CPE Grant: Collaborative Approaches to Increase Aid to
Workforce Development and Academic Program Capacity
‘Innovative Reform of Large-Enrollment Courses: Collaborative Course
Redesign and K-CORE’
PI:
Norman Pedigo, University of Kentucky
Co-PIs:
Sandy Cook, KCTCS, and Linda Miller, Murray State University
Start Date: May 15, 2004
End Date: June 30, 2006
Ttile:
1. Results and Outcomes:
A. Collaborative Course Redesign: Introductory Retreat
The main objective of this initiative was to organize and deliver a summer retreat (May 25,
2004) to introduce the model for redesign of large enrollment courses developed by
educational researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and address its implementation at
institutions across our state. Our plenary speaker was Carolyn Jarmon, PhD, Senior Associate
for the National Center for Academic Transformation. Her workshop was entitled ‘Improving
Learning and Reducing Costs: New Models for Online Learning’. In this full-day retreat, Dr.
Jarmon introduced the concepts and initiatives that transform large enrollment courses through
creative application of instructional technology. She presented evidence demonstrating
consequent improvements in student learning and reductions in administrative costs.
Over 100 faculty and administrators representing 22 public universities or colleges across
Kentucky participated in this introduction to Collaborative Course Redesign. The retreat was
held in conjunction with the annual CPE conference coordinated by the Kentucky Faculty
Development Workgroup (KFDW), an advisory group to the Chief Academic Officers of the
state. The membership of KFDW consists of Kentucky public and independent postsecondary
institutions, Kentucky Virtual University, Kentucky Virtual Library, and the Council on
Postsecondary Education. Combining forces with KFDW ensured broad participation in the
retreat activities and state-wide dissemination of the principles of innovative course redesign.
The retreat was held in Lexington under the auspices of the University of Kentucky and
organized by UK’s Teaching and Academic Support Center (TASC).
B. Collaborative Course Redesign: Summer workshops
This kick-off retreat was followed over the summer by two complimentary faculty development
workshops. Each workshop was offered to participants across the state via live, interactive
videoconferencing (ITV) as three-day, afternoon sessions (7.5 h each workshop). The first
workshop in July on ‘Making Learning-Centered Instruction a Cornerstone of Course Redesign’
was developed by TASC personnel, including Bill Burke, Kathryn Cunningham and Norman
Pedigo. The second workshop this August was on ‘Milestones on the Path to Course
Redesign: Assessing Student Performance and Improved Learning’. It was developed in
collaboration with TASC personnel by Nancy Borkowski (Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship
Foundation, Princeton, NJ) and Deb Moore (Director, Office of Assessment, UK). Attendance
at the July workshop was 36 faculty representing UK, KCTCS and MuSU. In August there
were 28 faculty participants.
2. Lessons Learned
A fundamental component of this course redesign effort was training faculty to create effective
online course offerings that would serve non-traditional students, especially working adults,
students with disabilities, and students who did not reside on campus. Effective application of
instructional technology to distance learning was demonstrated in the hands-on summer
workshops. Faculty participants worked together and with TASC personnel to understand
unique aspects of the online teaching and learning environment, and the need to embrace
pedagogical and curricular changes that go beyond technology. All faculty development
activities and resource materials developed for this initiative were linked to a dedicated web
site maintained by the Teaching and Academic Support Center at UK. The web site and online
workshops will be maintained to ensure reapplication of these activities to new groups of
interested faculty members in future years.
C. Collaborative Course Redesign: Additional workshops
Linda Miller and colleagues at the Center for Teaching, Learning and Technology (CTLT) at
Murray State University conducted a wholly online, faculty development workshop (March,
