Transforming Course Design in U.S. History
A collaborative project by:
Joyce Hanson
Alicia Rodriquez
Laura Talamante
Daniel Lewis
Birte Pfleger
Chris Endy
Jeff Gold
CSU San Bernardino
CSU Bakersfield
CSU Dominguez Hills
Cal Poly Pomona
CSU Los Angeles
CSU Los Angeles
CSU Office of the Chancellor
August, 2009
Table of Contents
I.
Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 2
II.
Overview of CSU U.S. History Survey Courses .................................................................. 4
III. Why Students Don't Succeed ............................................................................................. 6
III.a. Student Personas .................................................................................................. 6
III.b. Student Challenges ............................................................................................... 8
IV. Improving Student Learning ...............................................................................................12
IV.a. Improving Reading and Writing Skills ....................................................................12
IV.a.1. Enhancing Reading Skills ..........................................................................12
IV.a.2. Comprehensive Textbooks in the United States Surveys ..........................14
IV.a.3. Enhancing Writing Skills ............................................................................16
IV.a.4. Writing and Tutoring Centers .....................................................................16
IV.b. Student Engagement and Evaluation ....................................................................17
IV.b.1. Active Learning Strategies.........................................................................17
IV.b.2. Clickers .....................................................................................................20
IV.b.3. Clasroom Assessment ..............................................................................22
IV.c. Technology and Learning Management System Tools..........................................23
IV.c.1. Discussion Boards.....................................................................................24
IV.c.2. Automated Quizzing and Tracking .............................................................25
IV.c.3. Posting Class Notes Online .......................................................................25
IV.d. Course Materials...................................................................................................27
IV.d.1. Supplemental Video Content .....................................................................27
IV.d.2. History Labs and Publishers’ Online Resources ........................................28
IV.e. Class Size and Student Achievement ...................................................................29
IV.e.1. Teaching Assistants ..................................................................................30
IV.e.2. Hybrid Courses .........................................................................................30
V.
Efficient Instruction ............................................................................................................31
VI. Individual Redesign Plan Summaries.................................................................................33
VI.a. Joyce Hanson, Department of History, CSU San Bernardino ................................34
VI.b. Alicia Rodriquez, Department of History, CSU Bakersfield ....................................36
VI.c. Laura Talamante, Department of History, CSU Dominguez Hills ..........................37
VII. References ........................................................................................................................40
I.
Introduction
As part of the continuing CSU systemwide Transforming Course Design (TCD) initiative, in fall
2008 campus provosts identified the U.S. History survey course as a strong candidate for
course redesign because it was deemed to be a large enrollment general education course with
high rates of D, F, and W grades across the CSU system. The goal of the redesign project was
to encourage a group of history faculty from a variety of CSU campuses to analyze student
challenges, explore course structures, and identify and evaluate strategies for improving student
learning outcomes and increasing cost efficiencies when possible.
In winter 2009, a Design Team consisting of three faculty and a Review Team with three faculty
began conducting an analysis of student outcomes and instructional models typically seen in
CSU U.S. History courses. The team then assessed and selected tools and resources that have
the potential to enhance traditional classroom-based instruction with increased opportunities to
master key U.S. History concepts. Over the course of six months, the team engaged in
individual research, collaboration in a web-based project workspace, weekly phone
conferences, and a face-to-face meeting.
The wide variety of contexts amongst the various campuses in the CSU system prohibits a “one
size fits all” approach to U.S. History course redesign. Because of this, the U.S. History team
opted not to recommend a single redesign approach, but rather to construct a “menu” of course
redesign components from which faculty at any given campus can select various redesign
components that are appropriate for their particular student needs and campus resources.
One essential goal of the U.S. History survey course that was preserved throughout this project
was the desire to teach students how to think like an historian. "History as I learned it in the
classroom had a lot to do with memorization of facts," explains Dr. Nikki Mandell of the
University of Wisconsin. "What Thinking like a Historian helps us do as historians and teachers
is to help understand how those names facts and figures fit into historical knowledge. They are
not history in and of themselves. They need to lead us to interpretation of what matters and why
it matters" (http://teachinghistory.org/news/19449). Most history instructors lament the lack of
historical thinking in introductory survey classes. Most students come to class wanting to know
who, what, and when but almost never why. These students have been taught that history is
simply the memorization of names, dates, people, and events. They want us to tell them the
"right" answer, so they can pass an exam. We want them to understand how these "facts" fit
into the larger picture, why history is important, and how to think critically about the information
they are bombarded with on a daily basis. Our goal in this report is to offer suggestions and
teaching strategies that can help us in teaching our students to think like historians.
Students, in order to buy into the importance of thinking like historians, need to understand how
historical analytical skills go beyond the U.S. History survey course. So what insights and skills
will students take away from their investment in learning to think like an historian? Dr. Peter
Stearns at George Mason University addressed this important question in his "Why Study
History?" for the American Historical Association. He notes that history students learn to assess
evidence, including conflicting interpretations, and to assess the significance of historical
change (http://www.historians.org/pubs/free/WhyStudyHistory.htm). Critical thinking is the
primary skill historians cultivate through the synthesis of the known facts of an event alongside
the multiple perspectives of different individuals and groups in society that contributed to or
fought against change at a particular moment in U.S. history. Historians, and our students,
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learn to critically analyze primary and secondary sources in order to better understand how and
why change occurred in the past and the long-term meaning of that change. Historical
perspective shows us that the meaning of change is not static over time and that understanding
history is to discover that the interpretation of the meaning of change continues to create
debates among historians and the population at large.
Thus, students will have a better understanding of the world they live in today and its
relationship to the past. They will understand how our society has changed over time as well as
the continuity with the past, which is to say that many of the issues they face today are longterm issues in U.S. history. Such insight and knowledge is an important part of becoming
informed and concerned citizens, whose actions and decisions will shape our future. Moreover,
and perhaps what our students need most to be convinced of, they will take away enhanced
reading, writing, and critical thinking skills that will help them to succeed in other classes and in
their future careers. "Employers often deliberately seek students with the kinds of capacities
historical study promotes. The reasons are not hard to identify: students of history acquire, by
studying different phases of the past and different societies in the past, a broad perspective that
gives them the range and flexibility required in many work situations. They develop research
skills, the ability to find and evaluate sources of information, and the means to identify and
evaluate diverse interpretations. Work in history also improves basic writing and speaking skills
and is directly relevant to many of the analytical requirements in the public and private sectors,
where the capacity to identify, assess, and explain trends is essential"
(http://www.historians.org/pubs/free/WhyStudyHistory.htm).
Communicating to students the importance of learning how to synthesize information from a
variety of sources and to communicate their conclusions about the intersection of those
materials as an invaluable skill set that will be rewarded in other classes and in their lives
beyond the university is a goal that our team believes is essential to improving student learning
and success in the U.S, History survey. The benefits for students also translates into benefits
for the university with more of its students succeeding across the curriculum.
This report will expand upon this line of thinking and present several suggestions for improving
student learning in the U.S. History survey course. The report contains seven sections as
follows:
I.
II.
III.
IV.
Introduction
Overview of CSU U.S. History Survey Courses - This section provides background
summary information about the U.S. History survey course offererings at different
campuses within the CSU system.
Why Students Don’t Succeed – This section identifies student challenges in the U.S.
History survey course by presenting several student personas, each with a name and
a vivid description of the student’s background, situation, challenges, attitudes, and
personality. The personas were borne out of discussions about the common obstacles
that prevent U.S. History students from succeeding in the course.
Improving Student Learning - Acknowledging that many of today’s students have an
approach to learning that differs dramatically from norms of even ten years ago, this
section provides an overview of various tools, resources, and strategies designed to
enhance student engagement. Also included are suggestions for implementation and
best practices.
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Efficient Instruction – This section provides a general overview of ways in which the
various redesign plans may improve efficiency of instruction, including reducing the
cost per class section or reducing the number of sections offered.
VI. Individual Redesign Plan Summaries – This section includes team members’ individual
course redesign plans, which illustrate the diversity of approaches needed to meet
student needs on three CSU campuses.
VII. References – The final section provides references for further research related to
topics covered in the report.
V.
II. Overview of CSU U.S. History Survey Courses
The U.S. History survey fulfills a General Education requirement and the State of California
graduation requirement for American History and Institutions in addition to fulfilling a basic
requirement for history majors. Because the U.S. History survey is a required course, many of
the students enrolled in the course are not history majors. Campuses generally offer the survey
in a two series sequence (U.S. History to 1865 or 1877 and U.S. History since 1865 or 1877)
although the entire U.S. History survey may be covered in a semester length class. Multiple
sections of the survey course are offered to meet student demand.
Most CSU campuses use a lecture/seminar structure for U.S. History instruction, but some
faculty have been pursuing a policy of active learning in the classroom requiring small group
discussion, projects, and presentations. The course structure is directly related to the number of
students enrolled. Large lectures (75-250 students) are more likely to adhere to a strict lecture
format, especially when no graduate assistants are available. Smaller class enrollments (20-75
students) are more likely to engage in interactive pedagogies.
Responses from history department chairs and analysis of available syllabi indicate that faculty
have broad latitude in designing and implementing the U.S. History survey.



Faculty members are free to choose texts; no campus policy exists requiring a common text.
Required reading assignments are drawn from a textbook (Farragher, Roark, Brinkley,
Nash, Murrin, and Norton are all used) and lecture topics generally follow the chapter
structure of the text with little deviation. Primary source document readers are a usual
supplement as are primary documents on CD or the web. Many faculty members assign one
to three monographs, novels, or autobiographies in addition to texts and primary document
readers. Most faculty members assign no more than three texts.
Assessment instruments appear to vary based upon the number of students enrolled.
Multiple-choice quizzes (including online quizzes) are used in addition to short answer,
identification, and essay exams. A few courses require students to keep a journal in which
they record short (150-300 word) responses to assigned readings. There are very few online
assessment instruments used across the campuses.
GE guidelines require ”a significant writing component” in all GE classes. Since the U.S.
History survey fulfills a GE requirement, formal writing assignments are found in almost all of
the courses examined. The scope and type of these writing assignments vary across
campuses and include journal entries, primary document analysis, or reflection papers.
Some require students to complete a 3-6 page analytical essay (1500-2000 words) based
on readings of primary and secondary sources. Others require students to respond to a
prompt based upon their analysis of primary documents. The number of students enrolled in
each section of the course seems to have a direct effect on the number and length of the
assignments.
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
Most campuses do not employ graduate assistants, and undergraduate teaching assistants
are employed only for logistical purposes. If graduate students are used for large lecture
sections (100 or more students) they typically grade quizzes and objective portions of
exams. Undergraduate teaching assistants may distribute materials, grade quizzes, and
help proctor exams.
Most CSU campuses have goals, objectives, and an assessment plan in place for the U.S.
History survey. These are most often found in the course syllabus and generally follow the GE
guidelines. Some campuses do have a mechanism in place for ensuring that these goals and
objectives are met, and most monitor the outcomes only loosely. In response to inquiries,
department chairs indicated that the review process for probationary tenure-track faculty,
temporary faculty review, post-tenure review, and student evaluations are the most common
means for addressing this issue. At least one campus engages in systematic annual
assessment through data collection.
Students can find support services on most CSU campuses. Some of the services are only
available to targeted groups of students (e.g. first generation college students, lower-income
students, ESL students, students with disabilities). The primary support service across all
campuses appears to be a writing center to assist students in the writing of specific
assignments. Most faculty members advise students to make use of the writing center, but no
campuses were found to have required use of this resource.
Libraries provide “appointment only” services that aid students in learning to use library
resources. Any instructor may request a library instruction session. Librarians typically lead
instructional sessions lasting about an hour, and customize these sessions to the needs of the
class. Session size is limited by the available facilities and therefore tends to discriminate
against large lecture classes.
Some campuses have special programs focused on helping first generation college students,
low-income students, and ESL students adjust to academic life on a university campus. SAIL
(Student Assistance in Learning) and EOP (Educational Opportunity Program) are two such
programs. The specific goal of these programs is to increase the college retention and
graduation rates of targeted students at the undergraduate level through academic support
(tutoring and adjunct discussion sections) and advising services. The programs recruit and
retain students by providing a comprehensive program of support services which include
admission, academic advisement, career and personal counseling, tutoring, financial assistance
and graduate school information.
Department chairs responding to inquiries indicated that faculty members receive WTU credit
for teaching large lecture classes. In most cases, any faculty member teaching a class that
exceeds 75 students receives credit for additional units. The number of units may vary based on
department policies. Some departments fund graduate/undergraduate assistants for large
lecture classes.
Faculty members can find support services on many CSU campuses. A campus may have a
Faculty Center or Teaching Resource Center that provides grants and runs workshops and
programs for faculty. The goal of these centers include: improving and enhancing teaching
expertise; exploring pedagogical issues and strategies; promoting dialogue and communication
on teaching and learning; providing mechanisms for disseminating information; promoting an
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active learning environment. Although not strictly targeted at faculty members teaching GE
survey classes, grants, programs, and workshops improve and enhance pedagogical methods.
III. Why Students Don't Succeed
The Design and Review Team members developed and discussed a number of student
personas representing students who have low success rates in the U.S. history survey course.
In Section III.a., the list of student personas puts “faces” on a variety of student challenges.
While every instructor might not encounter every type of student outlined below, and some
students may fail courses for reasons not identified (such as those who stop attending class but
fail to submit the appropriate withdrawal paperwork in a timely manner to the registrar’s office),
the personas represent those students whom instructors most frequently encounter. The
personas help to create an understanding of how these challenges are reflected in our individual
student’s lives and their unique socioeconomic circumstances. As the largest public university
system in the nation, CSU instructors face the most diverse student population in the country
and thus engage with a complex array of student challenges.
III.a. Student Personas
Shiree is an 18 year-old first-year freshman. She is representative of the majority of freshman
admits at some CSU campuses in that she was admitted to the university needing to complete
developmental courses in mathematics and English before being eligible to enroll in collegelevel math and English courses. For financial aid reasons, Shiree must remain classified as a
full-time student and enroll in at least twelve units. This means that Shiree may need to enroll in
college-level general education courses or other courses needed to fulfill graduation
requirements, like U.S. surveys, which fulfill the state American Institutions requirement, while
taking developmental courses. Her U.S. survey course poses several challenges. The writing
assignment, for which college-level writing is expected, is a challenge in that Shiree, in remedial
English, has yet to master college-level essay writing. In addition, as the course is writingintensive and requires in-class essays on the exams, Shiree faces additional obstacles related
to writing.
Tanya is a 31 year-old married mother of three young children. Her goal is to become an
elementary school teacher. In an effort to move quickly through college and begin earning
money in her chosen profession, Tanya is taking a full course load. Her family obligations
prevent her from devoting the time she needs to her school work, and the result is that she is
failing her U.S. history survey course. She needs at least a “C-” in this course to be accepted
into the elementary education credential program. She will need to repeat the course.
