REDESIGNING GENERAL PSYCHOLOGYRedesign Alliance 4th Annual Conference;

March, 2010

Presented by Dr. Megan E. Bradleymbradley@frostburg.edu

GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY

Frostburg State University (Frostburg, MD) Course enrollment:

Prior: 900 seats offered; many unfilled Now: 900 seats & near capacity

Comparison of structure: Prior: traditional lectures; N = 50 Now: active learning; N = 150

Status of project Pilot: Spring 2008 Full implementation: Fall 2008 - present

ACADEMIC PROBLEMS

Course drift & inefficiency 18 sections/year Each instructor created own syllabus, objectives,

assignments + all different textbooks

Financial difficulties at University level Unable to retrieve lost FT faculty positions Fewer FT faculty available to teach upper-level

courses requiring greater expertise Rural area difficult to find adjuncts

PLANNING Invited publishers to present products Team-approach with departmental support

Created online instructor’s manual Chose Replacement Model

N compared to prior #

ADMIT GPA*

FSU GPA*

Traditional 16% smaller 3.11 2.76

Redesign 100% larger 2.92 2.17

*Significantly different; p = .005 (eta2 = .027), p = .000 (eta2 = .075)

PLANNING

Pilot Semester for Redesign Sections In-class meetings

1x/week; active learning

Weekly online assignments with ULA help Pre-lecture quizzes Mastery Quizzes (MQ) Prejudice Activity Academic Games Self-Assessments

PILOT RESULTS

50 question common comprehensive final exam:

Redesign sections significantly better than traditional sections*

Final exam scores positively correlated with average scores on MQs r =.523, p = .000

*A one-way ANOVA of section (6 total: 2 traditional and 4 redesign) on final exam percentage grades was significant, F = 4.710, p = .000, Effect size = .90.

PILOT RESULTS

Section Size Admit GPA

FSU GPA Mean % on Final Exam

Section 1Traditiona

l

42 3.02 2.72 67.5%

Section 2Traditiona

l

42 3.21 2.81 69%

Section 3Redesign

100 2.95 2.46 75.3%

Section 4 Redesign

100 2.89 2.08 75%

ACADEMIC ISSUES

Resolved: No more Course Drift & Inefficiency

18 sections to 6 sections Common objectives, syllabus, text, prep time, etc.

No longer feeling impact of continued financial difficulties Reallocated FT faculty to upper-level courses Require fewer adjuncts

PILOT REDESIGN ISSUES & IMPLEMENTATION SOLUTIONS

Comprehensive final exam too much 3 unit exams Reduced overall coverage

“Deadline Disorder” Reduced to: MQs, Discussions, Prejudice Activity 2 weeks to complete

Students not ready for blended design Required computer lab 1x/wk

PILOT REDESIGN ISSUES & IMPLEMENTATION SOLUTIONS

Students needed more in-class assistance Updated instructor’s manual to include brief

direct instruction & clicker questions

Needed more campus-wide support Held 3 workshops on redesign Implemented student support services programs

Tutoring, Supplemental Instruction Wellness Initiative Learning Communities

FULL IMPLEMENTATION RESULTS

Pilot: 30.33% rate Full: 7.97%

43 Common Questions “Deadline Disorder”

*A one-way ANOVA of section (3 total) on common question percentage was significant, F = 25.852, p = .000, Effect size = .825.

COST SAVINGS Course cost per

student Prior: $89/student Now: $26/student

71% decrease 1 FT position

Catching the redesign spirit Redesigned full

major Saved 5-7 additional

adjunct positions

Real savings to students Reduced textbook

costs

Please email me with any questions:Dr. Megan E. Bradley~ mbradley@frostburg.edu