My field experience will be conducted in the department of computing sciences at Coastal Carolina University (CCU) during the Fall 2018 semester. My on-site supervisor will be Dr. William Jones, former department chair and current computer science curriculum committee chair. Brief history: Acting as course coordinator for the CSCI 140 Introduction to Algorithms I (Java programming) course, I conducted an evaluation of the course content while completing EDIT 677, Assessments in Spring 2018. Results of the assessment suggested the need to find a better way to engage students both internally and external to the classroom. The faculty agreed to change the (then) current static textbook with online resources to a more dynamic textbook that includes built-in practice activities (Zybooks).
My duties will be to help CSCI 140 instructors transition to the new content and determine new pedagogy, if needed. The primary goal of course coordination is to ensure that students across all sections are exposed to the same content. My goal for this project is to create a CSCI 140 faculty on-boarding package to assist in configuring the Zybook tool and maintaining a common structure for the course in Moodle. I will work with the current course faculty to ensure that the training is sufficient and make changes based on suggestions. Also, templates will be created (allowing faculty to simply fill-in information for student information in Moodle) and course lab materials developed. There are four faculty in total. Three are prior instructors for the course and have a wealth of content for the course that must be matched to the content available in Zybooks. They have not worked with this tool before and want guidance on configuring it appropriately for student benefit and improved learning. One instructor has not taught the course before and is seeking guidance for the course structure. This instructor is very familiar with Zybooks and will be an asset in this development process.
I will align my duties to the provided SLOs as described below: Student Learning Outcome 1. Develop a shared vision to lead an instructional technology innovation to improve teaching, learning and performance for a professional audience. Develop a course on-boarding package for faculty to ensure commonality between all sections of CSCI 140. Developing training and creating a common structure for this course will support a shared vision that students in all sections (currently, four) will receive exposure to the same content (the course is a pre-requisite for many upper-level computer science and information systems degree program courses). The consistent usage of the Zybook tool and associated content will benefit students and make semester start-up easier for faculty.
Student Learning Outcome 2. Collaborate with decision-makers to evaluate and select technology tools and strategies that improve teaching, learning and performance. Based on the assessment results presented to the CSCI 140 Spring 2018 faculty, the decision was made to change the course textbook and technology from Wiley and WileyPlus to Zybooks. This change allows students to have a more engaging, practical experience asynchronous to the class, but created a need for training in the new material for course faculty (and possibly a new course structure). Successful transition to this new technology this semester and support by targeted (current) faculty will determine its continued use in the second course of this series, CSCI 150. Additionally, it will ease the transition for faculty in both courses. A survey will be provided to faculty to evaluate success and modify training content accordingly.
Student Learning Outcome 3. Conduct needs assessments to inform the design of technology enhanced learning experiences for professional audiences. A needs assessment will be conducted to determine faculty knowledge and experience with Zybooks. A survey will also be provided to determine what faculty believe was formally missing from the course structure and how the Zybook tool can improved their content presentation and student engagement.
Student Learning Outcome 4. Design, develop and implement technology enhanced learning experiences that demonstrate best practices for adult learners. Using Zybooks may require a pedagogy change to match the available resources. This includes the now missing presentation material and labs. To make sure all sections are exposed to the same content, a group of material will be created to assist faculty in tool configuration, assignment set-up, and general course structure in Moodle. Slides decks with learning objectives will be provided so faculty can include their own lecture content, but still focus on the needed material. Webinar training was developed for faculty for Zybook content and will be integrated into the package for future use. A file hosting area is available on OneDrive to store training package to include previously mentioned content plus presentation material, semester schedule, and labs.
Student Learning Outcome 5. Evaluate the results of technology enhanced learning experiences for professional audiences to measure impact and guide future improvement. Create surveys to determine faculty experience and to provide suggestions. Meet monthly to discuss progress.
Student Learning Outcome 6. Apply best practices in effective project management to an instructional technology innovation initiative. I will use skills learned from my instructional design courses and my knowledge of project management to initiate and plan the new course technology. Execution and monitoring the use of Zybooks and developed resources/content will occur during the Fall 2018 semester. Upon closing out the semester, I will analyze the success (benefit to students and faculty) of using Zybooks and developed content, to determine what changes are needed and to help implement the same structure in the follow-up course.
Student Learning Outcome 7. Demonstrate continuous evaluation of professional knowledge and practices to improve the design, development and implementation of technology-enhanced learning experiences. Surveys and monthly meetings will be used to continuously evaluation and improve design, development, and implementation of Zybooks.