2005) entitled ‘Teaching Online: the Impact of Technology on Course Design”. A portion of
funds from our CPE grant were used for personnel and essential equipment that supported this
workshop. Over 100 faculty and staff from MuSU, Western Kentucky University, UK and
KCTCS participated in this week long workshop.
2. Lessons Learned
A major benefit of the broad scope of faculty participants from different public universities or
colleges in Kentucky is the opportunity to appreciate and deliver multidisciplinary instruction.
Both the retreat and workshops facilitated small group activities where faculty from diverse
disciplines were encouraged to explain teaching and learning strategies for their particular
students. Further, discussion of course redesign from these multiple perspectives emphasized
programmatic differences in student learning styles, multimedia delivery of course content, and
innovative uses of instructional technology.
D. K-CORE: Developing online courses in two general education disciplines
The goal of the Kentucky Collaborative Online General Education CoRE (K-CORE) is to describe,
design, and develop a common general education core across technical, community, regional, and
research postsecondary education sectors. K-CORE will establish two competency-based, scalable,
high-quality, and efficient entry-level courses as developmental models available to all Kentucky’s
academic institutions. In addition, K-CORE will provide a vital connection between secondary/adult
education and postsecondary education. The following timeline summarizes milestones towards
achieving these objectives:
October 04: K-CORE Course Development Workshop (UK, Spindletop Hall, Lexington)
November 04: Rio Salado Visit, Phoenix, Arizona
Spring 05: K-CORE Course development
Fall 05:
K-CORE Alpha delivery
May, 2006: K-CORE Team Evaluation and Summary meeting
The K-CORE course development kick-off workshop was held October 14-15 and attended by about
25 faculty members, staff and administrators from the three collaborating institutions. Faculty were
selected according to the target disciplines for the model K-CORE courses, College Algebra and
English Composition. Extended discussions resulted in the formation of faculty workgroups charged
with defining core competencies, content delivery methods, and pilot course outlines for each
discipline. Individuals who participated in the K-CORE workshop also traveled to Rio Salado College
for a comprehensive, first-hand experience. Rio Salado is one of the original members of the course
redesign group and serves as a best practices example for the application of course redesign
principles to a wholly online curriculum. The faculty-based workgroups have met several times this
year to continue designing the pilot courses in math and English. The goal of alpha delivery this
summer should be achieved.
Learning objectives and core competencies have been developed and agreed upon by expert faculty
from each of the collaborating partners. However, individual course directors and instructors will be
free to meet those learning objectives using methods and examples of their choosing. This valueadded approach allows K-CORE courses to be customized according to faculty interests and
expertise, while meeting unique student needs at a particular institution.
E. K-CORE: Present and future outcomes
The collaborative nature of these faculty development activities has enabled the collaborating
partners to share resources and perspective with colleagues involved in higher education
across the commonwealth. Consequently, faculty networks have been created on a state-wide
basis. Data collected from the retreat and workshops will be shared and interpreted by a team
of experts from each of the collaborating institutions. Results and conclusions will be
published jointly in appropriate peer-reviewed journals and presented at national or
international meetings. This will promote scholarship by key personnel and share a bestpractices model for multi-institutional application of innovative course redesign. The
combination of diverse faculty networks and joint scholarly presentations will foster
collaborative grant applications seeking further funding for related programs.