Michael is a 19 year-old business major who is the first in his family to attend college. He is in
developmental math, but has passed his developmental English courses and is now enrolled in
a college-level English course that meets a university general education requirement. Despite
having passed his developmental English courses, Michael struggled with the formal writing
assignment required in the U.S. survey and earned a “D” on it. His performance on exams is no
better. Michael works very hard at his studies, but reads slowly and because he has a limited
vocabulary, he encounters obstacles while reading. He either needs to frequently stop reading
and look up words in the dictionary, or he simply reads past words with which he is not familiar.
This problem prevents him from fully understanding what he is reading. In addition, Michael
processes information slowly during class lectures and this prevents him from understanding
6
key points the instructor tries to convey. By the time he is beginning to understand the point the
instructor is making, the instructor and other students in the class have moved on to a new point
or issue. He is too embarrassed to raise his hand and ask the instructor to repeat the
information. Michael’s exams reflect a lack of understanding of what he reads and what he is
presented with in class.
Jorge is 21 years old. He met the regular CSU admission requirements and entered college as
a freshman. He works fewer than twenty hours a week and lives at home. He is a capable
student but his academic record is spotty. Jorge’s grades have suffered because while he
copies his instructor’s lecture outlines and accompanying terms, he takes few notes during
class. In addition, he does not manage his time well and ends up only skimming readings at
the last minute. Because he procrastinates, he also fails to turn in assignments on time (or not
at all) and he misses classes in part because he “rewards” himself after taking exams by taking
a day or two off from classes. As a result, he misses important information in lectures and class
discussions. He is barely earning a “D” in his history class. Jorge, however, is a criminal justice
major and is not much bothered by the “D” in history, as long as be earns “Cs” and “Bs” in his
criminal justice courses.
Philip is 18 years old and is in his first year of college. He lives on campus and attends class
regularly. He sits with a group of friends in the back and frequently engages in small
conversations during lectures/discussions. He almost never volunteers during large-group
discussions. While he is not actively hostile in class, his behavior is disruptive. He does not
understand some of the vocabulary/concepts used in lectures and discussions, but cannot bring
himself to say so for fear of looking stupid to his peers. He tries to keep up with the reading but
finds it difficult for some of the same reasons that he finds lectures hard to follow at times. He
highlights while he is reading, but he is not sure what he should focus on. His scores on
quizzes and written assignments are low. He is somewhat frustrated but does not seek help
from the instructor. He receives a “D” in the class and feels alienated from his studies.
Tina’s challenges in her U.S. survey courses are many. History courses require a great deal of
reading. Tina did not read much growing up and does not enjoy it; she finds reading a chore.
As a result, her reading comprehension skills are poor and she cannot identify important points
while reading. History courses also require a great deal of writing. Outside of course
requirements, Tina’s writing is limited to text messages and e-mail. Tina’s formal writing skills
are poor, but she does little to work on improving these skills. She is not quite sure how to
organize an essay and cannot develop thesis statements or arguments that address the specific
essay questions asked on exams. If, for example, she is asked to discuss democratization in
society, politics, and religion during the Jacksonian era, she simply writes about everything she
knows that happened during that period, rather than developing a thesis that engages the
specific question asked. She does not support her thesis or argument with evidence throughout
the essay. She knows that the instructor expects a blend of fact and analysis in essays, but her
disengagement with the reading and with lectures (in which she takes too few notes), does not
allow her to have good command of the facts, and she is not even sure what the word “analysis”
means. Tina does not understand why her work does not earn her better grades and is
frustrated with her failing grade in history and upset with the instructor. She is an “A” and “B”
student in her major, one which requires little reading and no formal writing. In addition, the
exams in her major are primarily multiple choice and do not require five- paragraph essays.
Finally, adding to her frustration is that in high school, where analytical and writing skills were
not cultivated in her history courses, and exposure to primary sources and in-depth
7
examinations of topics could not be achieved, Tina found history an easy subject and did well in
it.
Maria is a first-generation college student and struggles to combine the demands from her
family, her job and her classes. Although she works, it is not enough to pay for school and she
receives financial aid. Due to financial reasons, she sometimes registers late for courses and
does not purchase all of the books for her classes at the beginning of the semester. She did not
attend the first week of history classes since she was not registered yet, and at the end of the
third week does not have the books. Maria does not speak to the instructor about her situation
and falls behind early. She occasionally misses class when her family asks for help
babysitting/taking care of a sick relative. She is too shy to ask other students in the class for
notes, etc. when she needs help catching up. She spends the entire semester trying to catch
up and is sincere in her efforts, but her lack of experience in college and competing demands
for time continue to interfere with her work in her history course. She receives an "F" at the end
of the semester. She is doing poorly in other courses as well and ends up on academic
probation. Her financial aid is in jeopardy, and she risks repeating the same mistakes in her
next term (registering late, not buying the books on time, etc.).
III.b. Student Challenges
The description of student challenges in this section develops an analysis of the collective
student traits found in the personas and the overall challenges that CSU students and
instructors face in U.S. History survey courses. Not all CSU students face every student
challenge identified below, but in combination with the personas, the list of challenges seeks to
help instructors analyze the most salient stumbling blocks to student success, and guide the
effort for course redesign solutions that overcome these barriers.
Poor Student Preparation for College:
The high school curriculum of many U.S. history survey students often lacked the needed rigor
to prepare them for college-level work. Additionally, grade inflation often gave these students
an unrealistic sense of what to expect at the university level. These issues are often
compounded by the fact that the high school curriculum often covered too many topics and
themes, giving "a mile wide and an inch deep" background to U.S. history, providing a skewedvision of the goals of historical study. Students may already have had negative experiences
keeping up in previous courses and enter with a poor attitude towards historical study.
Students may also be disadvantaged by the focus of high school courses that taught to
standardized tests and did not emphasize the development of analytical-thinking skills. These
poor and/or absent analytical, systematic thinking ability means these student do not know how
to organize thoughts for exams and essays. Moreover, students may not understand how to
understand course expectations as delineated in syllabi, and in many cases have difficulty
grasping how course assignment percentages work in determining their final grade. This may
lead them to miss work that they find intimidating without a real understanding of the final impact
on their grade.
Poor Skill Sets and Classroom Interaction:
Many students lack the academic skills, not the intellectual ability, needed to succeed in U.S.
history surveys. These skills include sufficient college-level reading, writing, and analytical
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skills. While ESL students might face greater challenges in these areas, native-English
speakers face similar challenges. Furthermore, some students who do not pass the U.S. survey
succeed in other disciplines. These disciplines include those with few analytical reading
assignments and little or no required writing assignments. Students who experience success in
those courses are faced with tremendous obstacles (and experience great frustration) in
courses that require a great deal of analytical reading and writing.
Students who struggle with reading, writing, and analytical skills in the U.S. survey courses may
do so, on the most basic level, because of poor vocabulary skills. This can be a problem in
lecture and add to already poor note-taking skills. Students may take few or inadequate notes
from lectures. The use of PowerPoint, while clarifying or outlining some of the main ideas
presented, when combined with already poor note-taking skills often means that students take
notes on PPT slides only and do not know when to add information from lecture examples and
class discussions.
Study Habits/Patterns:
Such students do not understand much of what they read, because they do not understand
many of the words/concepts presented, and also because they are not comfortable asking for
clarification. Note-taking skills are also under-developed. Students may not take notes from
reading or may highlight almost everything they read. They are unable to distinguish what
information they should focus on.
Poor vocabulary and organizational skills also mean that students will face challenges with their
writing. The combination of under-developed analytical skills as well as poor vocabulary and
writing skills challenges such students throughout the semester. They may be passive in class
by not participating in small/large group discussions. They feel too intimidated by their struggle
with the material or lack of preparation to participate or ask questions.
Whether from lack of commitment, too many obligations, or as the result of intimidation from the
above deficits, some students will frequently miss lectures, assignments even exams. Their
poor organizational/time-management skills may also put them in the position of trying to “cram”
for exams rather than work on material throughout the course. Maturity and lack of experience
may often be at issue here, but other conflicts contribute to the problems described as will be
discussed below.
Use of Campus Resources:
This is not to say that all students who have problems in these areas are not truly trying, but
they often do not realize how to ask for help. Many do not seek out or perhaps even understand
how to use campus resources, such as tutoring services to help with written assignments. They
are not familiar with the campus library and may not have an appreciation of the library
resources or know how to use them for research projects. They are more accustomed to using
the internet, and using sources like Wikipedia to find answers. They do not form/join study
groups to increase their understanding of course materials; and, are often limited in ability to
participate in these groups because of outside conflicts.
The majority of students do not go to office hours. Faculty can play a large role in helping these
students by overtly encouraging good study skills. Asking students to bring their notes to office
hours as part of discussions on how to improve poor performance on quizzes, writing
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assignments and exams may be necessary to help these students understand where they need
to focus and what campus resources are available to assist them.
Basic Skills, University 101, and Large-Lecture Courses:
Students that lack many of the skills listed above may be less able to succeed in large-lecture
courses. Although CSU campuses vary, many of our incoming students are remediated to bring
their reading and written skills up to basic college level. The U.S. History survey courses have
no pre-requisites, which makes success in the larger lecture formats that much more
challenging for students. Many CSU campuses are integrating, either as pilot programs or as
mandatory programs, University 101 (UNV 101) course for entering freshmen. In a recent story
from Dateline Dominguez Hills the success of UNV 101 has lead to a mandate that all entering
freshmen enroll:
Designed to ease the transition to college and provide skills for college and beyond, the
University 101 course had originally been voluntary and only four sections were offered.
Today, there are 12 sections and more than 600 students enroll each year, and as a
result of a concerted effort by administrators and faculty to make the course a success,
retention rates have improved. First-year students participating in University 101 had a
78 percent retention rate to year two, while freshmen not participating had a 53 percent
retention rate. These results led CSU Dominguez administrators to make University 101
a mandatory course for all freshmen beginning in fall 2009.
http://www.csudh.edu/univadv/Dateline/archives/20080410/campusnews/fiveyear.htm
Likely this will aid student success in lower-division survey courses, such as U.S. History. Yet
students who enroll in large-lecture sections at the same time as UNV 101 or before they take it
may still be disadvantaged. An early-warning system for large-size classes, such as those
developed by E.O.P. and Athletic Departments, has proven to be very effective for some CSU
campuses.
Conflicting Responsibilities or Interests:
Students have difficulty remaining engaged with their course work. In some cases, their lack of
academic skills may create so many challenges that they cannot become engaged. Those
students who have difficulty reading analytically often misses key connections connections
between material presented in class and that provided through assigned readings. In other
cases, students’ outside obligations (work, family, social life, etc.), preclude them from
committing to their studies.
CSU students, in general, juggle competing responsibilities and interests. Work obligations are
one of the biggest factors that challenge our students for keeping up with coursework. Many
students typically work 20-40 hours per week while taking s full course load. Although plenty of
students are able to manage these commitments, other students risk their success in college
courses by overloading themselves.
Family obligations also compete for time. Students who have children are one major group.
Other students have family obligations to parents and miss classes to take care of family
responsibilities. Many CSU students are the first in their family to attend college, and are
unaware of the short- and long-term educational consequences incurred by frequently missing
classes and/ falling behind on their course work.
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CSU students may also overload their schedules with too many courses and may not realize
that they are unable to adequately juggle the demands of multiple courses. In addition, since
the U.S. history survey courses might be viewed simply as a course needed to fulfill a university
requirement (and not the student’s major), students sometimes devote less effort to these
courses and instead put their energy into courses required for their majors.
Financial Challenges:
Many CSU students struggle to afford the cost of tuition, fees, texts, and living expenses. This
problem also overlaps with the previous discussion of competing interests. Students may work
too many hours to pay for either necessities (like student fees and books) or for "extras" like a
new car and entertainment. Financial challenges are often two-fold in that students frequently
register late for courses and purchase books even later. Instructors regularly hear students
complain that they are still waiting for their financial aid, which often seems to come late. Such
students cannot afford the books when the semester begins. This causes the student to get
behind on readings and homework designed to help them keep up with course themes and
prepare them for exams.
Two observations here:
1.
2.
At Cal Poly Pomona, the campus bookstore let instructors know that they were not to
put bookstore-sold course materials on reserve in the library. To enforce the policy,
campus librarians, would refuse instructor requests to do so.
At CSU Dominguez Hills, instructors scramble for extra copies of textbooks to put on
reserve because so many students do not purchase them for the above mentioned
reasons. Some instructors have taken to scanning the first chapter and posting it in
Blackboard to give students a little extra time to purchase the textbooks.
Cultural/Language:
As noted earlier, CSU campuses serve a growing group of first-generation college students,
many from immigrant backgrounds. While their families may be supportive of continuing
education, they may not fully recognize the increased demands and time-constraints these
students face. Latina students, for example, are especially subject to the demands of family, as
daughters, wives, and mothers. ESL students also face further obstacles in terms of bringing
their English reading, speaking, and writing skills up to college level. Cultural barriers may also
make it difficult for these students to ask questions or seek help when needed.
Student Use of Technology:
Instructors are both aided and challenged by technology in the classroom and that which allows
for continued engagement outside of class hours. On the plus side, students are becoming
more adept at using various types of technology, such as the Internet, e-mail, social networking
sites, etc. However, many students do not have adequate access to these tools at home and
are dependent on campus computers. Even with such access, student obligations often limit
the amount of time they are on campus. Additionally, students may be unaware of campus
resources and may be unaware that printing is often covered by student fees. Instructors may
want to include such information in the course syllabi and encourage students to take
advantage of campus resources.
11
Another side of technology that challenges instructors and the learning environment is student
attachment to personal items, such as cell phones, Ipods, MP3 players, and laptops. Instructors
are faced with a technologically-savvy student population that ascribes to a culture of frequent
use in the classroom. For example, students are very adept at using cell phones in class to
send text messages and are frequently unaware of what a distraction and disruption this is to
the classroom learning environment. Additionally, some students listen to music during lectures
and exams and often seem baffled for why this is inappropriate. Instructors often struggle with
students who use their laptops to browse the internet, check email, log onto Facebook, etc.
during class, which hinders the learning environment for themselves and their classmates.
IV. Improving Student Learning
The U.S. History survey team took student personas and challenges into consideration when
determining which teaching strategies to include in our recommendations. We believe that
strategies that engage students directly in instruction will be most effective for improving student
learning. In addition, we examined potential resources already available on most CSU
campuses to determine how those resources could benefit students. In this section we identify
several teaching strategies and offer them as possible solutions to the problem of high D, F, and
W grades in our survey classes. This list is not exhaustive and is meant only to aid faculty in
thinking about how to address the student challenges discussed previously to better engage
students.
IV.a. Improving Reading and Writing Skills
As outlined in the Student Personas and Challenges sections, CSU students in U.S. History
survey courses are frequently unprepared for the writing and reading demands in entry-level
history survey courses. Additionally, since these courses are part of their General Education
requirements, they may not be as invested in their success, viewing courses that fulfill major
requirements as more important time investments. Helping students to find value in the
historical expansion of the nation and the broad achievements and struggles in the development
of political, social, economic, and cultural institutions and practices is certainly a dominant goal.
