QEP Course Redesign Framework

This framework is intended to provide faculty with guidance for redesigning courses to enhance student learning outcomes through increasing active and collaborative learning activities.

Define the Student Learning Outcomes for this course.  Faculty members are responsible for establishing the student learning outcomes for any course in accordance with the Faculty Handbook.  Each course should have seven to ten learning outcomes.  Roughly half of the outcomes should be specific to the content or discipline of this course and will represent knowledge and/or skills the student will acquire.  Half of the outcomes should be higher order learning objectives and communication skills selected from the six common learning outcomes for first and second year courses (listed below).

If there are multiple sections of the course being taught, all the faculty who teach these sections need to come to an agreement regarding a standard set of student learning outcomes that will be used in all sections of the course.

It is important that you also identify the threshold at which you would re-teach a concept in your class.

The common learning outcomes for first and second year courses, as defined by the QEP Core Team, are:

1. Students will recognize and identify key concepts in the arts, sciences, and humanities to provide a broad perspective on the human condition.
2. Students will be able to critically discriminate between reliable and less reliable information in their decision-making.
3. Students will understand the scientific method and critically evaluate scientific information.
4. Students will become familiar with scholarly and research methods.
5. Students will develop effective written communication skills.
6. Students will develop skills in working together in team activities.

Define your active and collaborative learning strategy. What new activity do you plan to add to your course to enhance active and collaborative learning? Active and collaborative learning activities are “opportunities for students to talk and listen, read, write, and reflect as they approach course content through problem-solving exercises, informal small groups, simulations, case studies, role playing, and other activities – all of which require students to apply what they are learning.” (Meyers and Jones) Many examples of active and collaborative learning strategies can be found on the University’s teaching website at www.teaching.ua.edu.

Define the Direct Assessment Measures you will use.  Faculty are expected to employ one or more direct measure for each student learning outcome.  Direct measures include:

1. Apply major principles learned during the course in a culminating project, such as a portfolio, concept map, research paper, or experiment. (Maki, 121)
2. Identify an opportunity for volunteer experience and participate in a volunteer activity that includes critical reflection. (Maki, 118)
3. Use an online pre-test and post-test that will be developed by Institutional Research and Assessment. (Maki, 115)
4. Use checklists or rubrics to evaluate activities (Maki, 121) (Walvoord,19)
5. Use one-minute summary papers. (Angelo & Cross, 148)
6. Use a second person to read course papers and review course projects to assess student learning (with the use of a scoring rubric). (Maki, 121)

Faculty may employ other direct assessment measures as long as they provide appropriate references that indicate that the method of direct measurement is an accepted practice.

Faculty are encouraged to use a variety of direct measures to assess student learning in a course and are cautioned to not rely on only one measurement approach.

Faculty are particularly encouraged to consider the use of norm referenced surveys that are discipline-specific (such as CLEP practice exams), or that assess higher order learning outcomes, such as critical thinking.

Define the Indirect Assessment Measures you will use. Faculty are encouraged to use indirect measures for each student learning outcome to provide a more robust understanding of the impact of active and collaborative learning practices on student learning. Indirect measures include:

1. Have students assess themselves and their peers.  (Institutional Research and Assessment has an online assessment instrument that students can use to provide their self-assessment.)
2. Ask students which activities engaged them the most in learning and how and why this was so.
3. Ask students which class activities produced the most learning, and how and why.
4. Seek faculty reflection on their observations about student learning and active and collaborative learning activities, and how they are adjusting their course based on student feedback and their own observations.
5. Ask faculty to identify the student learning outcomes they are observing that are most influenced by active and collaborative learning.

Define your evaluation design. How will you collect your direct and indirect measures in a manner that enables you to identify changes in student learning outcomes due to your redesign of your course? Possible approaches include:

1. Collect baseline direct and indirect assessment data from the course, then redesign the course and teach it the following semester and collect the same assessment data.
2. If there are more than one section of a course, teach one section in the traditional manner and one using a redesigned approach, and collect the same direct and indirect measures in both courses.
3. If you have multiple sections of a course, you can use a commercially developed normative evaluation in all sections and compare the results between traditional and redesigned sections

Identify results and actions taken. Clarify the lessons you learned from conducting this course redesign process, How will you change the course in the future?

References:
Angelo, Thomas A. and Cross, K. Patricia Classroom Assessment Techniques Jossey-Bass, 1993.
Maki, Peggy L. Assessing for Learning. American Association for Higher Education,  2004.
Meyers, Chet. And Jones, Thomas B. Promoting Active Learning: Strategies for the College Classroom  Jossey-Bass, 1993.
Walvoord, Barbara E. Assessment Clear and Simple Jossey-Bass, 2004.

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