Course+Redesign+at+NC+State


 * Large Course Redesign at NC State**

North Carolina State University began studying Large Course Redesign (LCR) and its potential impact on student learning in 2006. Established in 2007 as part of DELTA’s (Distance Education and Learning Technology Applications) compact planning initiatives, the DELTA Large Course Redesign Pilot Grants program is providing financial and staff resources (instructional design, instructional technology and instructional development support) for faculty who are redesigning the delivery of a large-enrollment course to increase student-learning outcomes at the undergraduate level. Via this pilot approach, we are helping faculty develop strategies that blend effective teaching and learning with innovative ways to use existing instructional technology.

The common goals for each redesign were to decrease DFW rates, establish consistent content coverage across all course sections (for courses that consist of multiple sections), provide in-class and online student-centered learning activities, and improve student knowledge transfer by focusing on mastery learning. By achieving these goals, each LCR team strives to improve student learning by maintaining or reducing the cost of instruction and course delivery. In response to increasing enrollments and finite institutional capacities, faculty and DELTA staff are finding better ways to utilize faculty and TA resources (e.g. by adopting computer automated assessment) and limited classroom space (e.g. replacing in-class sessions with online activities).


 * THE COURSES**

DELTA has worked closely with Registrar’s Office to identify high enrollment undergraduate level courses (200 level and below) that could benefit from the LCR initiative. Based on the analysis of grade distributions, drop, fail, withdrawal (DFW) rates and course repeats from the Autumn 2006 through Spring 2008 semesters, and based on the willingness of the colleges and departments to consider course redesign, the following courses were targeted for pilot redesign for the 2008/2009 academic year: Precalculus I (MA 107); Precalculus Algebra and Trigonometry (MA 111); Foundations of Graphics (GC 120); Engineering Statics (MAE 206).

GC 120 is an introductory course providing orientation to the language of technical graphics for students majoring in any field. The course is designed to help students develop and refine their ability to use this universal technical language within the context of the concurrent engineering design process as well as gain an understanding of how computer-aided design (CAD) is used to create objects that students use on a daily basis. The course serves over 850 students annually. It is divided into 15-17 sections in both Fall and Spring Semesters, and 4-6 sections Summer semester. These are taught by five to seven faculty members and adjunct instructors, and one graduate teaching assistant (TA).
 * Foundations of Graphics (GC 120)**

DELTA LCR Pilot Grant funding was awarded to implement automated assessment for GC 120, which would reduce faculty time required to grade assignments and exams (automated feedback for SolidWorks modeling assignments); increase the number of student enrollments per section; give students more control over their learning; provide students with individualized assistance; and create consistency of teaching and learning across sections. A course website was created using Moodle and contains supplemental learning materials for students to use outside of class: videos of sketching activities and SolidWorks modeling; synchronous online study sessions; and computer-based quizzes and exams with immediate feedback. Quantitative and qualitative assessment of the redesigned course began in Spring 2009. Baseline data from the conventional course was compared to the redesigned, blended course to measure equal or improved learning outcomes based on quizzes and exams, sample project comparisons, and student and faculty attitude surveys. Based on initial survey data, student learning in the blended course is equal to traditionally taught courses. The incorporation of instructional technology has made way for faculty to increase enrollments in three sections (Fall 2009), which amounts to a course enrollment growth of 7.5% from Fall 2008 and 9% from Spring 2009. The faculty anticipate the continued increase in student enrollments as the automated feedback for SolidWorks modeling is implemented in Fall 2009.

MAE 206 is a critical-path course for the future of students’ study in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, and Biomedical Engineering; it is the first in a series of first engineering courses for many students, and a high level of understanding is required. Approximately 700 on-campus students take MAE 206 every year at NCSU. The course is made up of eight class sections annually (4 Fall sections, 2 Spring sections, and two Summer sections).
 * Engineering Statics (MAE 206)**