Highlighting the significance of race, class, and gender in U.S. history also improves student
understanding of contemporary problems and goals.
Moreover, if students also learn to value the historical tools of synthesis and analysis as useful
to their success in other courses and in their future careers, they may become more invested in
their overall success in the U.S. survey. Thus, an emphasis in the development of reading and
writing skills in the course curriculum will benefit CSU institutional and student goals. In this
section, the team addresses the campus resources available in terms of CSU writing centers
and tutoring centers to aid students in their work in U.S. survey and other campus courses. We
also address how to improve reading skills through in-class exercises and course assignments
and provide links to related research as a first step to further exploring options for enhancing
course redesign to improve students’ reading, writing, and analytical skills.
IV.a.1. Enhancing Reading Skills
One of the areas of weakness for students in U.S. History survey courses is reading skills. The
majority of instructors assign significant amounts of reading in their survey courses, using
textbooks, primary sources, and monographs or related academic articles. Students often have
12
trouble making connections between their assigned readings and class lectures without
significant guidance from instructors.
The choice of textbook becomes especially important for instructors in terms of establishing
links between class lectures and discussions relevant to assigned chapters in the textbook.
Cost is always a factor for students and increasingly so as student fees at the CSU rise. Many
publishers also offer electronic editions at a reduced cost, which may work well for instructors
who decide to use ancillary web exercises available with access to electronic texts and primary
sources. Instructors should assign a textbook with these factors in mind but also choose based
on what works best in terms of their thematic approach and historical emphases (see following
section for a detailed discussion of the importance of choosing the right textbook).
The student challenges our team identified also emphasize that students have trouble
discerning the most important points in their readings and when and how to take notes. By
modeling how to get the most out of assigned readings and making connections to class
lectures, written assignments and exams instructors can help students become more invested in
completing the readings. Class meetings are more productive when students come prepared
and allow for a more in-depth engagement of course themes and concepts. Enhancing reading
skills is also related to enhancing writing skills, and students will overall become stronger
university students with the improvement of these skills.
Additional time will be needed to build these skills in class and to track assignments. Some time
for delivery of course content may be sacrificed. The variety of methods for building reading
skills will likely be more limited in large-lecture courses.
Dr. Linda B. Nilson, founding director of the Office of Teaching Effectiveness and Innovation at
Clemson University and author of Teaching at Its Best: A Research-Based Resource for College
Instructors advises that professors model reading practices for students and design courses to
create on-going student accountability for reading assignments. (See Linda B. Nilson, “Why
Students Skip the Readings,” Advocate, Vol. 25, No. 2 (National Education Association,
December 2007), 5-8 or the web version at the Advocate Online,
http://www2.nea.org/he/advo07/advo1207/front.html).


Modeling Reading Practices
o Previewing the textbook: TOC, Chapter Overview, Sign-Posts
o In-class student vs. instructor summarizing/highlighting of sample reading
Student Accountability
o Homework/class assignments for points (Nilson suggests 20% of the final
grade.)
 Communicates importance of readings
 Student investment in readings increased
 Reading responses, chapter outlines/summaries,
individual/group quizzes, written/oral in-class responses,
concept or mind map, compare and contrast grids, daily “mind
dump”
It is expected that by including the goal of enhancing student reading skills in course planning,
instructors will significantly aid students in identifying connections between readings, lectures
and discussions. This will likely lead to increased student confidence and engagement in
course materials with improved scores in class assessments. Beyond the U.S. History survey,
13
students will build upon these skills as the progress in General Education and major courses at
the lower and upper-division levels.
Instructors may want to implement on-going class assessments to gauge student improvement
in reading comprehension. Such assessments can be used to guide the revision of course
curriculum. Comparisons over time to determine the changes in percentages of students who
successfully complete the U.S. survey will provide a quantitative assessment as well.
IV.a.2. Comprehensive Textbooks in the United States Surveys
Based on results from a web-based survey given to CSU history department chairs, the use of
comprehensive survey textbooks is standard thorughout the CSU system. Additionally,
research published on the use of textbooks in the U.S. survey course indicates that with few
exceptions, textbooks are typically required in survey courses throughout the U.S. (Kornblith
and Lasser, 2009). The American Historical Association’s “Guidelines for the Preparation,
Evaluation, and Selection of History Textbooks,” states that “The centrality of the textbooks in
history teaching has long been established” (http://www.historians.org/teaching/policy/TextbookEvalGuide.htm). In
1992, when the Journal of American History added its “Textbooks and Teaching”, a section
devoted to discussing the use of textbooks in the classroom, the editors explained that
textbooks are “’the single most important written source through which colleges students learn
about the past’” (Kornblith and Lasser, 2009). Indeed, Wilbert J. McKeachie, Professor
Emeritus of Psychology and former Director of the Center for Research on Learning and
Teaching at the University of Michigan explains that there is "no text that completely suits every
instructor" but great care should be taken in selecting one since "research suggests that the
major influence on what students learn in not the teaching method but the textbook” (McKeachie
and Svinicki, 2006).
Instructors vary in how they use textbooks in their courses. Literature on the use of textbooks in
the surveys suggests that some instructors carefully and consciously integrate textbook
readings into their courses and test on the material covered in the text as well as that covered in
class lectures, discussions, and in other readings. These instructors believe that the text
provides broader historical context for the specific subject matter being discussed in class on a
given day. Thoughtfully integrating a textbook into a course also enriches student learning and
understanding of the historical events and themes by exposing students to additional
information that might not be covered in class, yet is relevant to a broader understanding of
American history (Kornblith and Lasser, 2009).
Some criticism of U.S. history survey textbooks stems from those who believe that too many
instructors randomly choose texts with little thought to the overall goals and learning objectives
of the course. Other criticisms stem from the belief that these books have little to offer students
and are an outmoded means of instruction and learning. These criticisms suggest that too
many instructors rely on the text as a crutch or substitute for historical inquiry and discussion,
and thus student learning is stifled by a lack of creativity or innovation on the part of instructors.
In recent years, faculty have expressed concern over the rising cost of textbooks and the
frequency with which new editions are published, which contributes to student costs.
The advantages of using a survey text are many, however. One is that textbooks provide
organizational structure which facilitates learning (McKeachie and Svinicki, 2006). Another is
that using a textbook allows students to develop a broader, comprehensive understanding and
appreciation of American history. The effective integration and use of textbooks in the surveys
14
also reinforces and builds upon, or adds to the body of knowledge, themes, and concepts
explored in class lecturers and discussions. Providing a more comprehensive study and deeper
appreciation of American history is thus highly desirable. As students in California who intend to
become multiple subjects teachers are required to develop competency in United States history
(as they will be responsible for teaching future generations American history), those who
complete their survey courses with a more comprehensive and in-depth understanding of the
subject may better serve their students. In addition, using textbooks in conjunction with other
sources provides students with the opportunity to learn from a variety of sources, and likewise
speaks to the fact that "a goodly part of higher education is education in how to read“ and thus
learning through different types of readings (primary sources, textbooks, articles, etc.) is
desirable (McKeachie and Svinicki, 2006). Finally, in an introductory survey course with
students who have had little university-level history background, a textbook provides a
foundation upon which to help build knowledge and a framework upon which to construct that
which is learned through the course lectures, discussions, and through other learning materials.
The American Historical Association recognizes that “Textbooks play a vital role in history
education, from elementary school through the college survey courses”
(http://www.historians.org/teaching/policy/TextbookEvalGuide.htm).
Problems using textbooks arise when instructors require books due to instructional convention,
while putting forth little or no effort to integrate the books into the course in a meaningful way.
Students then perceive the assigned reading as “busy work” and not integral to success in the
course and are therefore not inclined to do the assigned reading. That, of course, does not
facilitate student learning whether measured by passing the course with a “C” or better, or
measured with a goal in mind to provide students with an opportunity to develop an appreciation
of American history using multiple tools and in more than one setting. As with any learning tool,
a textbook is only effective if it used in a way that reflects best practices for employing this tool.
There is no doubt that the high cost of textbooks is troubling to instructors across disciplines, but
there are many affordable textbooks available, typically as brief or compact editions of full
textbook versions. In addition, affordable e-books are increasingly available.
A thoughtful roundtable discussion of how textbooks can be effectively used is found in Gary J.
Kornblith and Carol Lasser, eds. Teaching American History: Essays Adopted from the Journal
of American History, 2001-2007 (Kornblith and Lasser, 2009). Instructors commenting on the
use of textbooks in the roundtable support research which concludes that using textbooks helps
students organize information, reinforces concepts and information explored in class, and
provides a foundation for the broader course content. Indeed, the American Historical
Association guidelines on the selection of textbooks state that “adequate history textbooks must
actively encourage the development of appropriate historical habits of mind beyond
memorization,” and “should insofar as possible promote active learning” and “encourage critical
thinking” (http://www.historians.org/teaching/policy/TextbookEvalGuide.htm). Most important is
that instructors choose a textbook that complements the way they organize their courses and
that they meaningfully and substantively integrate the book into their overall teaching plans with
attention to the course learning goals and objectives.
By carefully choosing and integrating textbooks into courses, laying out expectations for
students that the reading is part of the coursework, and by holding students accountable for this
portion of their assigned work, the expected outcomes are that effective use of textbooks will
reinforce information, concepts, and themes examined in class, thus improving student learning
and success in the U.S. surveys. Indeed, AHA guidelines state that “The most important
guideline [in textbook selection]…is the need to make sure that the text contributes to good
history instruction.” “Once adopted,” the guidelines state, “textbooks should be evaluated for
15
their effectiveness in promoting good history learning”
(http://www.historians.org/teaching/policy/TextbookEvalGuide.htm).
IV.a.3. Enhancing Writing Skills
As discussed previously, many CSU students enroll in the survey course lacking the necessary
skills to compose college-level essays. Enhancing their reading skills will improve their critical
thinking skills, a necessary element for successful college writing. While the number of writing
assignments varies among CSU U.S. History survey courses, we recommend that writing be
included as part of the course design. Incorporating writing assignments, whether formal or
informal, requires instructors to strike a balance between the breadth of content covered and the
depth of analysis of that material. For large survey courses this task is formidable, and may
only be possible if teaching assistants can be employed to provide needed support.
When developing the course syllabus and creating assignments, it is important to identify the
learning objectives for the assignment and to clearly indicate what is expected. Rubrics provide
useful guidelines for achieving this goal by helping to break down the component parts of an
assignment that will be assessed in the final grade. Providing rubrics along with assignment
directions aids students to understand what they need to do to succeed on a given assignment
(see below for a further discussion of rubrics and consult the appendix for additional readings
and sample rubrics).
Another practice that can help students improve their writing skills is to provide informal writing
opportunities which allow students to write freely without worrying about grammar and spelling
issues. Such assignments are typically graded based on a student's ability to synthesize
concrete examples from course readings and lectures. Students may receive full credit, partial
credit, or no credit, allowing instructors to quickly check the assignments. Informal writing
assignments may also be used for instructor assessments of how well students understand a
particular course concept or theme (see below for a further discussion of the value of class
assessments). Informal writing prompts are also useful for enhancing small group and overall
class discussion and building critical thinking skills. Instructors of large classes without teaching
assistants may find informal writing activities harder to incorporate but may find them to be
worthwhile as an ungraded classroom activity.
IV.a.4. Writing and Tutoring Centers
All CSU campuses surveyed offer tutoring services in writing and/or discipline-specific subject
matter areas. At some campuses the writing centers and subject tutoring centers are housed in
a centralized location (such as in a “Learning Resources Center”). At other campuses, writing
and tutoring centers operate as separate entities.
Some campus centers have clear mission statements and well-developed programs that offer a
variety of services and resources. These resources include links to online writing guides and
other helpful materials. Some campuses highlight that their tutors hold tutor certification from
the College Reading & Learning Association (CRLA) (http://www.crla.net/). Many campuses
offer free writing workshops to help students develop their writing skills for lower-division course
work as well as upper-division writing proficiency exams. Not all campuses, however, have
well-developed, comprehensive programs, and not all campuses surveyed offer writing
workshops. At least one campus charges a small fee for some tutoring services, and at least
one other campus charges students a significant fee to attend upper-division writing proficiency
16
exam workshops, which are offered through another campus entity. Campus size alone does
not appear to be the factor that determines the level of services offered, as some smaller
campuses have a good selection of services while similarly sized campuses do not. Although
the quality of writing center services varies from campus to campus, many of them have good
track records of improving student success rates in the U.S. surveys. .
Though not every CSU campus was examined in the survey, San Jose State University (SJSU)
is a campus that appears to offer a solid program that can serve as a model for others. The
online writing guides that SJSU provides (many of which were created by the University of North
Carolina, Chapel Hill Writing Center), should be made available to other campuses. SJSU and
other campuses, such as CSU Stanislaus and Long Beach State, boast that a significant
number of their tutors have CRLA certification. In addition, the writing programs at Santa
Barbara City College and CSU Stanislaus provide students with information about how to
prepare for a tutoring session and outline processes for evaluating writing tutorials. Such
assessment and evaluation tools are valuable in that they facilitate both student preparation for
the tutorials and awareness of the broader writing process, while challenging tutors to think
about how they engage students.
Writing and tutoring services program directors at all CSU campuses should explore how other
CSU and non-CSU campuses operate to learn what other campuses offer, and then tailor their
own programs (and budgets) to meet student needs as best they can. In addition, it is
recommended that all centers strive to have at least some of their tutors certified by CRLA so
that there is a common standard of training among tutors across the CSU. Writing and tutoring
centers may be able to increase their visibility to students by constructing web sites that clearly
outline the types of services offered (and any costs associated with them), identifying hours of
availability, providing access to online resources, and striving to offer free writing workshops to
help develop writing skills. Finally, there should be greater collaboration between CSU History
Departments and campus learning centers. Each department, for example, should designate a
liaison to work with the programs and recommend successful majors to serve as tutors.
Providing departments with a stake in the centers in this way should increase faculty confidence
in these centers and encourage faculty to send students to them for assistance.
IV.b. Student Engagement and Evaluation
Student engagement is one of the key factors to improved student learning. This engagement
must be facilitated by instructors in the classroom. However, we must also emphasize to our
students their responsibility for success in the classroom. Instructors should consider strategies
to promote the dual responsibility for student engagement in the U.S. History survey course
from the very first day of class. Throughout the course, students should be encouraged to
evaluate how well they are engaging with course materials. While instructors receive student
evaluations that may help identify areas for course redesign to improve student learning, these
come after the course has finished. Additionally, these evaluations do not generally require
students to consider their own role and obligations in the learning process. This section
addresses ways to increase student engagement during and outside of class meetings. We
also provide recommendations for faculty and student evaluation during the semester that
emphasize the importance of both parties in the learning process.
IV.b.1.
Active Learning Strategies
17
Active learning refers to techniques where students do more than simply listen to a lecture.
