Re-imagining Learning Spaces – ELIXR Grant
In cooperation with the California State System, UMSL is one of 16 campuses in North America funded by an ELIXR Grant to showcase innovative course and classroom designs. Our project is titled, “Re-imagining Learning Spaces.” Five faculty members worked with CTL staff Peggy Cohen, PI, Cheryl Bielema, Project Director, Abadi Kurniawan, Project GA, and ITS staff Marcel Bechtoldt and Jim Abernathy to develop case stories which will become part of the learning objects repository, Merlot.org. ELIXR content includes relevant and useful video-based cases, such as “First Day of Class;” “Community Service Learning;” and, “Just in Time Teaching.”
UMSL Cases and Faculty Authors
Community College Leadership Program Goes Online
Kent Farnsworth, Educational Leadership & Policy Studies
Overview: Farnsworth teaches entirely online. He structures discussions to promote interactions with various groupings, both dyads and triads. He promotes the idea that the online discussion forum is the students’ “meeting and learning place.”
- Finds variety of resource materials, including video and audio clips
- Prefaces online discussion with research activities around 2-3 discussion questions
- Implements strict schedule and requirements for planning and moderating discussions.
Resources
HIRED 6476 Organization and Administration of Higher Education Annotated Syllabus
HIRED 6476 Annotated Agenda for Seminar One
Virtual Classroom Visits (VCV) Create Observations-in-Common
Carl Hoagland, Teaching and Learning
Overview: Virtual Classroom Visits came about from a grant for large-enrollment classes. In the COE, many teacher preparation courses were considered large-enrollment because collectively they involve scheduling over 200 students five times each semester to observe in K-12 classrooms.
- “Virtual Visits” focus on identifying expert teachers in urban school districts; then, work with technical staff to penetrate firewalls for the two-way interactive video conferences
- Groups of students observe 20-minutes of classroom interactions; then, spend another 20 minutes interviewing the master teacher
- Dissertation research has identified critical features for the virtual visit.
Resources
K-12 Student Permission Form
Virtual Classroom Visits: A use of technology to better prepare teachers (March, 2008)
Collaborative Design of UMSL’s Learning Studio
Bill Klein, English
Overview: Bill has always taught by engaging students actively, but admits it was more difficult to accomplish in the traditional classroom. Now, he says, “I almost feel guilty that my courses work so well in the Learning Studio.”
- Collaboration was key to the design of flexible, enhanced technology classrooms. These Learning Studios were designed by the active involvement of faculty, Information Technology managers, and Facilities planners.
- Collaboration is also essential for learning – putting students together and allowing them to adjust, move around and learn from one another
- Klein compares and contrasts teaching in a traditional classroom with a learning studio enhanced with flexible furniture, laptops and multiple projection capabilities.
Resources
Innovative Classrooms Forum Report 2006, August 8, 2006
Instructor Blogs, Spring and Summer 2007
Space_is_message_EQM0825 (April-June 2008). Educause Quarterly, 31 (2)
English 3130 Technical Writing Syllabus
English 3130 Project Assignment
Foreign Languages Redesign for Oral Proficiency
Beth Landers, Foreign Languages and Literature
Overview: Curricular change and change of learning goals preceded discussion about the use of technology – from conjugating to conversation, and from writing to functional and task-based content. All Foreign Language faculty were involved in the changes, talking, working together, and learning to use the voice tools. Critical to the process was “bottom-up” leadership.
- Language learning is inherently interactional; it was the technology (recording and play-back) that allowed this, the taking of practice and drill outside the classroom
- Students have larger vocabularies, and more expression in writing form. Assessments have also been changed to match real-world elements. Using authentic materials and achieving rich input have also increased students’ interest and motivation
- Course management system (MyGateway) has been important for the development site which serves as a repository for assignments, rubrics, and authentic learning materials.
Resources
FR 1001 Personal Ad Voiceboard Homework
FR 1002 Final Oral Presentation
SP 1002 Examen Oral Viaje Imagenes
SP 1002 Oral Presentation Self Assessment
FLL 1001 Course Guidelines and Syllabus
UMSL Objectives for Language Requirements
College Algebra Redesign for Greater Student Success
Shahla Peterman, Mathematics and Computer Science
Overview: College algebra was redesigned by changing the structure of the course, using technology, and creating a learning lab. Three lectures were replaced by one lecture and two labs. Weekly homework is done online using MyMathLab, Course Compass. Over a period of three years during which course rigor increased, student success increased from 58% to over 75%.
- The MTLC was designed to accommodate diverse student learning styles, to encourage active learning, and to build student confidence and success in mathematics. The MTLC is where weekly labs are held and where students seek help outside their class time
- Time on task is integrated in weekly assignments and strict deadlines (each “open” for eight days)
- The students are encouraged by immediate feedback from the online homework, by having access to online tutorials, and by having help from the instructors and teaching assistants who staff the lab.
Resources
UMSL_Math1030Syllabus