Download - Nancy Kerner, Brenda Gunderson, and more The University of Michigan Innovative Use of MERLOT
Nancy Kerner, Brenda Gunderson, and more
The University of Michigan
Innovative Use of MERLOT
Outline
• The Challenge
• The Barriers
• The Proposed Solution
• The Outcomes
• The Impact
The Challenge
To improve undergraduate education by integrating quality cross-discipline and course-specific Learning Objects
(LOs) into undergraduate courses
What BARRIERS do you perceive to using technology in teaching or learning?
Don’t know how to implement
Extra work, little connection
Takes too much time
I spend too much time on it
Students don’t know how to use it
Don’t have tech support
Too complicated
Too expensive
I don’t have the skills
Doesn’t work on my computer
Low Barrier High Barrier
http://carat.umich.edu/carat/itsurs/2005_survey
The Proposed Solution
• Educate graduate students across disciplines to access, evaluate, design LOs; and to create quality course-specific and cross-discipline LO collections.
• Graduate students disseminate theseLO collections and designed LOs to relevant faculty for integration into undergraduate courses
The trainee becomes the trainer
The Proposed Solution:Unique Collaborative Approach
Graduate StudentTeacher(s)
Faculty/Staff Mentor(s)
+MERLOT
Faculty
• Interest in tech + pedagogy• Train to find and critically
evaluate online LOs• Train to author and package
LOs for classroom use
• MERLOT knowledgeable• Guidance on best
practices for enhancing teaching and learning
• Provide schedule of topics and concepts
• Provide insight on muddy points and desirable LOs
The Proposed Solution:Why MERLOT collaboration?
• LO resource growing exponentially • LO evaluation criteria• Grape Camp reviewer training• Ability to submit LOs and
create LO collections • Power of affiliation with a global
teaching and learning community
5. Produce MERLOT review6. Create course LO collection7. Training: designing LOs8. Implementation of LOs
The Proposed Solution:Training & Implementation Process
Month 1
Month 2
Month 3
Month 4
Month 5
Month 6
1
2
1.Introductions and start of monthly meetings2.UM workshops (Enriching Scholarship)3.MERLOT Grape Camp4.Interview Faculty regarding needs
78
56
4
3
45
6
Rushing is not an option
The Outcomes:Access, Evaluate, Start LO Collections
Months 3 and 4:• MERLOT Grape Camp completed• Faculty from targeted courses
interviewed regarding LO needs• LO course-specific collections
in process of being built
The Outcomes:Faculty LO Preferences (Psychology)
A Personal Collection of Peer Reviewed LOs
on MERLOT
An Innovative End of Term Assignment• Intro Psych students pick own “muddiest point”
• Student = para-peer reviewer found, reviewed, recommended LO to address muddiest point
• Students submitted mini-review of LO and recommendation for why and how to implement in course
Para-Peer Reviewers
The Outcomes:Unique Discipline-Specific Collection Building
The Outcomes:Unique Discipline-Specific Collection Building
Students recommended many quality LOspreviously overlooked or undiscovered
Pavlov’s Dog- A classical conditioning simulationCataloged in: Science&Technology/Biology/Zoology
Mouse Party- A simulation for examining the effect of common illicit drugs at the synaptic level Cataloged in: Science&Technology/Chemistry/Biochemistry
The Outcomes: Integration of Collections and Individual LOs
• Entire Collection available within course– Listing based on course objectives
– Provided within syllabus or on website
• Individual LOs integrated within course– Choice based on needs vs type of learning object
– Choice focused on LOs that address difficult concepts or skills
Collection Listing for Student Use in Course
Atomic Structure:
• First 11 Elements
• Interactive Discussion
• In Depth Discussion
• Interactive Presentation
Balancing Equations:
• Practice Calculator
Math:
•In Depth Discussion
Periodic Table:
•In Depth Discussion
• Interactive PT
• Interactive Trends
•Interactive PT
Bonding::
• Interactive Presentation
• Electron Density
• Structure of Matter
Water:
• Interactive Presentation
Chemistry 125 Background LOs
The Outcomes: IntegrationUsing The Imperfect LO (Statistics)
• Many excellent LOs have flaw (inconsistent notation, lack of directions) poor as standalone resource.
• How can an imperfect LO be incorporated into class?
• By “packaging” the resource, instructor can guide students’ interaction with imperfect LO.
18
The Excellent, But Imperfect LO from Statistics
The Outcomes: Integration Using The Imperfect LO (Statistics)
19
The Outcomes: Integration Using The Imperfect LO (Statistics)
The Packaged LOSee more tomorrow 10-10:30 San Simeon
The Outcomes: Design of Learning Objects
• LO Unavailable? Design an LO:– 1: Identify Curriculum Need– 2: Select Relevant Content– 3: Choose Type of Material– 4: Design LO Layout– 5: Create Layout Posters
• Produce the LO– Faculty/staff mentor or student studying programming
Some typical lectures….
Hurray for
Dynamics!
Quantumis
FUN Harmonic Oscillator Phase Space Free Particle Wavepacket Spread
But what
does the time
dependence look like?
The Outcomes: Integration Bringing Lectures to Life (Quantum Physics)
Created LOs to show what time dependence looks like
The Outcomes: Integration Making Homework Interactive (Quantum Physics)
Guided tutorial style homework
Created an LO and ‘packaged’ it into guided HW
See more tomorrow 10-10:30 Santa Clara
The Outcomes: Cross-disciplinary LO Collection
• Success in any course demands a solid foundation in a variety of basic academic skills
What exactly is a “research paper”?
The Outcomes: Cross-Disciplinary LO Collection
• Freshman typically have had little experience with writing a research paper
• Use of internet search engines often results in students citing unprofessional sources where anyone can post information
The Outcomes: Cross-disciplinary LO Collection
• Cross-discipline “seed” collection of 15 LOs –Collection built from common cross-discipline
(chemistry, psychology, and statistics) topics and LO choices
• 2nd Generation collection in development–Additional disciplines (math, languages,
physics, writing) provide input
The Impact
Intro Stats
3000 students
Intro Chemistry2900 students
Intro Psych800 students
Calculus I, II, III3000 students
Intro Physics1200 students
Spanish
200 students
Composition1500 students
Year One Total = 5100 students
Year One + Year Two = 12,000 students
Thank You to …
UM Team Members– Nancy Kerner– Brenda Gunderson– Brian Malley– Dave Childers– Jay Holden– Joel Vaughn– Porscha McRobbie – Kira Gallagher– Damian Khan– Noah Gardner– Tanya Breault– Adena Rottenstein
UM Support– Victor Wong– Lynne Crandall– Chase Masters
MERLOT
And YOU … for coming
Any Questions?