Students are DOING something, including discovering, processing, and applying information.
Active learning "derives from two basic assumptions: (1) that learning is by nature an active
endeavor and (2) that different people learn in different ways" (Meyers and Jones, 1993).
Research shows that greater learning occurs when students engage in active learning. Active
learning techniques can occur in class or outside of class (e.g., computer simulations,
internships, online assignments, class Internet discussion lists, independent study research). In
addition, instructors "can teach students to be active readers of textbooks" as they remain
important tools in most courses (McKeachie, 2006). All students can benefit by the use of
active learning techniques.
Active learning techniques include the use of collaborative learning groups, student-led review
sessions, analysis or reactions to videos, student debates, simulations and role-plays, or
keeping journals or logs. Many of the syllabi available on CSU campuses indicate that a large
number of CSU faculty engage in active learning techniques where class size permits.
Research indicates that there are many advantages to active learning for students. Bonwell and
Eison (1991) have expounded on a few of these positive characteristics:
Students are involved in more than listening, less emphasis is
placed on transmitting information and more on developing
students' skills, students are involved in higher-order thinking
(analysis, synthesis, evaluation), students are engaged in
activities (e.g., reading discussing, writing), and greater emphasis
is placed on students' exploration of their own attitudes and
values. (p. 2)
The following universities provide some examples that detail the successful use of active
learning in their classrooms:


Illinois State University - http://www.cat.ilstu.edu/additional/tips/examEngage.php
University of Minnesota - http://www1.umn.edu/ohr/teachlearn/tutorials/powerpoint/learning/index.html
Despite these positive finding, instructors may encounter drawbacks. Faculty members have
reported resistance to active learning by students who are accustomed to lectures; students
who prefer to remain anonymous; or from students in large classes who do not expect
classroom engagement. When confronted with an obligation to take more responsibility for their
own learning, students may complain that they are paying tuition to be taught, not to teach
themselves. If cooperative learning is a feature of the instruction, they may complain about other
group members not pulling their weight or about having to waste time explaining everything to
slower members. Instructors may feel awkward when they start using student-centered methods
and their course ratings may initially drop. Other issues include: instructors fearing that they will
not “cover” the material, that they may lose control of the class, and that they may have
problems getting students to work in teams.
The benefits of incorporating some level of active learning seem to far outweigh any negative
findings. Faculty can expect active learning to promote problem solving, critical thinking,
analysis, synthesis and evaluation of information. When students are involved in their learning,
rather than being passive learners, they are more likely to master the information or concepts
presented, apply them, and better retain the information presented. The possibility of attaining
18
these outcomes makes active learning a worthwhile strategy for improving student performance
and engaging students in the classroom.
Collaborative learning in the classroom can enhance active learning. According to Professors
Charles F. Yokomoto of Indiana University and Roger Ware Purdue University, transforming inclass quizzes from individual to group quizzes is an effective and relatively easy way of
introducing collaborative learning into course syllabi. There are several variations on the group
quiz. For example, quizzes can be set up in two stages, with students first taking the quiz
individually and then in small groups, allowing for immediate feedback. This promotes
collaborative learning and individual student assessment of learning.
The University of Manitoba's Center for Teaching and Learning Center quotes Cortright, Collins,
Rodenbaugh, and DiCarlo's study of collaborative quizzing, which emphasizes: “Collaborativegroup testing immediately after the traditional individual examination enhanced students'
understanding of the material and improved student retention” (Cortright et al, 107).
Furthermore, it is relatively easy to implement and develop alternative formats of the group
quiz. Group quizzes may relieve some of the stress students experience over quizzes and
allows "weaker students to see what successful students know and how they think. This
prevents students from living in an academic vacuum" (Yokomoto and Ware, 3). Considering
the varying skill levels of CSU students, collaborative learning offers students, such as Michael
and Philip, the opportunity to benefit from their peers and to increase their likelihood of success
on class quizzes.
Games and simulations, another form of collaborative learning, also promote active learning.
Games introduce elements of fun and competition to the learning process. As students become
active learners through using games and simulations, they better retain knowledge and
information they learn while playing the games. While offering no examples of specific games
and simulations with respect to the discipline of history, Wilbert J. McKeachie and Marilla
Svinicki's book, McKeachie's Teaching Tips: Strategies, Research, and Theory for College and
University Teachers, provides valuable insight regarding using games and simulations as
teaching tools.
Games and simulations are most beneficial when they are centered around specific teaching
objectives. McKeachie and Svinicki regard the "chief advantage" of using games as being that
"students are active participants rather than passive observers." In addition, some games and
simulations, such as those that involve role playing, allow "students to consider varied points of
view relevant to the issues addressed in the game." Paramount in using games, they argue, is
that the games must neither be too complex nor too simplistic. Finally, in discussing drawbacks
of using games, they explain that it is often "hard to find a game that fits the time and facilities
limitations of typical classes" and that "[d]evising one's own games can be fun but also time
consuming." The authors conclude that "games are potentially useful tools for effective teaching
(McKeachie, 2006)."
An historian who has used computer games in the classroom is Andrew McMichael of Western
Kentucky University, Bowling Green, Kentucky. McMichael explain that games "can help make
students more engaged in the learning process," and "can teach students to think critically
about how history is used in our society... (McMichael, 2007)." While McMichael idenfiies
games most relevant to western civilization courses, he offers strategies for how simulations
may be effectively used to promote learning.
19
IV.b.2.
Clickers
Clickers are a wireless student response system about the size of a remote control. The clicker
has a number of buttons, typically labeled a, b, c, d, and e. A clicker-enabled classroom has
wall-mounted receivers that pick up the signals generated when a student pushes one of the
buttons, and a computer equipped with software to record each student’s response. Typically, a
bar chart is projected in front of the class (without student names attached) to show the
percentage of various answers.
Clicker software allows for the seamless integration of interactive classroom polling with existing
PowerPoint presentations. The student-generated answers allow the instructor to determine
how well students have understood the material. Instructors may also use clicker responses to
facilitate peer discussions and further analysis of clicker questions and responses. In this
model, students discuss their ideas with a neighboring student before answering and then each
student submits a response. Afterward, the instructor can generate a class discussion to
extrapolate on the responses and clarify misconceptions.
Clickers are most frequently used in large lecture classrooms and have many positive attributes.
They can change the dynamics of a lecture so that students become more engaged, active
learners. They provide immediate feedback to the instructor and to each student about what
other students are thinking. They are relatively easy to learn to use and inexpensive.
Clickers give students and instructors immediate feedback about what each student is thinking.
An instructor asks a multiple-choice question, and students choose an answer and click a button
on their device. A receiving unit counts all the answers and displays them on the instructor’s
computer. The instructor may project the results for the class to see. The instructor can decide
whether to proceed or to spend more time on a particular topic. Equally valuable, the student
learns immediately whether he or she understands the concept that the instructor is presenting,
without waiting for a test. Most students think that clickers give them valuable feedback and
many students enjoy the interaction that clickers provide. Clicker responses do not have to be
graded, but most students feel that when they have done work, they should receive a grade.
Most instructors have clickers represent about 10% of the total class grade. Clickers can









Measure what students know before a topic is introduced (pre-assessment)
Measure student attitudes
Find out if students have done their assigned reading
Get students to confront common misconceptions
Increase student retention
Test student understanding (formative assessment)
Facilitate testing of conceptual understanding
Facilitate discussion and peer instruction
Increase class attendance
The regular use of clickers can transform the classroom. Students become active participants
and frequently ask more questions when clickers are used. If students are allowed to discuss
their answers with their neighbors before responding, the impact is even stronger. At the
University of Colorado, astronomy, planetary science, and physics faculty found that class
attendance increased substantially after the introduction of clickers, from 60%–70% to 80%–
90%. The Illinois Institute of Technology (Burnstein & Lederman 2001) reported 80%–90%
20
attendance in classes where clickers were in use. Other universities have reported similar
results.
However, clickers do have drawbacks and instructors always need to have a "Plan B" in place:

Technical Problems
o Students sometimes forget to bring their clicker to class, although as clickers
become common, students treat them like something you bring to every class.
You may choose to accept a small number of submissions on paper and enter
them later. Another common strategy is to tell the students that you will drop a
certain number of their lowest-scoring clicker answers from their grade. Such a
policy saves lots of time that otherwise would be spent dealing with requests for
a makeup due to personal problems
o Clickers do malfunction from time to time. When they do, companies readily
replace them at no cost, but this poses a hassle for the student.

Cheating
o Students can use clickers to cheat. The most straightforward way is for students
to give their clickers to colleagues and ask them to use it on their behalf. One
instructor observed a student sitting near the front, using a handful of clickers
belonging to his sleeping roommates. When questioned, he responded, "You
didn’t say we couldn’t." An important step to preventing cheating is to discuss
your expectations for clicker use and your grading policy ahead of time. Be
explicit about the consequences of cheating.
Student Expectations
o Clickers alter the dynamics of your classroom. Generations of students have
entered large classes with the expectation that they would be anonymous unless
they sat in front. Clickers change that. Clickers can record student absences
automatically. Students cannot easily hide in the back of a large lecture hall
inattentively if every student is questioned and all answers are recorded several
times per class. Do not expect every student to welcome this change.
Instructor Discomfort and Lack of Preparation
o Even though clicker software is generally very easy to use, it can distract you
from your teaching. It is very important to practice, and you may want to get a
student or TA to run the clicker system. Although the software may only require
clicking a green button and then a red one, adequate preparation will make life
easier for the novice user. Practice with the system and with your TA before you
try clickers in class.
o Generating good conceptual discussion questions is another issue. Thinking up
good, thought-provoking questions has never been easy, and with clickers, the
quality of the questions you ask is important. Publishers are beginning to offer
collections of clicker questions, and ndividual faculty members can exchange
them as well.
o The number, timing, and placement of clicker questions in your lecture should be
planned carefully and adjusted based on evaluation of impact on student
learning.
Covering Less Material
o When you take three to five minutes to cover conceptual clicker questions
several times each lecture, you will cover less material. However, by engaging
with the material more completely, students often learn more. Because detailed
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21
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IV.b.3.
studies show that students only learn about one third of what the instructor
covers in even the best lecture, it makes sense to slightly reduce the material
covered if the result is an increase in student learning.
Costs to Students
o In most universities, clicker adoption has occurred department by department. In
many cases, different systems are in use which are incompatible with one
another. The result is that students may have to buy several different clickers,
increasing cost and inconvenience. The obvious solution is to communicate and
coordinate with other campus departments. The University of Colorado produced
an internal report (Dubson, 2006) that recommends adoption of one clicker
system (probably RF) campus wide, with support from the university’s A/V and
computer staff.
Students with Disabilities
o Most clickers are not ADA compliant, although manufacturers are now working
on making the devices accessible.
Clasroom Assessment
Classroom assessment is an approach to evaluating teaching practices and identifying
techniques for improving student learning. Thus, the focus of assessment, in this case, is not
for the purpose of grading students. Instead, the goal is to identify how and what students in
U.S. History survey courses are learning from course lectures, readings, quizzes, homework,
and discussions. Instructors should use these assessments to modify existing teaching
practices to better facilitate student learning.
Classroom assessment is useful for a global evaluation of course goals and student learning
outcomes as part of course design. It also allows for incremental feedback during the
quarter/semester to identify problem areas for students and adjust teaching practices to address
those areas. Classroom assessment involves student input and instructor evaluation,
establishing a dialogue that can lead to increased student investment in class participation and
the success of course goals.
However, as with any evaluation and course redesign, time for successful implementation of
classroom assessment techniques can be an issue. Incremental implementation means that
course redesign will evolve slowly over time. Convincing faculty to spend the additional time for
classroom assessment and its pedagogical effectiveness for enhancing student learning may be
a factor. Course release time would likely serve as an effective incentive to convince faculty to
invest time in classroom assessments and would facilitate their ability to address more areas of
course redesign and implementation. Faculty may want to consider beginning with Classroom
Assessment: A Manual for Faculty Developers, edited by Bill Searle, Asnuntuck Community
College, co-founder of the Connecticut Center for Teaching. The contributors encourage faculty
to copy and adapt any of the handouts, etc. from this manual and to share with campus
colleagues to further classroom assessment. It is recommended that faculty work in a group or
with partners to identify how best to implement classroom assessments in their course.
The CSU does offer faculty support for beginning classroom assessment at the campus and
system-level. Systemwide there are 23 faculty teaching and learning centers in the CSU, and
each designs workshops to reflect the needs of their campus faculty. These centers also
provide support for assessing and responding to faculty needs. Support for such centers and
workshops should continue to encourage the use of classroom assessments. In the current
budget crisis, these centers may be at risk. For the academic year 2009-2010 at CSU
22
Dominguez Hills, for example, the Center for Teaching and Learning will be limited to
technology workshops designed for supporting online courses.
Classroom assessment increases faculty understanding of their effective teaching strategies
and helps them identify areas where alternative pedagogical practices might produce better
learning outcomes. Faculty may want to measure success by tracking student attendance and
comparing grades on individual assignments and final course grades to previous student grades
in these courses. Tracking students in several areas over time will provide additional measures
for identifying and improving student success.
IV.c. Technology and Learning Management System Tools
A Learning Management System (LMS) or Course Management System (CMS) offers users an
online space to coordinate all classroom activities. These web-based resources allow
instructors to post information for students (syllabi, class schedules, announcements,
assignments, instructional handouts, electronic readings, PowerPoint,etc.), record and track
grades, administer quizzes, engage in online discussions, and communicate directly to
students. Learning management systems are widely used throughout colleges and universities
in the United States. All CSU campuses offer some type of LMS or CMS although there appear
to be no institutional policies that require instructors to use them. Currently, the most common
systems used in the CSU are Blackboard and WebCT although Moodle (a free web application),
Desire2Learn, and Angel are also used on some campuses. How instructors use these tools
varies a great deal. Some use them only to disseminate information to students, while others
make use of all of the resources mentioned above. CSU campus teaching and learning centers
offer online and face-to-face tutorials for learning basic and advanced LMS features.
The ability to make course handouts available in a central location is the most basic advantage
of using a LMS. Instructors may consider using other system tools (such as online quizzes and
discussions), if they deem them to be compatible with their approach to teaching. Electronic
communication via email, discussion boards, and group pages are options that are used to
augment face-to-face courses and facilitate online courses. Additionally, systems such as
Moodle are beginning to integrate Internet social networking sites, blogs, and Wikis allowing
students to enhance their learning experience in modes with which they have increasing
familiarity outside the classroom. The use of electronic quizzes, graded automatically or
manually, may be used to prepare students for increased classroom interaction and preparation
for in-class exams. These systems typically allow instructors to engage textbook publishers’
online interactive resources (such as Pearson’s My HistoryLab, Norton’s StudySpace, and
Bedford/St.Martin’s HistoryClass), thus allowing them to upload resources provided by
publishers into the LMS.
