1. Products / Reflections / … UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES?
NW Biology instructors Conference 2017
WHEN THREE DEPARTMENTS TRY TO DESIGN A CLASS . . .
Weber State University
Barb Trask, Sue Harley, Matt Domek
VISION – To address various issues, including time to finish a degree, by establishing a common introductory, general education Biology course for three separate life science departments, Zoology, Botany, and Microbiology
MAIN GOAL– Since October, we have established regular meetings to discuss what instructional and program goals a common course needs to meet and how to meet these needs within the course design.
Photos should be at least 300dpi, but not more than 5-12 mgs each. Your poster is set to be enlarged 200% so do not change the page size to fit another poster size. Posters (3’ x 4’) will be printed at WWU using the same purchase order at the same time. Please your poster as a PPT file to by Joann Otto at WWU by Wednesday, April 21, 2017, by 5 pm. Please contact Joann Otto with questions about poster printing. Also please put your institution “logo” on your poster.
Please note that this template is provided to simplify your effort to prepare a poster for the NW Biology meeting. You can change the font size, colors, column widths, add photos, institutional logos, graphics, etc. This template can also be used as a starting point and you can be as creative as you want in your poster. However, we would like to have all of the posters the same size and we will be printed at the same time, at the same print shop in order to easily pay for printing with one purchase order.
Products / Reflections / …
ACTIONS
BARRIERS & CHALLENGES
Realization that we are changing not just three separate introductory classes but three curricula
Faculty resistance to merging of departments in any way
Resources required to teach the class: laboratory space and equipment, lab support staff
Trusting someone from outside your department to teach the class
Expected Products: at least one new course proposal, three curriculum revisions, uniform learning objectives across three departments
Assessments: new assessment rubrics for instructional effectiveness, student course evaluations, faculty feedback, program reviews
To date we have accomplished:
Fine tuning of the goal in light of the realization of the extent of the ripple effect that such a class will have on curricula as a whole
Currently using the Iceberg Model as we examine the current situation to identify what works and what does not work
SUSTAINABILITY
Data needed to sustain departmental transformation:
decreased time to graduation
increased number of majors
increased retention of majors
positive feedback from students, employers, post-baccalaureate programs
RESOURCES & ALLIES
STRENGTHS & LEVERAGE
At this early stage in the planning process, the main resource we are using is the Vision and Change document and materials we found online for assessing curricular alignment with Vision and Change.
Dean’s support
Department chairs open to the possibilities that a common core class opens up
Faculty interested in implementation of active learning strategies
The Faculty Senate just approved a new general education model with a focus on cross-cutting learning outcomes and signature assignments. Now is a good time to design a class with the new model in mind.
FUTURE GOALS
UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES?
Completion of course design with implementation of Vision and Change learning objectives
Development of appropriate assessment tools for the change
We need to look at terminal learning outcomes of the programs and the paths that students take to reach them.
We need to consult with the departments whose courses we use for support, such as Chemistry.
This work was supported in part by an NSF RCN UBE award #