Maryland Course Redesign
Mid-initiative Workshop
May 30, 2008
University of Maryland Baltimore County
Department of Psychology
Psyc100: Introductory Psychology
Traditional
Course
 400 - 600 students per




semester
7 sections per year
4 credit course
3 ½ clock hours each
week for classroom
instruction
Large lecture halls
Redesign
Course
 400 - 600 students per




semester
5 sections per year
4 credit course
1 hour each week for
online labs; 2 ½ hours for
classroom instruction
Large lecture halls that are
CPS ready
Traditional
Course
 4 major multiple
choice exams; class
participation measure
Redesign
Course
 4 major multiple choice
exams; small group
activities in class; CPS
questions; online activities
with quizzes
 Graduate TA for exam
 Graduate TAs for weekly
proctoring, individual
support sessions, exam
student assistance, and
proctoring, online support;
administrative needs
administrative needs
 Peer mentors for tutoring
and small group facilitation
Advisory Group for Course Redesign
 Faculty teaching the course*


Eileen O’Brien, PhD
Karen Freiberg, PhD
 Provost

Art Johnson, PhD
 Dean of Arts, Humanities and
Social Sciences
 John Jeffries, PhD
 Department Chair*

Linda Baker, PhD
 Faculty Development Director*

Jack Prostko, PhD
*Review team for timeline tasks
 Student Learning Resource Center
Director*
 Andrea Spratt, MEd
 Blackboard
Administrator/Instructional
Designer*
 Bob Armstrong, MA
 Evaluator*

Laura Stapleton, PhD
 Graduate TAs*


Linda Jones
Brian Jobe
 Undergraduate Student

David Mason
Redesign Challenges
 Faculty development and negotiation
 Agreeing to commonalities

Technology Training
 Roles of Graduate TA and Undergraduate Peer
Mentors

Role and Training
 Pedagogy change and classroom technology
 Small Group Activities
 Classroom Performance System (CPS)
Redesign Challenges
 Freshman student preparedness
 Technology in classroom
 Use of online activities
 Accuracy of online quizzes and technology
glitches
 Evaluation


Focus group attendance
Teaching to the Exam
Small Group Evaluation Sessions
Weaknesses
(Traditional)



Exams cover more than
just lecture
Need other activities
besides exams
Would like online work
Weaknesses
(Redesign)





CPS inconsistency
Requires class
attendance
PPT slides were not on
blackboard
Instructor goes through
slides too fast
Exams cover more than
lecture
Small Group Evaluation Sessions
 Strengths
(Traditional)



Lecture helps for exams
Good examples in class
related to real life
Used PPT
 Strengths
(Redesign)




Online labs
Video clips in class
Small group activities
Online practice tests
Student Evaluations
 SCEQs pending
Course Grades
 Traditional Section (N=76)

14% As; 21%B; 28%C; 23%D; 14%F
 Redesign Sections (*N=80; **N=65)

30% of students would have had a lower grade if
final course grade was only based on exams.


*40% A; 27% B; 26% C; 5% D; 2% F
**26% A; 46% B; 15% C; 0%D; 3% F; 10% stopped
coming to class or doing labs and received Fs.
Course Grades
Percentage of students
Grade Distribution by Course Type
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
A
B
C
Traditional
D
Redesign
F
stopped
Midcourse Adjustments to
Implementation
 Faculty development and negotiation


Exams prepared according to protocol
Technology Support System
 Roles of Graduate TA and Undergraduate Peer
Mentors


Develop a policy that delineates tasks for Psyc100
TAs mentoring other TAs in database management and online
assistance
 Pedagogy change and classroom technology


Small Group Activities - limit to dyads
Classroom Performance System (CPS)- UMBC
tech support effort
Midcourse Adjustments to
Implementation
 Freshman student preparedness

Technology in classroom



FAQ for student
Create a problem-solving tree
Use of online activities

Peer mentors orientation sessions
 Accuracy of online quizzes and technology
glitches

Publisher review in the summer
 Evaluation


Focus groups during class session
Use of activities targeting key outcomes
Student Learning Outcomes
 To increase the knowledge of major concepts, theoretical
perspectives, empirical findings and historical trends in
Psychology.
 To understand social sciences research, including design
and interpretation, and its implications; To gain
experience working in diverse groups; To apply
Psychology to everyday situations; To increase the use
of critical thinking and creative inquiry
 To demonstrate information competence and the ability
to use computers and technology in learning; To use
technology in an ethically and responsibly.