While using a LMS provides faculty additional tools for classroom management and for
facilitating the further engagement of students outside the classroom, George Siemens pointed
out in his 2004 article, “Learning Management Systems: The Wrong Place to Start,” the types
of tools provided through these systems can limit – and dictate -- the methods by which
students learn, resulting in constructing artificial confines in which learning occurs. In addition,
access to technology is an issue, as not all students have access to computers with high-speed
internet connections.
At a minimum, faculty should consider using these systems to disseminate at least some
information to students. In particular, posting syllabi, assignments, or some course readings
23
allows students to more easily access these materials while saving the university resources (in
the cost of printing hard copies of these materials). An added benefit to posting these items is
that instructors would no longer need to print hard copies for those students who lose handouts,
as the handouts would now be available online. However, it should be noted that while having
students print handouts on their own provides a cost-savings for the university, there are some
disadvantages for the classroom. Students who do not have easy access to the internet do not
always print out materials in a timely manner. They are disadvantaged when the materials are
discussed in class, especially when a instructor is explaining an upcoming assignment. Taking
this into consideration, faculty still need to be able to print out materials when needed.
How faculty use such systems varies widely from campus to campus. In terms of improving
student learning, a minimum use of a LMS will allow students with access to high-speed
internet systems easier access to course materials. The ability to review materials in varied
formats through the use of such tools as online quizzes and discussion boards could help
reinforce information and ideas that are exchanged in the classroom and explored in readings,
but instructors should be aware of the limitations of these tools.
IV.c.1. Discussion Boards
Discussion boards are electronic mediums for furthering classroom discussions, facilitating
group projects, or sharing student work for peer reviews. Essential to structuring the use of
discussion boards is identifying the desired student learning outcomes. Student participation
and depends greatly on the quality of the discussion board prompts and feedback from peers
and the instructor. .
For faculty who teach the smaller to medium-sized sections of U.S. History, or for those who
teach online or hybrid courses, discussion boards provide such advantages as strengthening
the classroom community, increasing student participation, and giving students an opportunity
for additional reflection before participating in discussion. These advantages may carry over
into the classroom environment, enriching the depth of in-class interaction. The disadvantages
include the potential for discussion boards to intimidate students who fear “public scrutiny” of
their ideas and writing skills. Discussion boards may be seen as an additional burden to
students in courses with many assignments, and they may fail to create substantive responses.
The decision to use discussion boards is directly related to class size. We do not suggest that
instructors who teach large sections of U.S. History attempt to use discussion boards. Due to
the additional time necessary for effectively engaging student discussions, it is not logistically
feasible.
For those who use discussion boards, Professor Cherie Post Dargan emphasizes professors
should respond to postings as a role model for students (Building Community and Collaboration
with the use of discussion boards, A presentation for Two-Year College English Association
(TYCA), October 9, 2004). Communicating clear expectations for the discussion posts and
responses along with detailed discussion prompts helps students respond appropriately.
Deadlines for original posts and replies must also be emphasized. If incorporated into the class
syllabus, the discussion board should count enough towards the final grade to communicate the
importance of student participation. Joseph Landsberger, an education and technology
researcher, also suggests the use of follow-up questions by the professor and students to
deepen the discussion and get students to provide further examples from class materials
("Integrating a web-based bulletin board into your class: a guide for faculty," TechTrends,
Volume 45, Issue 5, (2001, September/October), 50-53). Thus, the role of the professor as
24
moderator is crucial. Discussion boards require timely responses by the professor, but it is
important to find the balance it is important to realize that is is not necessary to respond to every
posting.
IV.c.2. Automated Quizzing and Tracking
Quizzing students on class readings, whether in online or in-class settings, enhances class
meetings. More students will come to class with some knowledge regarding the topics that will
be covered in class. This section offers recommendations for the use of online quizzes to
increase the effectiveness of class meetings and student engagement with the goal of improving
overall student learning and performance on assignments and exams. Discussion of effective
quizzing strategies in this section will deal exclusively with online quizzing.
As part of the NCAT conference in March 2009, team members attended a presentation on the
use of mastery quizzing. The presentation emphasized the effectiveness of mastery quizzing,
which allows students to take quizzes multiple times in order to master the reading material.
One of the most important elements in the use of mastery quizzing is the creation of large test
banks that allow for the presentation of randomized questions on each quiz the student takes.
This is extremely important if the goal is to push students to return to the reading to improve
their scores rather than to simply learn rote-memorization by seeing the same questions
repeatedly. Large test banks with randomly chosen questions for each attempt are one way of
approaching mastery learning goals and as a corrective measure against student cheating.
The use of a LMS makes it possible for faculty to create such large test pools that allow for
randomized presentation of quiz questions and for students to take quizzes as many times as
possible within a given range of time. The highest test score would be the final test score,
encouraging students to retake quizzes. At present, however, it should be noted that the
creation of such large, online text banks will require a substantial investment of faculty time.
The quizzes provided at textbook publisher's web sites are not set up for effective mastery
quizzing. Students taking quizzes on the textbook publisher's site have the option of taking
quizzes multiple times, but the publisher's that we analyzed do not provide a large enough pool
of online questions. Many publishers do provide hardcopy and electronic test banks with a
larger pool of questions, though faculty would still need to screen these questions and add to
them to meet course goals. While there is a substantial investment of time in the creation of
such test banks, once the computerized quizzes are in place, grading happens electronically
and allows instructors to devote their time to other class activities.
Brothen, Daniel and Finley note that studies have shown that quizzes do not guarantee
increased student achievement and can even have a negative influence. Students may use
work avoidance strategies. When creating questions, the order of the answers to multiplechoice questions should be scrambled and the order of the questions as they are presented in
the quiz should also be randomized. Setting time limits on electronic quizzes that make trying to
search for answers in the text is also advisable. Faculty will, of course, need to make
adjustments for students with disabilities that may require more test-taking time. Additionally, if
the goal is to get students to reread the text to correct misconceptions, providing answer
feedback, such as where to find the correct answer in the text is helpful, especially if multiple
attempts are encouraged.
IV.c.3.
Posting Class Notes Online
25
Many history students struggle to take effective notes. Some students write down far too little,
omitting key facts and ideas. Some write down key ideas and terms, but they fail to include their
analytical comments that are needed to understand the significance of historical details when
students prepare for papers and exams. Lastly, some students record too much, writing down
everything they can. As with the second group, these students can find that their notes do not
serve them when they need to use them later in the class. In sum, many, if not most, students
can benefit from guidance and feedback on their approach to note-taking.
One solution is to create an assignment in which students are required to post their notes online
for a specific day of class. The instructor would assign each student a specific class session for
public note-taking. Depending on the size of the class, each session could have 3 to 10 student
public note-takers. Within a specified time (e.g. 24 or 48 hours), students would be required to
post their notes to the class website or LMS. This assignment could be graded or ungraded,
and the posted notes could appear either anonymously or with the student’s name revealed.
Either way, the rest of the class would then be able to see how their peers took notes for that
class session. Students could also leave comments on the notes posted by their peers. This
peer feedback could call attention to any factual or analytical problems in the notes. Peer
feedback could also direct other students to the most valuable version of the notes posted for
that session, much like Amazon.com can direct people to the most useful customer book
reviews. The notes would not be available to the wider public, and the website would be
deleted after each class.
Another option may be that the instructor could create a closed-access “wiki” page that only
students and the instructor could visit online. Students would then post lecture notes to the wiki
page, and all students could then edit or expand on that content. The instructor could monitor
the webpage’s activity to ensure accuracy and, if desired, to assign students grades for their
contributions to the wiki.
The advantages to public note takers are:
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Students can see different methods of note-taking and make adjustments to their own
note-taking style based on the best practices of their peers.
Instructors can see how their students have recorded their notes for any given class
session. This will offer a form of quick assessment to show how well concepts or facts
have taken root.
Students might engage in MORE critical thinking during class sessions when they are
liberated from the stress of having to record every fact in their own notes. When students
know that they can fill in details later, they can spend more time and energy focusing on
more interesting questions of historical significance or present-day relevance. This
intellectual benefit would probably be most pronounced in the “smaller” versions of the
U.S. history survey (under 50 students) in which Q&A between instructor and student is
more viable. However, the benefits could also extend to all students, no matter how big
the class.
Some possible disadvantages may be that:
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Students might take fewer notes of their own in class on days when they are not public
note-takers.
Students might attend fewer class sessions, relying instead on the online notes. (This
danger could be reduced by enforcing a strict attendance policy).
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Instructors would need to monitor the uploaded notes to make sure that they are
accurate, or to make sure that other students have corrected any errors in notes posted
by their peers.
If computer access is an issue on some campuses there is a low-tech alternative.Instructors can
promote stronger student note-taking by requiring students to visit office hours early in the
quarter to show their notes. Here is what Chris Endy (History Department, Cal State Los
Angeles), currently states in his U.S. history survey syllabus: “you need to set aside some time
[early in the quarter] and visit my office hours to show me some of your class notes. I will not
grade your notes, but I will offer feedback to make sure your notes are of good quality. Failure
to visit my office hours by 20 January will result in a one-point deduction to your overall grade.”
In practice, students usually visit in groups of four or five, and the whole process takes about 510 minutes for each group.
IV.d.
Course Materials
Most instructors utilize most or all of the following materials in their survey courses: primary
sources, monographs, films, maps, and a comprehensive textbook. Each of these plays an
important role in promoting student learning and achieving course objectives. In order to fully
exploit what each of these tools offers--and convey the importance of each of these tools to
students -- instructors must thoughtfully, meaningfully, and systematically strive to integrate
them into their courses and demonstrate to students, in their actions and in their words, the
relevance and value of these materials. Assigning any of these course materials and not
meaningfully integrating them into the course conveys to students that they are unimportant or
less valuable for learning, and thus limits the methods by which student learning is achieved.
IV.d.1.
Supplemental Video Content
Short, supplemental video content may be useful in helping introduce students to new topics
and themes and in allowing students to witness history through film footage while taking less
time than full-length documentaries and films. Some textbook publishers, such as W.W. Norton,
offer digital archives to instructors who adopt their textbooks. For example, Norton U.S. survey
text ancillaries include digital footage of historical events, speeches, and period music that may
be downloaded into a Learning Management System (LMS), a PowerPoint presentation, or
used during lectures and discussions in classrooms equipped with the appropriate technology.
HippoCampus, http://www.hippocampus.org/, a project of the Monterey Institute of Technology
and Education, is a website that offers free access to digital mini-documentaries. These
introduce students to historical topics in roughly chronological chapters or segments and are
designed for online learning. While HippoCampus digital videos appear to be aimed primarily at
high school history students (there is an AP history video option), clearly the site expects a
college-level audience as well. The documentaries, which are copyrighted by the University of
California, are short and the content appears to be well-researched, making them useful to
show in class or as a required homework assignment.
Another source that may assist instructors interested in finding and using supplemental video
content is the Internet Archive, at http://www.archive.org/index.php. The site is a free digital
archive that allows instructors to search multiple online media forms and websites that can be
integrated into class lectures, discussions, and LMS systems.
Drawbacks are that short mini-documentaries do not offer much depth on a topic and that an
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instructor may take a different interpretive position than the one presented in the piece. Unless
an instructor engages the difference as an opportunity to discuss history as an interpretation,
students may find the difference confusing. In addition, searching sites like the Internet Archive
can be time consuming. Like all teaching tools, video content must be thoughtfully integrated
into a course if it is to be effective and useful in facilitating student learning.
IV.d.2.
History Labs and Publishers’ Online Resources
A history lab can be either a physical or a virtual space that provides access to resources to
promote active learning and community-building activities, provide additional assessment
materials, and allow students to apply concepts and skills. Although it is unclear as to whether
any CSU campuses have implemented history labs, other institutions have built history lab
activities into their courses by requiring students to conduct lab activities for one to two hours
per week as a part of class assignments.
Textbook publishers are increasingly offering virtual history labs to allow students to engage
their course materials outside of the classroom using online learning tools. These tools are
typically designed to accompany textbooks adopted by instructors and include Pearson’s My
HistoryLab, W.W. Norton’s StudySpace, and Bedford/St.Martin’s HistoryClass. The sites
currently vary in the number and types of resources offered, but most include digital primary
source documents, maps, flash cards, access to e-book editions of textbooks, access to online
quizzes that allow the results to be sent to an instructor’s LMS, and video content. While some
virtual history labs provided by textbook publishers are currently more expansive and
sophisticated than others, it appears that publishers are devoting significant resources to
developing these online tools. As these labs are only recently being introduced, it is difficult to
gauge how widely they are being used.
Lab time offers an opportunity for students to engage with the material and become active
learners rather than passive listeners. Instructors can require students to take pre- and posttests for each chapter and to complete a chapter quiz thus providing the opportunity for selfassessment. In addition, a short primary source assignment linked to chapter content can serve
to reinforce the content material. By requiring weekly lab assignments instructors can provide a
means for students to internalize the course material over time rather than “cramming” for a
multiple-chapter test at the end of a certain time period. The results of the activities done during
lab time can help instructors gauge how well students have understood the material and allow
for the revision of lectures and classwork to reinforce concepts that have not been grasped.
While requiring lab exercises can increase active learning and improve retention of material,
there are drawbacks, some of which are listed below:
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There is no sure way to prevent cheating, although some sites provide tools to help curb
the opportunity for students to do so.
Some tools offered through these sites, like flash cards, may help students learn factual
information, but are less useful in helping students develop analytical and writing skills.
Instructors considering using publishers’ online resourced should be aware that while
some publishers offer these online labs free of charge to students, others charge fees
and these vary significantly. Students who purchase used textbooks may be subject to
additional or higher access fees. And, even those publishers who offer the labs free of
charge may not allow students who purchase used textbooks access to every primary
source document or feature available to students who purchase new textbooks.
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While publishers’ online resources offer instructors and students tools to facilitate
learning, in order for these tools to be effective instructors must require student
participation. There is little likelihood that students will invest time in these labs if not
required to do so.
Students with limited internet access may be at a disadvantage if required to use online
labs.
Overall, TCD design team members saw potential in using these tools, but instructors must
carefully integrate them into their courses if they are to be effective.
IV.e. Class Size and Student Achievement
Researchers have studied class size extensively in the K-12 setting; but unfortunately they have
conducted fewer studies at the university level. Results of the studies at the K-12 level are
mixed, but the larger controlled studies indicate that small class size improves academic
achievement. At the university level, results are more ambiguous because class size cannot be
isolated among other variables including pedagogy. Researchers have come to a consensus on
the following:
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If factual knowledge is the instructor’s goal then large classes are just as effective as
small classes. Class size has no effect on recall and retention of facts and information
during a course. Students in large classes, however, are at a disadvantage in developing
the ability to think critically.
Large classes can be effective at promoting learning, but instructors generally use less
discussion, require less writing, and are less likely to use essay exams.
If problem-solving, critical thinking, long-term retention, and student attitude toward
history are the goals, then smaller classes are more effective.
