Developing Successful Students Through Course Redesign Kate Demarest, CPA Carroll Community College Briefly discuss teaching assignment and Carroll Community College (location, size, type of students).

Carroll Community College Located in Westminster, MD Total student body – 4,000 full- and part-time students Average class size – 20 students Age: Under age 20: 44%  Age 20-29: 37%  Age 30 and above: 19%

Principles of Accounting ACCT 101 – financial accounting ACCT 102 – financial and managerial accounting Annual enrollment in Principles of Accounting – 400 Who are our students? Business majors Accounting majors CPA examination candidates with bachelor’s degrees

2008: What wasn’t working Many students failed or dropped Principles of Accounting classes. Grade distributions were below departmental and college norms. Faculty were frustrated by students’ lack of success but didn’t know how to fix the problem. Students were inconsistently prepared for subsequent courses. Large amount of inconsistency among course sections.

The likely suspect - homework All instructors were assigning homework, but few collected the homework. Among those collecting homework, instructors found it overwhelming to provide feedback or a grade.

Reasons for not completing homework Students perceived a weak link between completion of homework and their performance on tests or semester grade. Students who attempted the homework often got stuck and gave up.

Principles of Accounting – before redesign Instructors summarized and reviewed the chapter content. Homework was assigned for each chapter but not collected. Homework was reviewed during class, but few students completed the homework. “Freshmen don’t do optional.” Carolyn Jarmon, NCAT Class grade was based on assignments, tests, and participation.

The Redesign Replacement Model redesign – blended face-to-face and online instruction Redesign was for all course sections of accounting 1 and 2 and covered all content in the course. The goal of the redesign was that students would learn more. We chose to use MyAccountingLab as a base for homework.

Principles of Accounting – after redesign Instructors summarized and reviewed the chapter content. Homework was assigned for each chapter and students completed homework using MyAccountingLab software. Instructors reviewed the results of homework and emphasized key points. Instructors continued to spend time reviewing problems, but less class time spent on foundational concepts. More time on spent reviewing advanced problems during class, with focus on hands on group activities. Class grade was based on homework, tests, and participation.

Implementation MyAccountingLab software was piloted during summer 2008 with two Principles of Accounting classes. Beginning in fall 2008, MyAccountingLab was used for all Principles of Accounting 1 classes. Full implementation across all Principles of Accounting 1 and 2 classes began in 2009.

Student perceptions Using the MyAccountingLab software: Helped when students were “stuck” or didn’t know the next step.

Student perceptions Using the MyAccountingLab software: Was more realistic than using paper and pencil. Made accounting more fun and interesting.

Student perceptions Sheila Huskey, Principles of Accounting 1 If the MyAccountingLab homework were not required, I would not do it. I would also probably fail the class. I prefer MyAccountingLab over paper homework because I get automatic feedback. Also when I start doing it, I have a strange motivation to keep going and finish it where if it was on paper I would quit. The practice has helped me a lot. You can describe how to drive a car all you want but they can't drive it well without practice.

Student perceptions With MyAccountingLab, I can complete homework anywhere I have internet access. Although, I still consult my text frequently, I find that I can learn just about everything in the text (general concepts) by use of MyAccountingLab and it's resources. I think it is saving my back, since I don't have to struggle with carrying the large textbook around all the time. Joseph Benedict, Principles of Accounting 1 The repetition of problems on the MyAccountingLab homework has been extremely helpful.  Doing the problems in class on paper presents accounting in a different way.  With MyAccountingLab only, there would be a tendancy over the long term to become "lazy" and not fully understand accounting. Tom Cossentino, Principles of Accounting 1

Instructional perspective Across course sections, more than 95% of students completed all or most of the homework. Instructors had a better idea about which topics needed additional review. Course grades improved and more students were successful in the two principles courses.

Our experience Principles of Accounting 1

Our experience Principles of Accounting 2

Benefits of course redesign Grade distributions came closer the departmental average. More students earned As and Bs and fewer students earned Fs or withdrew. Students had a clearer path to success.

Resources needed Time for training for faculty Time for course setup Computer access for all students Small additional charge with textbook 10 minutes of class time on first day of class

What were the non-issues? Would students object to the additional cost of the software? Would students be able to transfer skills from the application to a paper-and-pencil test? Would part-time faculty be willing to learn the software? Would registration issues dominate the beginning of the semester?

Unexpected benefits Much richer multimedia learning experience Increased student satisfaction Greater engagement between students and faculty

Unexpected benefits Learning aids (audio PowerPoints, videos, Demo Docs) supplemented instruction: for students who missed class for students with disabilities for international students

Unexpected benefits Better tools for preparing for tests, especially the Study Plan

Unexpected benefits Much richer experience for online only students Better support for new faculty … The story doesn’t end here.

Course Redesign Next steps

Remembering what was working… Grade distributions came closer the departmental average. More students earned As and Bs and fewer students earned Fs or withdrew. Students had a clearer path to success.

Where was the performance gap? While students performed better on problems on tests during the semester, there was no significant change in performance on the multiple choice portion of tests or the standardized final.

Was this a logical consequence of our redesign? Homework involved approximately two hours of work on exercises and problems. Multiple choice questions were not a part of homework.

Redesign – phase 2 For each chapter, 10 multiple choice questions were added to the homework. Multiple choice questions were not the same questions that appeared on test nor even deliberately mapped to the test.

Principles of Accounting 1

Results Students performed better on multiple choice questions after the redesign. The performance gap increased with each successive test, demonstrating increased proficiency with multiple choice questions.

The Course Redesign Process Continues

My class today Topics are introduced in very short lecture segments. Multimedia tools used during some classes to introduce or review concepts. Most class time is spent working in small groups on short or complex problems. More time for critical thinking and application. Classroom and small group discussions can be loud and passionate. Item analysis allows me to identify where students had problems and devote extra class time to these topics. Students use the tools to prepare for class and remediate long before tests. Teaching is more fun and rewarding!

Leading Redesign on Your Campus

Key ingredients of a successful course redesign Identify the issue to be solved – poor grades, low retention, tight resources Challenge assumptions about what cannot be changed. Find a champion to lead a pilot. Use the right tool. Support faculty and students through the change process.

Questions? Kate Demarest, CPA Carroll Community College Westminster, MD kdemarest@carrollcc.edu