Department of Psychology Introduction to Psychology: Northern Arizona University K. LAURIE DICKSON, MICHELLE MILLER, & DERRICK WIRTZ Review of Goals and Parameters: Large (2,000/year) foundational, survey-style class Traditionally, 8-11 uncoordinated sections per year Student engagement 63% study 5 classes Student learning and achievement Enrollment pressure and cost issues Consistency of student experience Reliance on non-permanent staff Wide range of failure, withdraw rates across sections Faculty perceptions and participation

Department of Psychology Overview of the Redesign Supplemental approach Goals: Promote learning and success, engagement, consistency, cost efficiency, faculty participation Assessment: 25-item test of psychology knowledge; student opinion survey, successful completion Large team-taught F2F section – 400 students/section (back to back, for 800/semester) – Doubling of the largest traditional section sizes Pedagogical Features – Web assignments – Required, repeatable online quizzes – SRS for required attendance, in-class assessment – Early intervention system Organization and Staffing – Coordinator – Tenure-Track Instructors – Team Approach to GTA Supervision

Department of Psychology Addition to the Redesign Plan: Fully Online Introduction to Psychology Institutional need for web-only offering Cost effectiveness, staffing and course building have been the major barriers Prior assessment has demonstrated that student learning is NOT a barrier 22-person section taught in Winter as a pilot, Spring 09 as full implementation (cap of 100) Co-designed by experienced adjunct and TT faculty “Master template created” collaboratively Teaching done by adjunct

Department of Psychology Results: Fall 2008 Learning Mean performance in large redesigned section went from 31.2% (pre-test) to 40.2% (post-test), or.72 of one SD. Second best improvement ever recorded for F2F version of this course; also note that the section that exceeded this had a much higher drop rate. Student Success D/F grades (25%), drop rates (4%) midway between comparison sections of traditional courses taught by full-time faculty Note increased demands on students, work completion pattern associated with D and F grades Student Engagement Self-reported study hours 46.8% 1-2 hours; 43% 3-4 hours Participation/attendance averaged 72% (median 81%)

Department of Psychology Other Impacts Early Intervention Positive response to proactive contact Study skills workshops Student Response System and Online Quizzes Perceptions radically improved from pilot to implementation Students endorsed SRS usefulness, promoting attention/connectedness Students strongly endorsed usefulness of quizzes Cost Savings Sections/year: 11 -> 8 Number of instructors: 7 -> 4 (including coordinator) Cost per student: $62 -> $43 Savings contribute to: Honors Freshman Seminar Undergraduate Research Experience (3x increase)

Department of Psychology Lessons Learned and Future Directions Multi-method, incremental approach “Grassroots” input from GTAs Managing student communications Framing class features to students Team teaching and faculty buy-in Future impacts on students and NAU 90% of teaching will be done by full-time faculty Dramatic increase in richness, challenge level, consistency Impact on student expectations for later courses Creation of the NAU Course Redesign Team, directed by Michelle Miller with support from Karen Pugliesi, Vice Provost – Academic Affairs