2. Lessons Learned
Failure to clarify delivery issues has been a larger barrier than anticipated. Faculty are
interested in what becomes of the course, who will deliver it, to whom it will be delivered, how it
will be delivered, and some notion of how large the classes might be. Challenges of faculty
collaboration during the semester at a distance have impacted the timeframe. Administrative
issues have been surprisingly difficult to resolve. Issues such as FTE’s, tuition, intellectual
property, required resources for success, and long-term intended outcomes fall beyond the
ability of the project team to address comprehensively. Institutional commitment to online
course development has been uneven in the face of some of these issues. It is more difficult
than the management team predicted for faculty to develop a course with no clear picture of
what resources will be available, and the number and preparation of students.
3. Future Plans
We continue to make progress towards our ultimate goal to develop an effective and costefficient model that expands access to education throughout the Commonwealth, in a manner
that sustains and improves the quality of instruction while reducing the overall costs of
postsecondary education. Course redesign will continue to be an important theme at each of
the three participating institutions. The transformation of large enrollment courses through
creative application of instructional technologies will support ongoing curricular reform and new
pedagogies. Consequent improvements in student learning and reductions in administrative
costs will be promoted across all disciplines, programs and colleges.
Future applications of K-CORE may be more limited. The major benefits of a common general
education core with competency-based, efficient entry-level courses may be best realized in
the community and technical colleges. Considerable effort and planning will be required to
integrate such courses in to the existing framework of transfer agreements and accreditation
guidelines that apply to public, postsecondary institutions. Issues of intellectual property,
required resources for success, and faculty recognition and incentives will likely dictate the
success of similar programs.
Appendix 1: K-CORE Events and Participants (below)
Appendix 2: K-CORE Team Evaluation Summary (below)
Appendix 1: K-CORE Events and Participants
K-CORE Leadership Teams
K-CORE Management Team
Sandy Cook, Kentucky Community and Technical College System
Norman Pedigo, University of Kentucky
Linda Miller, Murray State University
K-CORE Support Team
Norma Northern, Kentucky Virtual University
Linda Pittenger, Kentucky Virtual High School
Deborah Jackson, Council on Postsecondary Education
Sandra Jordan, Murray State University
Dianne Bazell, Council on Postsecondary Education
K-CORE ENG 101 (Writing 1) Course Team
William Wade, West Kentucky Community College
KCTCS Faculty
Becky Womack, Bluegrass District
Jo Zausch, Jefferson Community College
Dr. Gina Claywell
MSU Faculty
Marcy Johnson
Amy Berry
Kathryn Cunningham
TASC Support
Myk Garn
K-CORE Leader
Linda Miller
K-CORE MATH 109 (College Algebra) Course Team
Caroline Martinson, Jefferson Community College
KCTCS Faculty
Frank Pecchioni, Jefferson Community College
Jason Taylor, West Kentucky Community and Technical College
Bob Pervine
MSU Faculty
Rob Donnelly
Victoria Bhavsar
TASC Support
Norman Pedigo
K-CORE Leader
Sandy Cook
K-CORE Development Timeline
October 14-15: K-CORE Course Development Kick-off Workshop
(Each course development team begins weekly AccuTel meetings)
November
Rio Salado Visit
Tallahassee Community College Visit
K-CORE Team Conference
Spring 05
K-CORE Course development
Fall 05
K-CORE Course Alpha delivery
May, 2006:
K-CORE Team Evaluation and Summary meeting
K-CORE Kick-Off Workshop Agenda
Thursday, October 14
3:00-5:00
K-CORE Management Team Meeting
6:30-9:00
Spirit of Versailles Celebration
Friday, October 15
8:00-9:30
Understanding K-CORE
9:45-11:00
Publisher Presentations
MT 150 – McGraw Hill
ENG 101 - Pearson
11:15-12:45
Publisher Presentations
ENG 101 – McGraw Hill
MT 150 - Pearson
1:00-2:00
Working Lunch: Goals, Tasks & Timelines
2:00-3:00
Course teams meet
3:00-3:30
Full K-CORE meeting
K-CORE Course Team Tasks
Goal

