r edesign of g eneral p sychology getting started on course redesign nova, 10/21/11 dr. megan e....

REDESIGN OF GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY

Getting Started on Course Redesign

NOVA, 10/21/11

Dr. Megan E. Bradley,

Professor of Psychology @ Frostburg State University

mbradley@frostburg.edu

Psyc150: General Psychology Course characteristics

Annual enrollment: About 900 Mostly traditional students and 1st year students Required course for Psychology Majors and 5 other

majors

Academic Issues Course drift & inefficiency Financial difficulties at University level

FROSTBURG STATE UNIVERSITY

Primary Team (who were also tech savvy): Coordinator

FT Faculty member who did not teach PSYC 150 at FSU 1 FT faculty member

Regularly taught PSYC 150 1 Adjunct instructor

Instructional Designer & regularly taught PSYC 150

Administration: Dean Associate Provost

Publisher: Worth

COURSE REDESIGN TEAM

Chose Replacement Model Pilot semester

Comparison: 2 traditional sections (N=42) 2 redesign sections (N=99)

ULAs worked with Redesign Instructors via Independent Study

Full Implementation Tripled capacity (N = 150) Began ULA course 2nd semester: Began Netbook Lab

WHAT WE DID

PILOT COMPARISONS

N compared to prior #

ADMIT GPA* FSU GPA*

Traditional 16% smaller 3.11 2.76

Redesign 100% larger 2.92 2.17

*Significantly different; p = .005 (eta2 = .027), p = .000 (eta2 = .075)

Course drift eliminated Standard course, syllabus, schedule, grading,

etc.

RESULTS

IMPACT ON STUDENT LEARNING

Success in the course

PILOT RESULTS: 50 QUESTION COMMON COMPREHENSIVE FINAL EXAM*

68%

75%

62%

64%

66%

68%

70%

72%

74%

76%

78%

Course Type

Traditional

Redesign

Mean Test Scores

*A one-way ANOVA of section on final exam percentage grades was significant, F = 23.251, p = .000, eta2 = .090. Also significant with GPA as covariate: F = 29.192, p = .000, eta2 = .11.

*Instructors blind to exam content

PILOT RESULTS: 50 QUESTION COMMON COMPREHENSIVE FINAL EXAM

Section Admit GPA FSU GPA Mean % on Final Exam

Section 1

Traditional

3.02 2.72 67.5%

Section 2

Traditional

3.21 2.81 69%

Section 3

Redesign

2.95 2.46 75.3%

Section 4 Redesign

2.89 2.08 75%

PILOT RESULTS: 50 QUESTION COMMON COMPREHENSIVE FINAL EXAM

Final exam scores positively correlated with average scores on Mastery Quizzes r =.523, p = .000

Comprehensive final exam too much 3 unit exams Reduced overall coverage

“Deadline Disorder” 5 different activities reduced to the 3 types that

helped students 2 weeks to complete

Students not ready for blended design Required computer lab 1x/wk

PILOT REDESIGN ISSUES & IMPLEMENTATION SOLUTIONS

FULL IMPLEMENTATION RESULTS: 43 COMMON QUESTIONS (3 EXAMS)*

65%

70%

77%

58%60%62%64%66%68%70%72%74%76%78%

Course Type

Traditional

Pilot Redesign

Full Redesign

*A one-way ANOVA of section (3 total) on common question percentage was significant, F = 25.852, p = .000, eta2 = .825.

Mean Test Scores

*Instructors blind to exam content

FULL IMPLEMENTATION RESULTS: PRE VS. POST PREJUDICE ESSAY

Mode Pre-Essay = 0 or 1 Post-Essay = 0,1, 2,

3, 4

0.310

2.28

0.00

0.50

1.00

1.50

2.00

2.50

3.00

3.50

Section Type

Pre-Essay

Post-Essay

*A one-way repeated measures ANOVA on essay grades was significant, F = 230.71, p = .000, eta2 = .420.

Mean Test Scores

IMPACT ON RETENTION

DWF rate

Previous average: 12.5% 18% prior to pilot

Pilot Semester Traditional sections: 4% Redesign sections: 22%

Full Implementation - Fall 12.8%

DWF RATE

OTHER IMPACT ON STUDENTS

ULAs

“Field Experience” course for top students

Leadership in Psychology Certificate Program

Supplemental Instructor (SI) Receive additional training based on national SI program

Interning as a ULA Research experience included

ULA BENEFITS

Future opportunities Commencement Speaker

Spring 2010 & Fall 2010 speakers were ULAs

Graduate School Teaching or Research Assistantship

Prestigious Internships Most recent: Sloop Institute for Excellence in Leadership

ULA BENEFITS

IMPACT ON COST SAVINGS

Formula rating Departmental implication

NCAT formula: $89 to $26 Departmental implication:

1 FT faculty position

Biggest cost effectiveness: Tripling capacity in class Staffing

COST SAVINGS

Use of savings Realized:

Communication Response System Implementation (“clickers”)

Netbook lab Yearly support for Tamarin Colony Support for Coordinator Payment to lab assistants, SI, intern

COST SAVINGS