The most recent findings from How College Affects Students, which summarizes results
from controlled research studies conducted over the last 20 years in higher education,
concludes: "The weight of the body of research using course grade as the dependent
measure is reasonably clear in suggesting that, other factors being equal, increasing
class size has a statistically significant, negative influence on subject matter learning"
(Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005, p. 94).
Certain types of students benefit most from small classes: students with high GPA’s,
those with low motivation, beginners in the subject matter, students from low economic
backgrounds, and those more likely to learn facts rather than apply knowledge. Students
with high GPA’s dislike large classes because they prefer learning using higher skill
levels. Students tend not to like large classes in their major but tolerate these classes for
GE required courses. Students dislike the lack of faculty-student interaction in large
classes. For many this leads to poor motivation.
Some types of instructors do better in smaller settings. In large classes, instructors who
are more demonstrative and have good organizational and supervision skills do better
than those who are more analytical and research oriented. In smaller classes, instructors
who are better at facilitating learning and are flexible do well. Most faculty members can
do both but prefer one style to the other.
Some researchers indicate that the positive effects of small classes are not seen until
class size is less than 30 although some researchers place the number as low as 13.
Researchers also vary in defining “large;” the numbers vary from 100 to 300. Large
research studies indicate that class size from 20-40 is optimal.
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
Research indicates that smaller classes lead to a more positive attitude about the subject
matter.
Class size is important. Students in small classes (20-40 students) are more likely to develop
higher order skills and retain and use knowledge. In dealing with large classes, faculty members
can come closer to small class outcomes by (1) providing discussion sections taught by trained
teaching assistants (2) using teaching methods that facilitate active learning (3) using clickers to
engage students in the lecture.
IV.e.1. Teaching Assistants
Many large universities use graduate and undergraduate teaching assistants (TAs) to conduct
discussion sections or laboratory sessions for large lecture classes. The quality of these
assistants largely depends on the faculty member. To provide students with a quality education,
faculty must work closely with TAs. The TA’s must understand faculty expectations for
attendance at lectures, participation in weekly planning sessions, testing and grading, and office
hours. TAs must be taught how to prepare for meetings with students, how to establish a good
working relationship with students, and develop the skills needed for leading discussions,
answering questions, and other responsibilities. There is no current research that studies the
effect of TAs on learning at the university level. Most resources examine how to train and
supervise TA’. Teaching assistantships are paid positions with salaries ranging from $8.00 $14.00 per hour based on class status.
Faculty employing TAs should:
1. Hold weekly meetings to discuss teaching problems and plans.
2. Collect feedback from students early in the term.
3. Observe TA sections and provide feedback about observation.
If well trained, supervised TAs are available for large lecture hall GE classes, they can allow for
more active-learning exercises, which can promote student interest and understanding. In
addition, when graduate level TAs are available to help with grading written assignments,
students can complete more take-home writing assignments, which can promote student
academic skills and intellectual development. On CSU campuses with sizeable M.A. programs,
many graduate students are eager to gain teaching experience. These M.A. students typically
want to bolster their resumé before applying for positions at the community-college level, or they
want to see if they enjoy college-level teaching before embarking on Ph.D. work.
Nevertheless, the use of TAs does mean more oversight responsibilities for faculty. Faculty
needs to work carefully with their TAs to ensure quality discussion-leadership and grading.
Genuine mentorship requires time. Another drawback to the use of TAs is a trend toward larger
class sections, which is NOT recommended. Despite the fact that using TAs can alleviate many
issues in a large lecture, TAs are no substitute for direct contact between the instructor and
each individual student.
IV.e.2. Hybrid Courses
A hybrid course is generally described as a course in which classroom time is replaced by
required individual activities and managed online. Individual institutions determine the amount of
classroom time that is substituted online with the common range being from one-fourth to two-
30
thirds of total course hours. Based on survey results collected from history department chairs,
CSU campuses are not using the hybrid course model in any significant way. Nationally many
community college systems have implemented this model due to space restrictions.
Those who use this model believe that it creates a more “learner-centered” experience and
emphasizes active learning. Students are more accountable for their learning; student-faculty
interaction is increased; student performance improved; time flexibility – 80% of students
approved; lower withdrawal rates than fully online classes; retention is equivalent to traditional
courses; allowed students and faculty to accomplish goals not possible in the traditional format.
Many faculty members reported that this model improved their teaching in both hybrid and
traditional classes.
Designing and using hybrid courses presents significant drawbacks. Effective hybrid courses
are labor intensive and can take six to twelve months to develop. They do not simply add online
tasks to existing courses. For best results, interested faculty should work with their faculty
development centers to follow an instructional design process that includes active-learning
strategies. Additionally, instructors must be sure to make the face-to-face and out-of-class
components complementary.
To be successful in a hybrid course, instructors must provide become familiar with the
technology and provide students with clear guidelines regarding expectations. Many instructors
choose to dedicate most of the first week of class to “technology orientation” and “class
socialization” rather than covering course content.
Despite these drawbacks, those who advocate the use of the hybrid course model have argued
that expected outcomes may include: (1) an appeal to a wider range of students; (2) improved
learning; (3) increased use of active learning techniques; (4) greater student participation; and
(5) increased faculty-student and student-student interaction. Nevertheless, instructors who use
teaching assistants, clickers and history labs as part of their instruction may be able to achieve
similar results without the costly redesign and support systems necessary for successful hybrid
course implementation.
V. Efficient Instruction
The TCD initiative aims to improve efficiencies. For some, this would mean teaching more
students at a lower cost. A push for increased student-faculty ratios demands that instructors
maintain clear lines of communication with students about their expectations. They must find
multiple ways of explaining how each presentation and assignment relates to the course
outcomes. They must help students see how the assessment of student performance relates to
course objectives and outcomes. At many campuses, a lack of large lecture halls makes the
offering of classes with significantly larger enrollments impossible. At campuses with the
available rooms that would permit large, lecture-format classes, History Departments lack
graduate programs that might provide a pool of assistants who would allow the implementation
of changes that would permit an increase in student/faculty ratios supported by the strategies
and practices presented above. Upon reflection, the cost savings of larger courses are limited
and tempered further by particular challenges at different campuses.
Thus, overall, our team recommends that course redesign focus primarily on strategies that
identify why students currently do not succeed in the U.S. History survey and changes in course
31
curriculum designed to focus on enhancing student skills for success. We believe that students
who learn to think like historians and use critical reading and writing skills, including the ability to
synthesize and analyze diverse materials will do better in all of their college courses, aiding in
their time to degree and benefitting students and the CSU system overall. Campuses that have
both available facilities and available personnel might consider the adoption of some or all of the
methods and approaches that the team has discussed and evaluated. These include:



Active-learning techniques, assessments, and rubrics, for example, are strong tools to
increase efficiency. Such tools are cost-effective in that they require very few additional
resources and can be supported through existing teaching and learning centers on
campus. At a time when budget cuts may be threatening such centers, their utility for
course redesign and cost-savings through increased student success and matriculation
must not be undervalued. Additionally, if departments adopt relatively uniform standards
and set clear course outcomes, the effective and pervasive use of grading rubrics (on
assignments and overall in the determination of final grades), classroom-based and
online assessments that provide information about when, how, and how well students
attain concepts, master basic factual knowledge, and develop skills, abilities, and
attitudes related to the course outcomes will help make the U.S. History course a better
and more uniform experience for the students. Efforts in this direction may, however,
involve time for faculty to discuss, practice, and adopt such teaching and grading
practices, which would involve increased training costs.
Technologically-mediated instruction, when used well, can make class time more
engaging and can help students get more from their work outside of the classroom. The
use of electronic textbooks, which if selected with care and "packaged" with other webbased or electronic materials, can lower the purchase price of assigned books. This
may lead more students to buy the assigned texts by the start of the course and may
increase the amount of time that students spend reading and reviewing material. Paired
with carefully designed assignments, increased reliance on electronic texts may increase
student engagement and improve student performance. On some campuses, the use of
other technologies, such as clickers, help instructors monitor student engagement and
comprehension during class presentations.
Hybrid or online courses that replace time in a classroom setting with web-based
experiences and exercises. These instructional approaches do not necessarily allow
higher enrollments since student-professor interaction is still necessary for effective
teaching practices. Some areas of teaching may allow for lower levels of interaction
between students and faculty when programs provide sufficient web-based content and
ample support from instructional aids. Instructors will find the initial implementation of
such courses demanding, and they will need to evaluate carefully the materials and
activities that they will use to replace the time once spent in lectures and in-class
discussions. Materials used in these courses require regular updating and revision.
Finally, the monitoring of student activity and progress as well as the grading of student
work still commands a great deal of instructor time and skill. The cost savings, when
balanced by concerns over quality and the need to have students achieve both
discipline-specific and general education outcomes (e.g., analysis of primary sources, or
practice in analytical writing), are minimal in relation to instruction. These formats will
help campuses deal with space and scheduling restrictions. Most important, they
provide improved access to courses for students with schedule restrictions or other
issues that limit their ability to travel to campus.
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At some campuses, as noted previously, the lack of large class rooms puts a physical cap on
enrollment in U.S. History courses. Furthermore, the lack of graduate programs or the lack of
graduate students trained to take on some of the duties related to History instruction, which
would allow an individual professor to teach larger number of students in the same class
section, blocks the implementation of other practices that would increase efficiency as
measured by an increase in student-faculty ratios. For faculty in these circumstances, the
adoption of the practices and strategies listed above may be undesirable or impractical.
But even in these settings, overall, the promotion of more effective teaching and learning takes
on increased importance and will achieve one important goal. More students will meet the
learning outcomes that departments have established for their U.S. History courses. More
students will pass the course on their first try. Fewer will drop before completing the work
required. In this respect, the adoption of one or more of the reforms or methods presented
above will achieve important cost savings that will help students get more from their U.S. History
courses as they move more quickly towards graduation. Setting aside cost issues, the benefits
of the strategies and methods outlined above will create courses that are potentially richer, in
terms of content, more engaging, and more uniform in format, design, and impact within and
across campuses.
VI. Individual Redesign Plan Summaries
After conducting research about a variety of tools, resources, and teaching strategies that show
potential for improving student learning outcomes in the U.S. History survey course, members of
the TCD Design team developed individual course redesign plans. The summaries below
illustrate the diversity of approaches pursued by team members to meet the specific needs of
their campus population. Complete individual reports are provided after the summaries.
 Joyce Hanson, CSU, San Bernardino: To overcome a mandated large lecture format
serving approximately 150-250 students per section, without the assistance of a
teaching assistant, I have determined that the use of Pearson's MyHistory Lab and
clickers will substantially benefit my students. I will continue to assign a textbook and
retain the PowerPoint, video, audio, and film portions of the course. The writing
assignment will still be based on interpretation of a primary document. I will also retain
the multiple-choice exams. The following changes will be implemented in the Winter
2010 quarter: (1) I will use a new textbook, American Stories, that more closely aligns
to my teaching style and I will integrate the MyHistoryLab component that is associated
with the textbook. This will more deliberately integrate the text into the course thus
making it more relevant. Students will be required to complete chapter quizzes, view
video selections, and complete primary document analysis via the history lab
component. These assignments will increase the time students must engage with the
material by approximately two hours per week. (2) I will require Clickers for the students
and use the devices to engage students in the lecture portion of the class. I will add
factual (comprehension), opinion, or prediction questions at least six times during each
lecture. The student-generated answers will allow me to determine how well students
have understood the material being presented. I may set up a peer discussion module
by a using “before/after” peer discussion format three times during the quarter. Before
entering their answers, students discuss their ideas with a neighboring student, then
answer the question based on that discussion. I hope this will make the large lecture
feel more like a small classroom and facilitate active learning. The use of clickers will
also allow students to automatically generate a study-guide for each chapter to help
them study for exams.
33
 Alicia E. Rodriquez, CSU Bakersfield: In addition to adopting a new textbook (Eric
Foner's Give Me Liberty!) that works well with the thematic approach I use in my
surveys, I will begin integrating elements of the publisher's web-based lab, StudySpace,
into my surveys beginning in fall 2009. Students, for example, will be required to read
selected online StudySpace primary source documents and complete media work
sheets that accompany the documents. It is my hope that this requirement will create
greater interaction between the students and the primary sources and help develop
students' analytical skills while reinforcing course material. Requiring students to
complete media work sheets as a component of the course will also increase the
number of students who come to class having completed the assigned reading. As the
textbook's other online supplemental resources are more fully utilized, it is my hope that
students will recognize the textbook as an important component of the course and a
valuable learning tool. Overall, integrating StudySpace into the survey along with my
other course redesign plans will make the course one that promotes more active
learning and increases the student success rate. Please see the report's appendix for
the additional details of my redesign plan.
 Laura Talamante, CSU Dominguez Hills: Our team collectively agreed that students
learn best when they are actively engaged by course materials. Thus, I am focusing my
efforts on retaining the active-learning aspects of the course. Students will still be
required to synthesize and critically analyze course lectures, discussions, and readings
through informal and formal writing assignments. I have found and adopted a new
edition of Eric Foner’s Give Me Liberty! Foner’s textbook works well with my focus on
U.S. history, using class, race, and gender to engage students from multiple
perspectives and relate their own experiences to ordinary individuals in the past. I have
also changed the quiz format from electronic reading quizzes on Blackboard to in-class
individual and collaborative quizzes to allow students the opportunity to benefit from
their peers’ knowledge and to reward additional knowledge learned during the
collaborative process. After careful consideration, taking into account the overall course
goals and how to streamline the student and professor workload, I have redesigned a
previous journal project, making it into a final project. Students will continue as in the
past to journal throughout the semester. They will now have time before the final to
review their journal entries, improve upon those entries, and prepare to write a
conclusion to the journal during the final exam period.
VI.a. Joyce Hanson, Department of History, CSU San Bernardino
Current Approach
I have taught History 201 (U.S. since 1877) one quarter each year since 1999 in a large lecture
format with student enrollment ranging from 150-220 students per section. History 201 fulfills a
GE requirement so most of the students are not history majors. I began with a straight lecture
format, but within two years created PowerPoint presentations to accompany each lecture,
which include photos, political cartoons, maps, speeches, and music. I have also used
documentaries, film clips, and Internet video when appropriate to reinforce lecture topics. I have
always assigned a standard textbook and until recently a primary document reader. The reader
was used for writing assignments, which gave students practice in interpreting primary sources
and improving writing skills. Because of advances in technology and access to primary
documents on the Internet three years ago I dropped the reader and have substituted online
primary documents for the writing assignment. I give three multiple-choice exams during the
quarter. Each exam covers about one-third of the course material. The exams are not
34
cumulative.
Strengths and Weaknesses of the Current Approach
Strengths: Student interest and engagement improved with the addition of PowerPoint and
video supplementary material. More students attended class and asked questions after these
materials were included in the lecture.
