USM Center for Academic Innovation - Course Redesign

Towson’s Universal Design for Learning Professional Development Network

admin-um — Wed, 28 Oct 2015 15:22:04 +0000

Universal Design for Learning (UDL)  is a set of principles for curriculum development that give all individuals equal opportunities to learn. UDL provides a blueprint for creating instructional goals, methods, materials, and assessments that work for everyone--not a single, one-size-fits-all solution but rather flexible approaches that can be customized and adjusted for individual needs (CAST, 2012). UDL is included in COMAR and Maryland’s Teacher Technology Standards.

The Office of Academic Innovation sponsors the UDL Professional Development Network (UDL-PDN). UDL-PDN is a campus-wide, multidisciplinary project that brings faculty together in professional learning communities (PLCs) for exploring the UDL guidelines and principles and applying them to their own teaching. PLC members work together in small groups to explore advances in the learning sciences and flexible curricular materials in order to develop a deep understanding of UDL and its application to instruction in higher education.

There are currently 5 PLCS that engage a total of 50 faculty drawn from all 6 colleges at Towson University. PLCs are led by trained Towson faculty coaches who meet regularly with their PLCs throughout the academic year to share and discuss information about UDL and create modifications or new components for their courses. These components run the gamut from revisions of course syllabi, readings, activities, quizzes and exams, to more complex multimedia objects that can be used in face-to-face courses, blended courses, and fully online. In short, the possibilities are endless!

Learn More

Areas of Focus:

Course Redesign

Cross Post:

Story

New Report on the Learnings from Course Redesign at the USM

admin-annika — Tue, 27 Oct 2015 13:44:32 +0000

The Kirwan Center for Academic Innovation has released a new report to shed light on how institutions of higher education can make sustainable improvements in who can learn what they learn by the time they graduate. This report details thr learnings from studying a series of initiatives at the �鶹��ý (USM) to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of selected courses. These redesigns incorporated a variety of learning-centered practices, that is, teaching practices that were chosen and applied using evidence of student learning.

News Type:

USM News

Areas of Focus:

Course Redesign

Types of Research:

Descriptive Studies

News Link:

http://www.usmd.edu/cai/pushing-barriers-teaching-improvement-state-systems-experience-faculty-%C2%ADled-technology%E2%80%90supported

Cross Post:

News

Pushing the Barriers to Teaching Improvement: A State System's Experience with Faculty-Led, Technology‐Supported Course Redesign

admin-annika — Tue, 27 Oct 2015 13:40:15 +0000

To shed light on how institutions of higher education can make sustainable improvements in who can learn what they learn by the time they graduate, we have studied a series of initiatives by the �鶹��ý (USM) to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of selected courses. These redesigns incorporated a variety of learning-centered practices, that is, teaching practices that were chosen and applied using evidence of student learning.

USM’s course redesign program was successful in achieving its immediate goals: test scores often improved, DFW rates dropped, and millions of dollars of faculty resources were freed for other uses. But many institutional conditions combined to make it difficult to create such courses and to attract typical faculty to develop and teach them. These barriers are serious enough to cast doubt on whether a “one course at a time” change strategy can succeed long enough and spread widely enough to improve graduation outcomes for that institution.

Our research questions:

Were the redesign efforts successful enough to persuade faculty and their institutions to continue and expand this kind of academic transformation once System support had ended?
Did certain cultural and organizational factors make it difficult to sustain and expand course redesign?
If that was the case, then how should universities foster sustainable, scalable improvements in teaching?

Download the report to read about what we found.

Areas of Focus:

Course Redesign

PDF:

USMCourseRedesignReport-Sept2015.pdf

Cross Post:

Story

UMBC Course Redesign in STEM Disciplines

admin-um — Thu, 24 Jul 2014 18:19:42 +0000

Curricular transformation/innovation in STEM takes several forms. Among the many courses being redesigned at UMBC, the Departments of Biological Sciences and Mathematics and Statistics have redesigned courses based on the pedagogical model known as Team-Based Learning (TBL). TBL is a specifically structured format that promotes student learning and self-efficacy through frequent readiness quizzes (both individual and team-based) and team projects and applications. Departments in the College of Engineering and Information Technology (e.g., Computer Science; Chemical, Biochemical, and Environmental Engineering; and Mechanical Engineering) have redesigned courses to use more collaborative learning or TBL or experiential learning. Some courses in STEM also involve “flipping” the classroom --providing first exposure to course content through on-line resources and devoting class time more effectively to collaborative and individual problem solving. In introductory chemistry, for example, students prepare for class using various web-based tutorials. Students then explore these ideas more deeply during interactive lectures and sessions in the Chemistry Discovery Center. In the Center, a collaborative learning space, students work in groups to solve problems that promote teamwork, develop good study skills, and allow them to practice critical-thinking.

Learn More
Chemistry Discovery Center
Team-Based Learning Resources

Areas of Focus:

Course Redesign

Cross Post:

Story

USM Center for Academic Innovation - Course Redesign

Towson’s Universal Design for Learning Professional Development Network

Areas of Focus:

Cross Post:

New Report on the Learnings from Course Redesign at the USM

News Type:

Areas of Focus:

Types of Research:

Cross Post:

Pushing the Barriers to Teaching Improvement: A State System's Experience with Faculty-­Led, Technology‐Supported Course Redesign

Areas of Focus:

Cross Post:

UMBC Course Redesign in STEM Disciplines

Areas of Focus:

Cross Post:

Pushing the Barriers to Teaching Improvement: A State System's Experience with Faculty-Led, Technology‐Supported Course Redesign