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Lynn Tashiro

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Part 1, participants present their existing patterns and practices of course design. Each participant will attempt to identify at least one relevant idea from each presentation that may enrich their own design approaches. [**//This won//** **//’ //****//t require much preparation. We //****//’ //****//ll take a few minutes to present our present planning practices. We //****//’ //****//ll look for something in the presentation to help ourselves.] //**

__Existing Pattern of course design for GNST21: __

• The original course was designed ten years ago collaboratively by administrators, faculty and student affairs. GNST21 is a three unit area E General Education course. The topics of the course were selected based on the theme “What does it mean to be an educated person?”. My impression is that the course topics were selected and a commercially available (in contrast to a custom) first year reader was selected. Faculty shared curriculum through professional development meetings conducted twice a year.

• My personal practice of course design is to begin with course and content area learning objectives, design assessments to generate evidence of achieving the objectives, and create curricular activities to support student learning of the objectives. The process begins linearly, but really ends up being a cyclical process. Student learning objectives, assessment, and curriculum modifications all affect one another.

Relevant ideas from other people (both in the group and outside the group): • Locate the research on teaching and learning. • See what others have done in this areas, both success and failure are important • What does the University value (fiscal efficiency? Large classes, online components?) and how does this course fit into facilitating graduation and student retention?

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13pt;">Part 2, using material from the resource list attached, participants will research at least 1 approach to design (e.g. Fink, or Richlin or Wiggin, etc.) and present on the FLC wiki 1) an abstract of each author <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica','sans-serif'; font-size: 13pt;">’ <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13pt;">s conceptual approach, 2) an exemplar of that approach and 3) a critique of it. (Related to goal #2) **//[The idea is to create a//** **//<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica','sans-serif'; font-size: 13pt;">“ //****//<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13pt;">catalogue //****//<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica','sans-serif'; font-size: 13pt;">” //****//<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13pt;">of approaches for us and other to use in thinking about our courses. In term of the product for Project #2, think in terms of three paragraphs: 1) a few sentences that describe the essential principles that seem to drive the approach you examined; 2) a brief example that could be hypothetical or drawn from your work; 3) A paragraph that critiques the approach //****//<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica','sans-serif'; font-size: 13pt;">— //****//<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13pt;">a strength or limitation; whatever you wish to say about it //****//<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica','sans-serif'; font-size: 13pt;">“ //****//<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13pt;">editorially. //****//<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica','sans-serif'; font-size: 13pt;">” //****//<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13pt;">Please post on the wiki page titled, Design Approaches.] //**

<span style="color: blue; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Design Approaches:

<span style="color: blue; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">I read Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education, Chickering and Gamson. **__<span style="color: blue; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">I. A few sentences to describe the essential principles: __** <span style="color: blue; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">• Good practice in undergraduate education: <span style="color: blue; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;">1. Encourages Contacts between students and faculty <span style="color: blue; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;">2. Develops Reciprocity and Cooperation Among Students <span style="color: blue; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;">3. Uses Active Learning Techniques <span style="color: blue; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;">4. Gives prompt feedback <span style="color: blue; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;">5. Emphasizes Time on Task <span style="color: blue; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;">6. Communicates High Expectations <span style="color: blue; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; tab-stops: 332.55pt; tabstops: 332.55pt;">7. Respects Diverse Talents and Ways of Learning <span style="color: blue; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">• Whose Responsibility is it [to learn]? Administrators should support: <span style="color: blue; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;">•shared purpose <span style="color: blue; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;">• support from administration <span style="color: blue; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;">• adequate funding <span style="color: blue; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;">• consistent policies <span style="color: blue; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;">• continuous examination of how objectives are being achieved

**__<span style="color: blue; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">II. Brief example of each principle: __** <span style="color: blue; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">1. Encourages Contacts between Students and Faculty: Examples included Freshman Seminar. In this model of freshman seminar faculty members lead discussion groups in courses outside their fields of specialization to model for students what it means to be a learner.

<span style="color: blue; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">2. Develops Reciprocity and Cooperation Among Students: Examples: Learning Groups in large lecture sections that meet regularly, use of peer tutors. Use of Learning Communities linking several courses together thematically. In this Learning Community model faculty teaching the courses integrate activities while an additional faculty member called the “master learner” takes the courses with the students and runs a seminar that integrates the ideas together.

<span style="color: blue; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">3. Uses Active Learning Techniques: Examples: structured exercises, team projects, peer critiques, and student research projects on social issues or science inquiries. <span style="color: blue; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">4. Gives prompt feedback: Students need frequent and prompt feedback on formative and summative assessments. Assessment must be conducted. Examples: Diagnostic tests, portfolios, peer feedback and multiple drafts in writing courses. <span style="color: blue; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">5. Emphasizes Time on Task: Effective Time management. Examples: Mastering learning, contract learning, computer assisted instruction document and require time on task. Workshops, intensive residential programs that provide flexible weekend and summer course blocks <span style="color: blue; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">6. Communicates High Expectations. Examples: Bringing in underprepared students into workshops for study skills, test taking and time management etc. Establishing an honors program for minority students (UC Berkeley) <span style="color: blue; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">7. Respects Diverse Talents and Ways of Learning. Examples: Individualized degree programs and personalized systems of instruction. Contract learning, courses that have you reflect on your learning styles. Offer options of computer based courses and lecture based courses for different learning styles.

<span style="color: blue; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Whose Responsibility is it [to learn]? Administrators should support: <span style="color: blue; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">• shared purpose – Examples - alignment of institutional and departmental goals with course design goals – SACTE grant in NSM <span style="color: blue; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">• support from administration – Administration supports the offering of FYE courses and gives control of funding for FY seminar to FYE <span style="color: blue; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">• adequate funding – during tough budget times it is necessary to be resourceful and seek outside funding from both private (ex textbook publishers) and government (Sac State, UEI, NSF, Dept of Ed.) agencies <span style="color: blue; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">• consistent policies – Although many policies at Sac State are not consistent between colleges and amongst departments administration of FY seminar is mandated to be consistent. This is critical to maintaining equity in funding and quality of course content and teaching. <span style="color: blue; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">• continuous examination of how objectives are being achieved – FYE does an annual report that has both self reported student achievement and satisfaction, sampling and assessment of student essays against a rubric, and CMS data on retention rates, GPA, and graduation rates.

**__<span style="color: blue; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">III. A paragraph that critiques the approach—a strength or limitation; whatever you wish to say about it “editorially.” __** <span style="color: blue; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">These principles are all good however they are very general and leave it to the reader to figure out how to apply these practically in their own discipline and institutional setting. For example encouraging contacts between students and faculty has different meaning and constraints at a large public Research 1 institution than it does in a small private liberal arts college. Another example is what exactly does “giving prompt feedback” mean? In a Physics class this might mean giving “just in time” instruction as students work in groups or individually solving a numeric problem or testing a lab experiment. In a Multicultural Film class this might mean giving written feedback on a paper topic one week later. Most faculty want to know how the principles relate to them in their institutional setting in their discipline and mode of instruction.

<span style="color: blue; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Project Presentation <span style="color: blue; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">