership
    • Ongoing Data Collection
    • Ongoing Communication
    • Orientation of New Personnel
    • Financial Plan
  • Sustainability Checklist