THE VIRTUAL CORE PROJECT: E nhancing the Core Curriculum Through Virtual Learning

March 20, 2001 NERCOMP

THE VIRTUAL CORE

PROJECT:Enhancing the Core Curriculum Through

Virtual Learning

Dr. Barbra Buckner Higginbotham

Chief Librarian & Executive Director, Academic Information Technologies

Brooklyn College of the City University of New York

NERCOMP March 20, 2001

Faculty everywhere are seeking to enhance

instruction by integrating technology with teaching.

Today, two models predominate. In one, technology-based modules supplement

conventional classroom activities. In the other, class time has been completely

displaced by courses delivered via technology. We believe that Brooklyn's "in-class/on-line"

model provides a better solution.


The Virtual Core Project is:

• Developing a curriculum model for the classroom-combined-with-Internet environment.

• Increasing the base of knowledge about technology-assisted learning for undergraduate teaching.

• Identifying the aspects of courses that are most appropriate for Internet delivery.

• Determining how to present appropriate aspects of courses in an effective, stimulating manner using the Web.


The Virtual Core Project is:

• Discovering which online teaching techniques contribute most to student success and satisfaction with core courses.

• Discovering the most effective ways to attract faculty to incorporate Internet components with their teaching.

• Developing evaluation processes for good teaching, student success, and faculty/student satisfaction in the Internet-assisted environment.


The Project Team• Dr. Barbra Buckner Higginbotham, grant

writer and Project Co-Director• Dr. John Blamire, Professor of Biology, Co-

Director and Faculty Mentor• Dr. Donald Gerardi, Professor of History,

Faculty Mentor• Dr. Hardy Hansen, Professor of Classics,

Faculty Mentor• Dr. Manuel Martinez-Pons, Professor of

Education, Project Evaluator• 12 Faculty Developers


Where are the Virtual Core Internet modules delivered?

• Student computer labs on campus

• The Library• The Library Café• Departmental computer labs• Students’ homes


The Virtual Core Project is Generating Results in

Four Key Areas:


Results for Students

• Students are exposed to new topics presently unavailable to beginners, because they are too costly to teach or because students lack the necessary background.

• Their written skills are improving. • Student satisfaction & success are

increasing. • Students have greater flexibility in meeting

their educational requirements..


Results for Faculty• Faculty have the opportunity to explore and

develop new approaches to teaching, without abandoning those they now use and to whose power they remain committed.

• They are developing fresh instructional skills and increasing their base of knowledge about technology-assisted learning.

• Like students, they have greater flexibility in meeting their academic obligations.


Results for Brooklyn College

• The “in-class/on-line” model has the effect of increasing the number of classrooms on campus.

• When virtual labs substitute for some laboratory time, the same result occurs.

• On campuses where faculty are reluctant about asynchronous education, a model where the classroom experience continues to predominate has a better chance for acceptance.


Results for Higher Education as a Whole

• Brooklyn’s project will save other universities the time and expense of experimentation that often ends in failure.

• We are developing a group of faculty who can provide leadership for technology-assisted curriculum design to other institutions.

• The measurement and evaluation processes for good teaching, student success, and faculty/student satisfaction in the Internet-assisted environment will also be broadly useful.


The Virtual Core Project Design

• Fall 1998: Recruit faculty developers• Spring 1999: Train faculty developers in course

site production; begin to produce course sites• Fall 1999: Complete course sites• Spring 2000: Deliver and evaluate the courses• Fall 2000: Modify the course sites/courses, based

on feedback and experience• Spring 2000: Deliver the courses for the third

time• Fall 2000, Spring 2001: Evaluate, revise, deliver

the courses again


GOAL 1. Develop a group of faculty who are:• Actively discussing technology-assisted

learning• Mastering curriculum design techniques for

the Internet environment• Enhancing their teaching skillsMeasurement: Team members:

Meet regularly throughout the grant, Complete the faculty development course, develop

Internet-based modules that (in the judgment of their peers) represent appropriate curriculum design, and

Notice improvement in their classroom presentations.


GOAL 2. Determine how best to present curriculum in an effective and exciting manner using the Internet.

Measurement: Student responses to the modules.Student performance (especially

compared to that of control groups).