Weaknesses: (1) Despite the changes implemented, it is not possible to engage a significant
number of students in a large lecture class format. Most continue to be passive, taking notes,
but not engaging with the material. Since most are not history majors they do not see the value
in taking a history class and do not actively engage in the class. (2) About one-third of the
students do not attend lecture on a regular basis especially since requiring and monitoring
attendance is nearly impossible in this format. (3) I have not been successful in integrating the
textbook with the lectures. Again, class size prohibits active learning activities that could
integrate the text into the classroom experience. (4) Although I try to relate historical material to
the present day and show its application to our current political, economic, and social systems I
believe that what I do is superficial at best because an in-depth discussion is not possible. (5)
Grades are weighted equally between three exams and one writing assignment. Additional
opportunities and different types of assessment are needed.
Plan for the Winter Quarter 2010
My focus for change in the winter quarter of 2010 is on student engagement and textbook
integration. The class will meet for 70 minutes per day on MWF.
Features that will be retained: I will continue to assign a textbook and retain the PowerPoint,
video, audio, and film portions of the course. The writing assignment will still be based on
interpretation of a primary document. I will also retain the multiple-choice exams.
Features that I will change: (1) I will use a new textbook, American Stories, that more closely
aligns to my teaching style and I will integrate the MyHistoryLab component that is associated
with the textbook. This will more deliberately integrate the text into the course thus making it
more relevant. Students will be required to complete chapter quizzes, view video selections, and
complete primary document analysis via the history lab component. These assignments will
increase the time students must engage with the material by approximately two hours per week.
(2) I will require Clickers for the students and use the devices to engage students in the lecture
portion of the class. I will add factual (comprehension), opinion, or prediction questions at least
six times during each lecture. The student-generated answers will allow me to determine how
well students have understood the material being presented. I may set up a peer discussion
module by a using “before/after” peer discussion format three times during the quarter. Before
entering their answers, students discuss their ideas with a neighboring student, then answer the
question based on that discussion. I hope this will make the large lecture feel more like a small
classroom and facilitate active learning. The use of clickers will also allow students to
automatically generate a study-guide for each chapter to help them study for exams.
Assessment Plan
I will continue to use three non-cumulative multiple-choice exams during the quarter, but 10% of
the questions will come directly from chapter quizzes. I will weight grades differently based on
the inclusion of lab components in the class. Class participation and attendance will become a
35
part of the overall grading rubric as well as the use of Clickers will make this possible for the first
time. I have not yet determined the exact weight of each grade, but this format will give students
additional assessment opportunities.
Extended Plan
These changes will require at least a two-year cycle to assess the impact of the new format. I
will assess the impact of the changes in 2010 by comparing the grade distribution to the 2009
grade distribution. For 2011 I will fine tune the format and add additional lab and clicker-based
assignments.
VI.b. Alicia Rodriquez, Department of History, CSU Bakersfield
Current Approach
I have taught a U.S. survey course nearly ever quarter since fall 1998, and for the last several
years I have taught two sections of the survey every fall quarter. Each half of the survey (U.S.
to 1865, U.S. 1865 to present) is covered in an approximately ten-week quarter and I currently
teach the survey primarily as a lecture course. I use a comprehensive textbook to provide a
foundation for the lectures. I also assign two monographs and a number of primary source
readings, which are available through the Learning Management System (LMS) I use, WebCT,
and integrate overhead transparencies of maps, films, and visual documents into the lectures.
While on specific days the entire class period is designated for discussion of monographs,
discussion of primary sources is integrated into class during the course of lectures. I use
WebCT to disseminate information such as the course syllabus, assignments, and discussion
questions to students. The course requirements include a 3-4 page analytical essay based on
primary sources, a midterm, a final, participation, and quizzes. Exams include an essay, short
answer identifications (typically a paragraph), and a twenty-question objective portion.
Strengths and Weaknesses of the Current Approach
In integrating films, maps, charts, and graphs into the course along with documents (including
portraits, paintings, and photographs), students can connect with the material on multiple levels
(through reading, through lectures, and visually). In addition, the textbook provides students
with a broader context in which to place the lectures and other readings. Critical evaluation of
primary sources as part of the course readings and as a requirement for the essay assignment
helps students to develop and exercise analytical skills. The large class size and the amount of
material that needs to be covered in a short period of time (roughly 350 years in ten week), can
limit the depth of discussions and the number of in-class active learning exercises. And, as
active learning methods have been shown to facilitate learning in ways that lecturing cannot,
fewer opportunities for in-class active learning can be an obstacle to student learning. Striking a
balance between active learning exercises and the traditional lecture format is a challenge.
Plan for the U.S. Survey beginning in Fall 2009
While I will keep much of the basic existing course structure, I will make some changes that will
promote active learning and hopefully, increase the pass rate in my U.S. survey courses. The
first change is that I have adopted a new textbook for the course, Eric Foner’s Give Me Liberty!
An American History(W.W. Norton). This textbook works well with the thematic approach I use
in the first half of the U.S. survey (of which I am teaching two sections in fall 2009). The book’s
publisher has created a free, on-line interactive resource lab, StudySpace, which supplements
36
the textbook. StudySpace includes documents, video clips, map, photographs, and other
digital media. The lab also allows students to take objective tests on-line and have the results
sent to the instructor.
Beginning in fall 2009, I will integrate tools provided through the StudySpace resource lab into
my course. In an effort to reinforce material and concepts and help develop students’ analytical
skills, I will select on-line documents and ask students to complete the “Media Worksheets” that
accompany the StudySpace documents. Requiring that students complete and turn in these
exercises, rather than asking them simply to read the documents and come prepared to discuss
them, will result in greater student interaction with the primary sources and a greater likelihood
that students will have read the assigned primary sources.
In addition to integrating StudySpace into the surveys, I also plan to work more closely with the
director of CSUB’s Tutoring Center so that tutors hired to work with my students will be talented
history majors who have successfully completed my survey course. As I redesign my course I
will include more in-class analytical, active learning exercises to promote student learning, skill
building, and retention of course material. In addition, to provide more thorough feedback to
students and to facilitate grading, I will adopt a grading rubric for the formal analytical essay
component of the course. Finally, I will continue to use a LMS to disseminate information to
students, and I will begin moving from overhead transparencies to a mix of PowerPoint and
custom digital media that I will burn onto DVDs. This change will allow me to more easily move
through course lectures without having to take time to position transparencies and will also allow
me to post images on my course LMS, thus facilitating student access to the images examined
in class.
Assessment Plan
I will assess the success of the redesign by traditional methods of evaluation, but I will also
survey students on their opinion as to how well the on-line exercises help them learn,
understand, and retain course material.
Extended Plan
Over the next two to three years I would like to integrate on-line objective tests into the course
and more fully utilize the tools that StudySpace offers. I will, however, modify the course and
my teaching tools and methods as I determine what is successful and what is not.
VI.c. Laura Talamante, Department of History, CSU Dominguez Hills
Previous Approach
My previous approach to teaching the U.S. survey used of a variety of assignments to assess
student learning in History 101: United States History. Students took a series of online reading
quizzes as well as turning in a combination of homework and in-class writing exercises to review
and engage course lectures, discussions, and readings throughout the semester. Student
groups presented on a period of American history from the perspective of other countries’
textbooks in History Lessons: How Textbooks from Around the World Portray American History.
Their peers reflected on these presentations in shorter essays that made connections between
the readings, lectures, discussions, and readings. Students also kept a journal throughout the
semester that reflected upon the readings in A Larger Memory: A History of our Diversity, With
Voices (a reader of primary sources) as they related to course themes and students’ individual
experiences. They completed the course by taking a comprehensive final exam based on
37
course lectures and readings.
Strengths and Weaknesses of the Previous Approach
The strengths of the previous approach come from the focus on active learning where students
were required to synthesize and critically analyze course lectures, discussions, and readings
through informal and formal writing assignments, which enhanced the depth of their
engagement with course content. This has also made for a lively classroom environment with
many students regularly contributing in discussions although the class is relatively large at 60
students.
The weaknesses of the previous approach fall into two areas. The first problem area identified
is the success of students in online quizzes. There is a large range in this area, and while some
students did very well others failed this section of the course. This may be due to a number of
reasons from student skill weaknesses to computer access issues. I was also using a textbook
that worked in terms of covering the needed content for a course that spans the whole of U.S.
history, Kenneth C. Davis’ Don’t Know Much About History: Everything You Need to Know
about American History but Never Learned and was very affordable for students. Some
students found the book engaging enough. However, the organization of the topics and its
coverage of the relationship between the experiences of ordinary people throughout U.S. history
did not work as well with my approach to this subject. The second weakness of the previous
approach relates to the number of course assignments, quizzes, and exams that overwhelmed
some students, contributing to D, F, and WU grades. They are also difficult in terms of my own
time management.
Plan for Fall Semester 2009
Features that will be retained: Our team collectively agreed that students learn best when they
are actively engaged by course materials. Thus, I am focusing my efforts on retaining the
active-learning aspects of the course. Students will still be required to synthesize and critically
analyze course lectures, discussions, and readings through informal and formal writing
assignments.
Features that I will change: In order to better integrate lectures and discussions with the
textbook reading, an area our team identified as important to improving student reading skills
and comprehension, I have adopted a new, more affordable edition of Eric Foner’s Give Me
Liberty! I previously used his text when I taught U.S. History Since Reconstruction at Cal Poly
Pomona, and Foner’s textbook works well with my focus on U.S. history using class, race and
gender to engage students from multiple perspectives and relate their own experiences to
ordinary individuals in the past.
I have also changed the quiz format from electronic reading quizzes on Blackboard to in-class
individual and collaborative quizzes to allow students the opportunity to benefit from their peers’
knowledge and to reward additional knowledge learned during the collaborative process. I have
incorporated reading questions into the Course Schedule to guide students in what to focus on
and take notes from in the readings. These notes will serve as a study guide for the shortanswer quizzes taken during class. Students will take the quizzes on triplicate paper and turn in
their individual answers. They will then correct the quizzes in small groups, using their notes
and the related readings. Students will earn points for their correct answers, and more
importantly, for adding information to all answers during the peer session. I have used this
technique in other subjects and am convinced by our team research that this approach will
address student weaknesses identified in our report, such as identifying key ideas from lectures
and readings.
38
I have retained the group project and presenters will still turn in an essay on their topic. But I
plan to have students do in-class assessments of their peers as groups present rather than the
three shorter essays from previous semesters. Thus, students will write one formal essay of
approximately 3-4 pages instead of four essays. I believe the less formal evaluations in class
will be less burdensome while achieving similar goals of engaging students throughout the
semester to think critically about U.S. history by comparing foreign perspectives to U.S.
perspectives in textbooks. I will also work on refining the grading rubrics for the group project
and related essay as well as posting examples of successful essays.
In previous semesters, students have turned in a journal project the last week of classes and
then prepared for a comprehensive final. In fall 2008, I did give students the option of taking
either a multiple choice exam or an essay exam with about half the students choosing each
option. Overall, students’ final grades did reflect a decrease in the number of students who
earned a D, F, or WU, which may have been aided by allowing students to test in the manner
that best suited their strengths in assessing course material. After careful consideration, taking
into account the overall course goals and how to streamline the student and professor workload,
I have redesigned the journal project, making it into a final project. Students will continue as in
the past to journal throughout the semester. However, they will now have time before the final
to review their journal entries, improve upon those entries, and prepare to write a conclusion to
the journal during the final exam period. On the day of the final, I will give them a prompt for
what to address in their conclusion, which will require them to analyze a selection of themes
covered throughout the semester. This will address the problem of some students deciding not
to do the journal and to take their “chances” on passing the course through the completion of
the other assignments and the final exam. The journal is now assessed at the level of a final
exam, and I will make it clear to students that they cannot pass the course if they do not
complete the journal project. I also believe that it will allow students to develop their reading
and writing skills throughout the semester. The journal format allows students to write without
worrying about the mechanics of writing but still emphasizes the synthesis and critical analysis
of course materials. My experience with students writing frequently, in both formal and informal
assignments, is that they do improve their overall writing skills.
Assessment Plan
Students will continue to be assessed through participation and in-class writing prompts
(homework is no longer part of this grade) at 15% of the final grade. I keep this value slightly
above 10% to make clear to students that not attending class can substantially reduce their
grade and that taking attendance and in-class writing prompts are not announced. Quizzes are
also valued at approximately the same level as previously at 30% of the final grade. I have
increased the value of the group project and related essay to 10% and 15%. The journal
project, which includes writing a conclusion during the final exam, combines the assessment
values previously between the journal project and a separate final exam for 30% of the final
grade.
I will be able to compare individual assignment grades from the past to assess whether students
do better or not on the individual and collaborative quizzing than they did on the electronic
Blackboard quizzing. I will also be able to see if student grades on the journal project improve,
remain largely the same, or decrease overall in the new format. I will also be able to assess if
students do better with only one formal essay to write rather than one longer and three shorter
essays. Overall, I can compare previous rates of success and failure over time to upcoming
semesters to assess the effectiveness of the redesign.
39
Extended Plan
I.
I have used the TCD U.S. History design team sessions and research to make
substantive changes to this coming semester. The extended plan will be to refine
these changes over time and assess the effectiveness of each aspect of the
redesign. Quiz design will be one of the long-term challenges. I am also interested
in designing class assessments that allow me to better refine my teaching pedagogy
and practices. Our current budget cuts mean that I will not be able to work with our
campus Center for Teaching and Learning for in-class assessments, including the
individual and collaborative quizzing strategy. This will likely mean I will incorporate
fewer changes in my extended plan since I will have less support this year.
II.
In agreement with other team members, these changes will require at least a twoyear cycle to assess the impact of the new format. I will assess the impact of the
changes in fall 2009 and fall 2010 (the semesters when I will be teaching the U.S.
survey) by comparing the grade distribution to the spring and fall 2008 grade
distributions.
III.
I have been approached by College of Arts and Humanities deans about the
possibility of designing and teaching our U.S. survey as an online course. At present
there are no funds to support time for designing this course. I am willing to work on
such a redesign. However, it will take considerable time to create the different areas
of the course for an electronic format. For example, I would use the approach of
master quizzing as outlined in our report, which would take a substantial amount of
time for creating the large number of question pools needed for each quiz to
effectively allow students to take quizzes multiple times and keeping their highest
score. I would also need to design the discussion board prompts for postings and
replies (something I have done for another class as a result of the TCD experience
and used quite effectively in my summer 2009 History 301 course). Powerpoints and
other multimedia, such as sound and movie clips, would need to be incorporated.
This would take considerable time to learn how to and the best way to pedagogically
incorporate these elements. Our current support from the Center for Teaching and
Learning on campus for technical assistance is only to support online teaching due to
the budget cuts. Course release time to create an effective online U.S. survey for
our campus would allow such an offering to be available sooner.
VII. References
Role of Textbooks in U.S. History Survey
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American Historical Association, “Guidelines for the Preparation, Evaluation, and
Selection of History Textbooks.”
http://www.historians.org/teaching/policy/TextbookEvalGuide.htm
Davis, Barbara Gross. Tools for Teaching. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1993.
Kornblith, Gary J. and Carol Lasser. Teaching American History: Essays Adapted from
the Journal of American History, 2001-1007. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2009.