MAE 206 enrolled over 600 students in the FY 2008. The course is made up of six class sections annually (4 Fall semester and 2 Spring semester) with an average of 25% of these students receiving D and F grades in the FY 2007. DELTA LCR Pilot Grant funding was awarded to support the incorporation of instructional technologies to tailor course content to meet varying student preparation levels; improve or maintain student retention of material; increase student feedback; increase enrollment in lecture and online without the addition of instructional resources (instructors and teaching assistants); harness peer teaching (group work and social networking); reduce DFW rates if possible; introduce Engineering computing skills to students with limited programming experience; eliminate course drift (34 professors over 27 semesters, no common syllabus); and improve quality of distance education in the face of increasing distance education needs. ISS staff provided instructional technology, design and development staff resources to the professor who created the online modules that incorporate instructional technologies to meet the above goals. The redesigned course now includes prerequisite reviews of trigonometry and calculus example problems; online quizzes for reading the textbook; class notes available online for students to use for reviewing lecture materials; video example problems for asynchronous viewing; computer-assessed homework quizzes with immediate feedback; computerized testing to give students immediate feedback on quizzes and exams; in-class quizzes using clickers for active learning and to provide students with instant feedback; WolfWiki for students to create their own review; and computerized design project in Matlab for group learning.

Approximately 475 students in 4 of the 6 sections in the FY 2008 (3 Fall semester and 1 Spring semester) were taught using the redesigned, blended course. Baseline data from the traditional lecture structure is being compared to the blended course. Preliminary data shows that the blended course including online learning material is equal to the traditional course; online exams can predict the future performance of students in higher-level classes; and attendance in lectures improves with pedagogically effective uses of clickers. Longitudinal data (qualitative and quantitative) is currently being gathered to determine the effectiveness of the redesigned course. Early results include: students would rather have feedback with clickers than no feedback; students like the video example problems (created with Livescribe); and students’ performances on the introductory problems correlate with performances on tests. Data from the Registrar’s office indicates that DFW rates were reduced in the 2008/2009 academic year with an average of 14.5% of students receiving Ds and Fs (down from 24.5% in Spring 2007, 15.5% in Fall 2007 and 22.83% in Spring 2008). Dr. Howard has worked with the other faculty to establish a common syllabus across all the sections; common exams are being piloted across different instructors for Fall 2009. This has helped to eliminate course drift: prior to 2006, Statics had been taught by 34 professors over 27 semesters with little or no collaboration.

The NC State Registrar's office identified MA 111 as a high needs course due to the number of students enrolled, high DFW rates and notable course repeats. MA 111 fulfills NC State’s general education requirement (GER) and prepares students for MA 141, Calculus I. The annual enrollment is 650 students from nine sections, with an average of 35% of these students receiving D and F grades. MA107 is the prerequisite for the biological science and business calculus sections. (It was included in the redesign because it shares the first eleven lectures with MA 111.) During the 2007-2008 academic year, MA107 consisted of seventeen course sections. The total enrollment was approximately 1000 students. Ten sections were taught in the fall with an average class size of 90 students.
 * Precalculus: Algebra (MA 107) and Precalculus: Algebra and Trigonometry (MA 111)**

DELTA LCR Pilot Grant funding was awarded for the redesign of MA 107 and 111. A team of mathematics faculty and DELTA staff collaborated on the redesign of these courses to achieve the following goals: reduce DWF rates; increase student retention; increase mastery of learning and successful knowledge transfer to MA 141 and higher-level courses; maintain faculty workload as enrollments increase and course structure changes (multiple course sections combined into one large, 250 student lecture); create peer-to-peer learning; reduce class meeting times; and spend no additional funds for instruction. Web-based learning resources were created to engage students with the course content for varying learning styles: clickers for student engagement during lecture; Livescribe videos for presenting example problems; captioned and transcribed videotaped lectures demonstrating concepts and sample problems; low-stakes quizzes in Moodle for increasing students’ time-on-task and feedback; online homework that is automatically assessed and provides instant feedback; and synchronous study sessions using Elluminate. The redesigned is currently being piloted and initial qualitative and quantitative assessment data collected during the Fall 2009 semester.


 * WHAT'S AHEAD**

We continue to collaborate with the Registrar’s Office, college and department administration and faculty to identify more undergraduate courses that can benefit from LCR as we learn from the piloted courses (previous and current) and use our results and experience to engage others in this process. LCR funding was recently granted to redesign Concepts of Financial Reporting (ACC 210), Calculus I (MA 141) and to continue the redesign of MAE 206.


 * CONTACT**

For more information about LCR efforts at NC State, please contact **Dr. Traci Temple**, Assistant Director for Instructional Development, DELTA, traci_temple@ncsu.edu, 919-513-3193.
 * NC State LCR Pilot Grants, @http://delta.ncsu.edu/teach/funding/lcrgrants/
 * Teaching, Learning and Technology Roundtable (TLTR) meeting re: LCR at NC State: []