GOAL 3. Rethink and redesign courses to integrate Internet-assisted modules. Measurement: We will assemble a Faculty Panel of instructors teaching in all ten Cores but not participating in this Project to evaluate:

The effectiveness of the individual Internet modulesThe Faculty Developers' success in building useful links among the coursesThe degree of successful integration among the Internet elements, lectures, and labs in the individual courses


GOAL 4. Design a faculty development model for Internet-assisted learning that is transferable to other institutions. Measurement: We will measure this goal by:

Surveying schools that implement the Brooklyn model about its usefulness in their environments.Recording the number of visits to the campus by faculty from other schoolsMeasuring the number of presentations made by our faculty at local and national meetings on undergraduate instruction


GOAL 5. Improve student success and satisfaction with courses. Measurement:

The modules promote greater student/student and student/faculty interaction, both in and out of class

Students pace themselves in their course work more effectively during the semester

Students' written skills improveStudents' grades in the courses improveStudents enjoy the courses moreStudents take courses at the proper time and in

the proper sequence


GOAL 5. Improve student success and satisfaction with courses.

Tools: Data from students in Web-enhanced

classesData from control groups in un-

enhanced sectionsCollege recordsStudent surveys


GOAL 6. Develop specifications for technical and student support. Measurement:

What was the performance level of the server on which the modules were mounted?

Of the campus's Internet/Web connection? Of the ISPs used by students for home access? Did students enjoy sufficient on-campus

access? What percentage of students interacted with

Web modules from off-campus connections? Were the level and caliber of human support

provided to students acceptable?


GOAL 7. Attract more faculty to develop and incorporate Internet components with teaching.

Measurement: The number of new Faculty Developers who come forward as a result of the Virtual Core Project.


GOAL 8. Develop measurements and evaluation processes for good teaching, student success, and faculty/student satisfaction in the Internet-assisted environment.


Virtual Core Project Instruments

• Logs• College records• Proxy server reports• Pre-tests for students in control and VC sections• Post-tests for students• Questionnaires for instructors• Interviews with students• Interviews with instructors• Input of faculty panel


Pre-tests showed there were no significant differences between

students in control & Virtual Core sections in these areas:

• Gender• Race• Age• Parents’ education • Grade expected in the course• Beliefs about computer-assisted education• Disposition to work in a computer-assisted

environment• Computing skills (word processing, spreadsheets, Web)


The post-test outcomes show:

The Virtual Core students displayed:• More favorable beliefs about computer-assisted

education• Greater involvement in the core curriculum courseBeliefs about computer-assisted education

were highly predictive of: • Disposition to work within a computer-assisted

educational environment• Interactions with the instructor


The post-test outcomes show:

Disposition and interaction with the instructor were predictive of:

• Involvement in course activities• Desire to take other courses in the field covered

by the course• Desire to take other courses in the Virtual Core

CurriculumInteractions with the instructor and

involvement in course activities were predictive of the final grade in the course.


New Models for Faculty Development

• The Virtual Core project’s faculty training & development model was conceived almost three years ago. Much in the landscape of distance learning has since changed.

• The FIPSE model–five semesters of released time per faculty member in return for the development of one partially virtual course–is a very costly one.

• There has been an evolution in the technology of course site creation & an associated savings in development time: faculty developers have gone from writing HTML, to using HTML editors, to multi-functional electronic learning platforms such as Blackboard and WebCT.


New Models for Faculty Development

Institutions must look toward a model for faculty training & development that:

• Is cost effective• Has a broad impact• Produces scalable, share-able content modules

At Brooklyn, we have begun refocusing our approach so that AIT staff and faculty content experts work as partners to create a database of content modules, each containing resources in digital form (audio, video, text, and images) and each suitable for use in a range of courses & disciplines.


Project Products: • Internet modules useful for

undergraduate courses. • A virtual kit that offers other

institutions a step-by-step guide for designing their own program for developing Internet modules for core undergraduate courses.


The Virtual Kit• An outline of the program's objectives • A plan for assembling faculty teams • Requirements for the Academic Support

Team • A suggested schedule for team meetings and

exchanges • Course plans for each Internet-enhanced

class, including syllabi • Information about the Internet modules and

how to access them


The Virtual Kit• Specifications for, and descriptions of, the

software and equipment used by the Faculty Developers (including the technical specs for the Web authoring environment), as well as specialized auxiliary equipment

• Specifications for the larger technical environment required to deliver the modules

• Information about student support• The evaluation plan, including survey

instruments.


Virtual Core URLs & E-mail Addresses

• Academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/ait/

• academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/chem/howell/FIPSE/devPage.htm

• http://depthome.brooklyn.cuny.edu/anthro/acac/Documents/• bhiggenbotham%20guide.htm

• academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/ait• academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/library

• [email protected]• [email protected]