Complete course ready to test deliver by Summer/Fall 05

Best possible course, way to deliver and assess it
Deliverables

Complete course ready to test deliver by Summer/Fall 05

Redesign pedagogical framework (Instructor Guide)

Criteria for selecting content for redesigned courses
Milestones

Develop Common Competencies

Determine and Plan Assessments

Review/select Content

Modular Design of Instruction

Design Instructional plan

Structure Content delivery

Develop Instruction manual/training

Pilot implementation

Report results and recommendations
Discussion Steps

Discuss “K-CORE” concept…

Identify Institutional Needs

Identify task, goals, timeline – ask for support needed

What support does the team need to accomplish the goals

Identify Competencies

Understand modular instruction

Review potential course content and delivery options and models
Support Roles

Bring concepts of K-CORE to the discussions (Others as identified)
Appendix 2:
K-CORE Team Evaluation Summary Notes
KCTCS Versailles and ITV Murray State University
Team: K-CORE (Kentucky Collaborative Online GenEd
Core)
Date: May 18, 2006
Team Leaders: Writing I and College Algebra K-CORE
Faculty
Team Recorder: Sandy Cook
Fall 05 and Spring 06 Team
Members
Wade, William L (West Kentucky);
Zausch, Jo F (Jefferson); 'Barbara H
Whitener'; Hauke, Barbara A
(Maysville); Martinson, Caroline D
(Jefferson); Pecchioni, Frank T
(Jefferson); Taylor, Jason (West
Kentucky); Linda miller, MSU;
Norman(Tad) Pedigo., UK; Myk
Garn; 'Leymaster, Marilyn A (West
Kentucky); Rob Donnelly, MSU, Bob
Pervine, MSU; Marcie Johnson, MSU.
Next Meeting Date: TBD
Agenda Item
1.
Welcome and Introductions
Discussion Points
Action Steps
Sandy Cook and Linda Miller welcomed the groups.
Members from Murray State University and KCTCS
introduced themselves.
Members and Guests present: Linda Miller MSU,
Rob Donnelly MSU, Bob Pervine MSU, Marcie
Johnson MSU, Jo Zausch, Jefferson KCTCS, William
Wade West Kentucky KCTCS, Jason Taylor West
Kentucky KCTCS, Frank Pecchioni Jefferson KCTCS,
Norman (Tad) Pedigo, UK, Bill Henry SmarThinking,
Christa Ehmann Powers SmarThinking, Myk Garn
CPE, Melissa Bell CPE, Sandy Cook KCTCS.
2.
Lessons Learned, Best
Practices to Share, Student
Stats

Writing Fall and Spring Pilots - KCTCS with
SmarThinking
William Wade and Jo Zausch shared best practices and
areas to improve. Course redesign, including modules
and adaptive released, and Smarthinking tutoring and
estructors worked well. Weekly meetings between
Jefferson instructors was beneficial. Areas to improve
include student screening and orientation, team
teaching orientation. Students want to work with the
same SmarThinking reviewer each submission.
Bill Henry, Smarthinking,
will send Danny Clark
Model.
Fall pilot had 40 students with one instructor (plus
support for pilot start up). Spring pilot had 150
students with four instructors from three colleges
working in one WebCT section. Both fall and spring
used SmarThinking tutoring and estructors.
 Writing - Murray State University
Marcie Johnson shared Murray’s fall pilot where 101
and 102 used Blackboard. Writing was excellent.
Email and discussion was challenging to get students
involved. Online experience should mirror the oncampus teacher to student. MSU instructor was the
tutor. No other technology services were used.
Pilot included 25 in each section.

Math Fall and Spring - KCTCS with MyMathLab
and Math XL
Frank Pecchioni and Jason Taylor reported that
MyMathLab and Math XL were easy to use; however,
students did not make use of the “help” button.
Attrition rate was higher with students showing low
motivation to learn. Students reportedly have difficulty
reading math material online. Admissions advisors
approving and enrolling under prepared students for
college algebra hampered student success.
Areas to improve include more formative and/or
proctored exams as a motivational tool to keep students
on track. Pedagogical issues involving course redesign
to assure students do more practice without “finding”
answer approach. Encourage feedback loop to
admissions advisors on success rate of approved
enrollments without prerequisite. Develop video
component with show and tell to eliminate need to read
challenging content. Develop gaming strategies for
motivation. Video premier instructors and offer
viewing content on demand.
 Math - Murray State University
Rob Donnelly and Bob Pervine reported that K-CORE
sections were web enhanced and not fully online. With
more web activities at the beginning, students did
poorly as compared to on-campus classes. After
adjustments to include more supplemental in-class
discussion, performance improved.
Students were positive about MyMathLab. There is a
disconnect between MyMathLab and transfer of
knowledge.
Areas to improve: Reading difficulty, how students
view math, and students limited use of the Help
function. Videos can be added as visual and lectures
can be taped for view on demand.
3.
Planning for Fall 2006 and
Spring 2007
Convene larger group of online faculty to discuss
expanding K-CORE concept in math and writing.
Examine Danny Clark Model for ideas.
Identify math and writing video opportunities for visual
learning in K-CORE courses, especially math, where visual,
interactive, engaging, course redesign can be motivators for
success rather than static reading approach.
4.
Others
Since pilots demonstrate value of online tutoring for
success, math and writing faculty, online and on-campus,
are encouraged to require or recommend SmarThinking
tutoring to be purchased through Barnes & Noble –
financial aid may be used.
5.
Adjournment
The meeting adjourned at approximate 2:30 p.m. ET.
Sandy will organized
fall meeting in
coordination with KCORE faculty
leaders.
Connect faculty with
Vince DiNoto for
ideas. Check Vince’s
June workshop that
includes Microsoft
Producer.