june 2010. spectrum of approaches: completely online – no classroom sessions virtual classroom...

June2010

Spectrum of Approaches:

• Completely online – no classroom sessions• Virtual classroom sessions with teacher “live”• One required classroom session/week, plus a

required number of self-scheduled lab sessions (U of Alabama model)

• Daily classroom sessions, divided between lecture and online work (UW-Stout model)

• Traditional daily classroom sessions with lecture and paper-pencil work; all online work done outside of class

Typical Class Session on a Lecture or Review Day in the UW-Stout Model:

1. Q & A on homework/practice quiz due that day

2. Lecture on new section or quiz/test review

3. Start online assignment (homework or practice quiz) in class, with teacher and tutor circulating to provide help

Homework, Tests, and Quizzes:

• We allow homework to be done anywhere, unproctored. Students can and do sometimes work together on these assignments, but each student gets a unique set of questions, so wholesale copying is generally not a problem.

• We require quizzes and tests to be taken in a proctored setting, either in the classroom on scheduled test/quiz days or in the tutor lab or director/coordinator’s office area for early takers or makeups.

Course Calendar Development: 1. Section/Topic Coverage and Homework Due

Dates:

• Section coverage: We cover 1 section most days; occasionally 2 sections/day or 1 section/2 days.

• Online problem set size: Our homework problem sets typically number anywhere from 10-50 problems.

– Our target is a median “time spent” of 90 minutes.

– Adjust after first semester to get average of assignment medians at 90 minutes with a range of 60-120 minutes.

• Homework deadlines: We strongly recommend having the homework for each section due at the start of the class period the day after it’s covered in lecture.

2. Review Days:

• Rationale: Allowing a review day before each quiz and test lets students digest the material for that unit.

• This also encourages completion of practice test/quiz. (With no new homework assignment due on day of quiz/test, students have time to complete the practice quiz/test.)

• Review Day Class Sessions:

– Short review lecture covering major topics and common problems. (Use Item Analysis function to see which problems are taking students longest to figure out.)

– Questions from students who have started the practice quiz/test.

– Time for students to start the practice quiz/test in class.

Course Calendar Development (ct’d) :

3. Quizzes and Tests:

• Frequency:

– Quiz every 3 to 5 sections.

– Test after every 2 to 3 quizzes.

• Practice Versions:

– Rationale: Simulate conditions of test vs. homework (timed, no online help)

– Format: One and a half times as many questions as regular test; one and a half times as much time allowed.

– Number of tries: We now allow unlimited tries.

– Points: We now give ~10% of points on regular test/quiz; only the best score of all tries counts.

Course Calendar Development (ct’d) :

Sample Calendar:

(Blank calendar form [1C_1] and sample syllabus/calendar [1C_2] are available in your workshop notebook and on the workshop CD.)

Course Polices

– Independent Contracts:• Conditions?• Start date?• Contract forms

Sample Independent Contract:(See notes packet and CD for sample contract form [1C_3].)

C. Grading PolicesItems to Consider:

– Determine category weights • Homework• Quizzes/tests• Attendance/other

– Determine number of items in each category

– Assign weights to each item in category

Sample Grading Policy:(See notes packet and CD for sample grading policy in

syllabus/calendar file [1C-2].)

Quiz Days in the Classroom:• 5-10 minutes for Q&A on practice quiz questions

• Hand out worksheets and give out the password

• 30-40 minutes allowed for taking the quiz depending on length and content

• Students must turn in worksheets when finished (Have them write their score in designated area at top of sheet)

• No lecture on new section before/after quiz• Students can see their score after submitting, but

can’t review questions/answers until after all sections have taken the quiz (We set a common expiration time at the end of the last class session for the day, and we set the review option to “after deadline has expired”)

Sample Quiz Worksheet

(Included in your workshop

notebook and on workshop website

and CD-ROM)

Test Days:• Warn students to be on time or a few minutes

early, so they can be booted up, logged in, and ready to go at scheduled start time of class period.

• Distribute worksheets to desks before class starts.

• Give password at start of class period.• Again, students can see their score after

submitting, but can’t review questions/answers until after all sections have taken the test.

• Collect worksheets as students leave.

Coordinating Lecture Content Between Different Sections of Same Course:

Trade-off: Consistency between instructors vs. flexibility for personal teaching styles.

At minimum, try for:

• Consistent content – Outline of key points – List of sample problems to cover

• Relatively consistent length, allowing some time for starting online homework on most days.

Lecture Formats:

• Slides (Basic PowerPoint slide sets are available online in the Instructor Resources area of your Control Panel)

• Blackboard/Whiteboard

• Sample problem web page (To be covered by Bruce Johnston)

• Combination of methods

Attendance:• Why give attendance points?

• What percentage of the grade should attendance represent?

• What should be the criterion for giving them?

Some possible options:• For being present• For participating• Combination of these approaches

Attendance/Participation Points:

• Recording Methods:– Calling roll– Seating chart– Pass around a sign-in sheet– Use an online check-in (e.g., a 1-problem assignment)– Use an offline assignment (paper quiz/homework problem)

• Suggestions for entering these in Gradebook:– Set up offline items in Other category– Enter once weekly

Tip for entering attendance points (or any offline item in “other” category):

Enter via Homework/Test Manager instead of through Gradebook.

Attendance Record Template: (Copy included in workshop notebook, workshop website and CD.)

Alternative Method of Taking Attendance

Seating Chart Method

In-class Time for Working on Assignments:

• Encourage use of “live help” (teacher or tutor) vs. over-reliance on online help, especially “view an example” feature – (Reminder: You can turn off some or all online help aids in

homework assignments, in the “Settings” area of HW/Test Mgr)

• Encourage discussion among students while working on homework.

• We allow students to leave class early only if they show us the 100% score on their computer screen