McKeachie, Wilbert J. and Marilla Svinicki. McKeachie's Teaching Tips: Stratgies,
Research, and Theory for College and University Teachers. Tweflth Edition. Boston:
Houghton Mifflin, 2006.
Improving Writing and Reading Skills
40
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CRLA: http://www.crla.net/
SJSU: http://www.sjsu.edu/writingcenter/writingresources/handouts/index.htm
SBCC: http://www.sbcc.edu/learningresources/website/WL/WritingCenter.htm
CSU.S.: http://www.csustan.edu/WritingCenter/StudentInformation/Index.html
Purdue's OWL: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/
Pearson mywritinglab: http://www.mywritinglab.com/
Linda B. Nilson, “Why Students Skip the Readings,” Advocate, Vol. 25, No. 2
(NationalEducation Association, December 2007), 5-8. See the web version at the
Advocate Online, http://www2.nea.org/he/advo07/advo1207/front.html.
Active Learning Strategies
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Illinois State University – http://www.cat.ilstu.edu/additional/active.php
Active Learning Online - http://www.acu.edu/cte/activelearning/
Inspiring Teachers http://www.inspiringteachers.com/classroom_resources/tips/curriculum_and_instruction/
great_active_learning_strategies.html
Promoting Active Learning. Strategies for the College Classroom. C Meyers, TB Jones 1993 - eric.ed.gov
Active Learning: Creating Excitement in the Classroom. ERIC Digest.CC Bonwell, JA
Eison - ASHE-ERIC Higher Education Reports, The George Washington …, 1991 202.198.141.77
Workshop on Collaborative Quizzing - The Center for Teaching and Learning at the
University of Minnesota provides a good introduction to collaborative quizzing and
suggestions for its implementation in the classroom. One of the pedagogical
advantages is the immediate learning opportunity when students take a quiz individually
and then in small groups. It promotes collaborative learning and individual student
assessment of learning. It is relatively easy to implement and develop alternative
formats.
Cortright RN, Collins HL, Rodenbaugh DW, and DiCarlo SE, "Student retention of course
content is improved by collaborative-group testing," Advances in Physiology Education,
27(1-4):102-8, 200.
Mauricio J. Giuliodori, Heidi L. Lujan, and Stephen E. DiCarlo, "Collaborative group
testing benefits high- and low-performing students," Advances in Physiology Education,
32: 274-278, 2008.
McKeachie, Wilbert J. and Marilla Svinicki. McKeachie's Teaching Tips: Stratgies,
Research, and Theory for College and University Teachers. Tweflth Edition. Boston:
Houghton Mifflin, 2006.
Ronald N. Cortright, Heidi L. Collins, and Stephen E. DiCarlo, "Peer instruction
enhanced meaningful learning: ability to solve novel problems," Advances in Physiology
Education, 29: 107–111, 2005.
Charles F. Yokomoto and Roger Ware, "Variations of the Group Quiz that Promote
Collaborative Learning," 1997 ASEE/IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference
Proceedings.
Class Size and Student Achievement
o Forum on Maximizing Learning and Efficiency: Class Size Considerations.
Sponsored by the Academic of Teaching and Office of Faculty and TA
Development, The Ohio State University, January 1998.
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o
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Glass, G.V.& Smith, J. L. (1979). Meta-analysis of research on class size and
achievement. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 1(1): 2-16.
McKeachie, W. J. (1991). Teaching Tips (10th Ed.) Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
National Council of Teachers of English. (1998). NCTE Position on Class Size
and Teaching Work, K- College. Urbana, IL.
Pascarella, E.T. & Terenzini, P.T. (2005). How College Affects Students, Volume
2. San Francisco, Jossey-Bass.
Clickers
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http://derekbruff.com/teachingwithcrs/
www.puc.edu/__data/.../do-clickers-depersonalize-the-classroom.pdf
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2008/11/03/clicker
http://chronicle.com/free/v55/i15/15a03101.htm
Clickers in the Classroom: An Active Learning Approach
M Martyn - Educause Quarterly, 2007 - eric.ed.gov
Clickers: A new teaching aid with exceptional promise
D Duncan - Astronomy Education Review, 2006
Clickers in the large classroom: Current research and best-practice tips
JE Caldwell - Life Sciences Education, 2007
Classroom Assessment
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Thomas A. Angelo and K. Patricia Cross, Classroom Assessment Techniques, A
Handbook for College Teachers, 2nd Ed, (Jossey Bass, 1993). For an overview see,
http://honolulu.hawaii.edu/intranet/committees/FacDevCom/guidebk/teachtip/assess1.htm
Mary Barone Martin, Classroom Assessment Techniques Designed for Technology,
http://frank.mtsu.edu/~itconf/proceed99/Martin.htm
The National Center for Teaching and Learning FORUM, Classroom Assessment
Techniques
University of Oregon, Teaching Effectiveness Program - Teaching Resources - Effective
Assessments
Grading Rubrics
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Creating Rubrics - Analytical and Holistic
o http://jonathan.mueller.faculty.noctrl.edu/toolbox/rubrics.htm
o http://www.engin.umich.edu/teaching/assess_and_improve/handbook/direct/rubri
c.html
o http://www2.nea.org/he/advo09/advo609/doit.html
Holistic Rubrics - Pros and Cons
o http://www.carla.umn.edu/assessment/VAC/Evaluation/rubrics/types/holisticRubri
cs.html
Analytic Rubrics - Pros and Cons
o http://www.carla.umn.edu/assessment/VAC/Evaluation/rubrics/types/analyticRubr
ics.html
o Sample Grading Rubrics for history assignments and exams:
 Rubric--sample.doc
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Grading Sheet-hanson.doc
Hanson rubric.doc
Essay Rubric.DOC
Time Machine Essay Rubric.doc
Family Roots Essay Rubric.rtf
Journal Grading Rubric.doc
Midterm Essay Rubric.doc
Discussion Boards and Learning Management Systems
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Middle Tennessee State University Faculty Manual, Discussion Boards & Pedagogy This site provides a basic overview of how to structure a discussion board including the
advantages and disadvantages of this online tool. Advantages include strengthening the
classroom community, allowing more students to participate, especially shy students,
and giving students an opportunity for additional reflection before participating in
discussion. Disadvantages include the potential for discussion boards to intimidate
students who fear “public scrutiny” of their ideas/written skills. Discussion boards may
be seen as an additional burden to students in courses with many assignments, and
they may fail to create substantive responses. Student interest and compliance and
depends greatly on the quality of the discussion board prompts, feedback from peers
and the instructor. Several grading rubrics are provided. The rubrics are detailed and
break down levels of quality in responses very well. Some are a bit too detailed in that
the grading burden increases substantially for an instructor if applied to each student
posting.
Building Community and Collaboration with the use of discussion boards - Dargan
presents an overview of purposes and terms/jargon (http://www.netlingo.com) for
using discussion boards in face-to-face (f2f) and online courses. She also provides
citations for literature that supports the effectiveness of discussion for increasing
learning outcomes. The most useful may be the following articles that “describe the
teacher’s role as a facilitator, role model, and e-moderator (Muirhead, 2002;
Landsberger, 2001; Moore, Winograd & Lange, 2001).” Dargan emphasizes instructors
should respond to postings as a role model for students and also suggests that students
compose responses in a word-processing program and copy and paste to highlight the
need for reflective writing and the writing process. Communicating clear expectations for
the discussion posts and responses along with detailed discussion prompts helps
students respond appropriately. Deadlines for original posts and replies must also be
emphasized. Dargan suggests setting a minimum number of posts/responses prior to
and after the midterm and a simple grading rubric, such as:
o Did the student post? Did he or she address most of the points? If so, 10 points.
o Did the student respond to at least two other student’s postings? Were those
messages addressing something significant? If so, 10 points.
Dargan includes a sample of students’ feedback on the benefits of discussion board
postings for improving writing skills, connecting to course materials, interactivity between
students as well as sample comments for improving the use of discussion boards.
Integrating a Web-based bulletin board into your class: a guide for faculty - Landsberger
emphasizes identifying learning objectives of discussion boards, using the “Cognitive
Domain” questions (Knowledge, Comprehension, Application, Analysis, Synthesis,
Evaluation) and “Effective Domain” questions (Receiving, Responding, Valuing,
Organization, Characterization by a value or value complex)to identify these objectives.
He provides some useful vocabulary for question prompts for discussion boards. The
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most useful for historical study fall mainly into the Cognitive Domain category.
Discussion boards are not the best medium for fact-based questions since they will not
promote an on-going discussion. Landsberger also suggests the use of follow-up
questions to deepen the discussion and provides examples. There are also good
suggestions for different ways to structure discussion board activities to develop various
course objectives. Having students post questions to the Blackboard rather than
emailing them will also allow instructors to create a kind of FAQ area. He also gives
some basics for the role of the instructor as moderator, emphasizing timely responses
and interjections without the goal of responding to every posting.
Siemens, George. "Learning Management Systems: The wrong place to start learning."
http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/lms.htm
Quizzing and Tracking Strategies
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Effective Quiz Practices - Although this web site is geared towards Moodle users and
electronic quizzing, it addresses how to effectively write quizzes. It also breaks down
different quizzing goals as both student-learning and lecture-effectiveness assessments.
Best Principles in the Use of On-Line Quizzing - In this article, Brothen, Daniel and
Finley develop strategies for effective computerized quizzing. Quizzing students on
class readings before lecture/discussion increases effectiveness of class meetings.
Computerized quizzes can be useful for a mastery learning approach if students are
allowed to take multiple quizzes. Once the computerized quizzes are in place, grading
happens electronically and allows instructors to devote their time to other class
activities. The article discusses formative and summative quizzing and issues related
to structuring quizzes to enhance student learning. The authors emphasize that studies
have shown that quizzes do not guarantee increased student achievement and can even
have a negative influence. Students may use work avoidance strategies, which the
article addresses and provides suggestions for avoiding this scenario.
Large test banks with randomly chosen questions for each attempt are one way of
dealing with cheating and mastery learning goals. For example, this helps in terms of
students trying to take quizzes in pairs/groups. It also allows for students to take a quiz
multiple times within a certain time frame and to keep the highest score (an option
available on blackboard), which promotes a mastery learning approach. The authors
stress the importance of feedback on formative quizzes as a guide for students on how
to study effectively.
Online quizzes provided by many textbook publishers may provide feedback, such as
where to look in the textbook for the correct answer. It is not beneficial for students to
receive the correct answer. While these ready-made quizzes do allow for multiple
student attempts, at present they are not drawn from large question pools that
randomize questions included for each attempt. Thus, in terms of initial creation of test
banks for mastery learning investment of instructor time is one of the high costs.
"How to Use Mastery Quizzing to Improve Student Learning: Advice from NCAT's
Redesign Scholars"
o Quizzing an effective strategy to get students to prepare for class
o Quizzes should be required rather than voluntary.
o Quizzes should be treated as an interactive exercise rather than an evaluation.
o Students should be allowed—in fact, encouraged—to take quizzes repeatedly so
that they can master the material.
o The highest grade; not the first, most recent or average grade, should be
accepted as evidence of ability.
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Quizzes should be low stakes.
Students should have the opportunity to see how many and which questions they
answered (in)correctly immediately after completing each quiz.
Ideally, for each question answered incorrectly, feedback should include
information on where to turn to find the correct answer.
Item selection should be randomized to make it harder for students to cheat.
There should be different versions for the same quiz item.
Quizzes should be due frequently.
The order of questions does not affect learning outcomes.
The number of questions should be 15-25 out of a pool of approximately 100
questions.
Multiple choice question answers should be scrambled.
Instructors need to screen questions from publisher test banks before including
them in quizzes.
Posting Class Notes Online
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Smith, James A. (2005) "Maximizing Student Learning through Effective Note-Giving" in
Teaching Concerns (University of Virginia Teaching Resource Center)
http://trc.virginia.edu/Publications/Teaching_Concerns/Spring_2005/TC_Spring_2005_S
mith.htm
**Smith advocates something slightly different (posting the instructor’s notes online), but
he cites education research on the widespread ineffectiveness of most students’ notes
and on the benefits of offering students supplemental notes.
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07042/761175-96.stm
**This article describes a Carnegie Mellon University computer science class, for which
the instructor set up a closed-access “wiki” page on which students were allowed to
make changes to the instructors’ version of the lecture notes.
Simulations and Games
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McKeachie, Wilbert J. and Marilla Svincki. McKeachie's Teaching Tips: Strategies.
Research, and Theory for College and University Teachers. Boston: Houghton Mifflin,
2006. Pages 225-227 of this work deal with games and simulations and provide
citations to related research.
McMichael, Andrew. «PC Games and the Teaching of History» The History Teacher.
Vol. 40, Issue 2. http://www.historycooperative.orge/cgi-bin/
History Labs and Publishers’ Online Resources
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Pearson My HistoryLab - http://www.myhistorylab.com/whatis.html
Bedford/St. Martin’s My HistoryClass - http://courses.bfwpub.com/yourhistoryclass
W.W.Norton’s StudySpace http://www.wwnorton.com/studyspace/disciplines/history.asp
Teaching Assistants in the U.S. History Survey Course
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Graduate Teaching Assistant Handbook, UCSD http://74.125.155.132/search?q=cache:wpl7KBmLCcsJ:www.ctd.ucsd.edu/resources/tah
andbook.pdf+using+teaching+assistants&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us
Handbook of the Teaching of Psychology
o Published Online: 21 Jan 2008
o Editor(s): William Buskist, Stephen F. Davis
Using Teaching Assistants Effectively
o Chapter Author: Lauren Fruh VanSickle Scharff
University of Washington - https://www.cs.washington.edu/education/tahome/ugradTA_wi09.html
Benefits of a comprehensive undergraduate teaching assistant programPrimus:
Problems, Resources, and Issues in Mathematics Undergraduate Studies, Mar 2003 by
Goff, Christopher, Lahme, Brigitte
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3997/is_200303/ai_n9224417/
Stuart Reges, Using undergraduates as teaching assistants at a state university, ACM
SIGCSE Bulletin, v.35 n.1, January 2003
Resources for Teaching Assistants - http://www.uni.edu/walsh/teach.html
Notes and Suggestions for TAs - http://server-mac.pas.rochester.edu/yigal/TAnotes.html
Hybrid Courses
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“College Students Score Higher In Classes That Incorporate Instructional Technology
Than In Traditional Classes.” Science Daily.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080324125154.htm
Garnham, Carla and Robert Kaleta. “Introduction to Hybrid Courses.” Teaching With
Technology Today. University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. 8.6. March 20, 2002.
http://www.uwsa.edu/ttt/articles/garnham.htm
Hybrid Course References from University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. http://www4.uwm.edu/ltc/hybrid/references/index.cfm
Young, Jeffrey. “Hybrid Teaching Seeks to End Divide between Traditional and Online
Instruction.” The Chronicle of Higher Education. March 22, 2002. http://chronicle.com/free/v48/128/28a03301.htm
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