THE BACKWARD DESIGN OF A LARGE-SECTION ENVIRONMENTAL GEOLOGY CORE COURSE:

OR HOW I LEARNED TO STOP WORRYINGAND APPRECIATE ROCKS

FACULTY DEVELOPMENT DAY

RIDER UNIVERSITY

MAY 19, 2005

SESSION C

JONATHAN M. HUSCH

SOME COURSE BACKGROUND

• Course evolved from ISP projects• Expanded ISP projects into a course fulfilling the

non-lab science core requirement• Replaced a very inappropriate core course, The

Earth• Course demographics: Until recently has been

dominantly sophomore and above; majority are liberal arts and business majors fulfilling their non-lab science core requirement

COURSE PURPOSES AND GOALS 1

• Based on the premise that “society exists by geological consent, subject to change without notice”

• Want students to appreciate how connected they are to the natural world and how most everything in their lives is based on geology

• Want to expand student horizons to the national, global, and even cosmic

• Want students to appreciate the immensity of geologic time and what that implies

COURSE PURPOSES AND GOALS II

• Want students to appreciate that many “natural” disasters are caused by us; we often control whether a geologic process becomes a hazard and risk

• The course is NOT meant to make students expert in the field of environmental geology

• Course success measured by getting students interested in the subject and by having them apply what they’ve learned to their everyday lives

• Want course to be meaningful, enjoyable, and positive

WHAT I DID 1

• Systematically implemented course strategies in 2003-04 as part of my BRIDGE project

• Used IF-AT exam format; allows for learning to take place during the exam

• Used 1-2 minute extra credit “pop quizzes”• Held review sessions before each exam and

required students to have already reviewed the material and formulate questions

• Created a course e-mail list for communicating with class and responding to individual students

WHAT I DID II

• Most significantly, I posted my course lecture notes on the web. Students access the notes and other course material, including exam sample questions (and answers) and textbook web site, by clicking on links in the course’s interactive syllabus

SOME QUALITATIVE RESULTS 1

• Despite initial concerns to the contrary, posting course lecture notes makes students more engaged and involved; they focus less on writing down every word I say and more on what I’m saying

• Class absences have less impact on performance because of access to accurate lecture notes; attendance policy reduces possible absenteeism

• E-mail list acts as a class forum moderated by me• Students use e-mail list to create virtual study

groups, an unintended, but positive consequence

SOME QUALITATIVE RESULTS II

• Although not originally intended as such, the review sessions act similarly to the “muddiest point” Classroom Assessment Technique (CAT) of Angelo and Cross (1993)

• Again, although not originally intended as such, the extra-credit pop quizzes act similarly to the “minute paper” CAT of Angelo and Cross (1993)

• Pop quizzes also provide students with a “no penalty” red flag for what they may not know, but need to

SOME QUANTITATIVE RESULTS

80.6

84.484 84.3

78

79

80

81

82

83

84

85

S99-F00(4)

F01-F02(3)

F03-F04(3)

F03-S04(2)*

AVG EXAMGRADES

•Values in parentheses give the number of semesters over which the average is calculated• *F04 semester had ~50% freshmen enrolled and the lowest exam average since F00 when the IF-AT exam format was adopted; F03-S04 exam averages, when lecture notes were available, are almost identical to the F01-F02 average, when the lecture notes were not posted on the web • Only significant change in exam average due to switch to IF-AT exam format, starting with the F01 semester

SOME FINAL THOUGHTS

• Original course purposes and goals, for the most part, have been successfully met; students get it

• Student satisfaction with the course appears high; average grade (B) is not out of line with Rider average

• Course withdrawal rates are low, as are the number of D and F grades (there are always students who work very hard at doing very poorly)

• For 2005 Summer Development Fellowship, I will be applying many of the same techniques and strategies to Introduction to Environmental Sciences (ENV100)

ROCK ON!