Faculty are invited to submit proposals for the development of online or blended learning courses through a special program administered by the Faculty Center for Professional Development, I&IT Learning, and the California State University System Chancellor's Office. The Course Transformation Project sponsored by The Designing Online Learning-Centered Environments (DOLCE) program will assist faculty in redesigning medium to high-enrollment courses available for online or blended learning delivery in a manner that retains high academic quality and efficient use of faculty time. Qualifying courses include, but are not limited to, courses currently offered to multiple sections and regularly offered required courses taught by a variety of instructors.
The intention of this program is to support the development of online and blended learning courses that will impact medium to high enrollment courses and content that may be taught by multiple instructors. In addition to faculty, the course development effort will include instructional designers and instructional technologists from I&IT and librarians to create an online or blended learning environment. As part of the online/blended learning course development, faculty will be encouraged to consider innovative instructional models, such as the variety of models used by institutions participating in the Program in Course Redesign .
A key element of successful course redesign is the team approach that could be lost in a more individual model of course redesign. Teamwork, the nucleus of the current Cal Poly Pomona course redesign efforts, will be an integral component of the proposed redesign program. Other primary objectives of the proposed program include organizing a community of practice in course redesign; training instructors to use pedagogical techniques that support effectively teaching in online and blended formats; and creating courses that are sustainable beyond the project lifetime.
Faculty participants in this redesign program will engage in a faculty learning community which will meet regularly and serve as an additional resource. This faculty learning community will become the nucleus of a community of practice in course redesign at Cal Poly Pomona.
The authoring faculty will team with an instructional designer, and a content specialist librarian. Additional instructional technology staff will be added to the team as need arises for the development of specific learning modules. A description of the campus resources involved and the extent to which the resources are required in the course redesign project will evolve throughout the program.
As a prerequisite for participation in the program, faculty must participate in the eLearning Academy where they will learn how to integrate pedagogy and e-learning technologies for student success and to effectively facilitate the online interactions.
Courses redeveloped within the proposed redesign program will be structured in such a way that will allow these courses to be reused and repurposed following the program.
In their proposals faculty should identify the course they wish to redesign for online or blended learning delivery. The proposal should describe the issues, concerns, and problems the faculty seeks to address with this course redesign effort. The proposal should indicate how the students, the department, and the university would benefit from online or blended learning delivery of the course and identify the goals they hope to achieve through the redesigned course. The proposal should include a general description of how the faculty intends to evaluate the effectiveness of the initiative.
Faculty are not expected to provide a complete plan for, or model of their redeveloped course in the proposal. An early phase of the program will be a design phase during which the faculty, with the support of an instructional design team will explore potential models and create a course development plan. The design phase has multiple purposes including (1) a map for the course development phase; (2) a means of identifying needed resources for the redesigned course, (3) a process for explicitly stating instructional objectives and learning outcomes; and (4) a representation of benchmark achievement for program administrators. To assist in the design of the course with the appropriate and effective use of technology, an instructional designer from I&IT Learning will be assigned to the team. A content/teaching librarian will also join the team to assist the group in identifying and integrating electronic learning resources into the course materials and impart library research skills appropriate to the research assignments of the course. Instructional technologists with expertise in web design, learning management systems (and related technologies), multimedia development, and video production can be called upon to assist the team in developing the learning environment for the course as well as creation and integration of learning objects into this course environment.
We anticipate that faculty will adopt a "modular" approach by developing learning objects that can be replaced as needed without significant course redesign and redevelopment. Moreover, it is hoped that some learning objects developed for online and blended learning courses will be useful in on-campus sections of the same course as well as refined for use in related courses.
Proposals are due by January 18, 2008 for projects to begin during the Winter 2008 Quarter. The exact time table for development of each online or blended learning course will be developed during the Course Design Phase of the project and presented in the development project plan due at the end of this phase. The dates provided in this timetable are targets that can be adjusted to meet the needs of particular projects.
Timeframe : Winter Quarter 2008
Activities : Faculty developers along with an instructional designer and content librarian will investigate models and settle upon a course structure - course contents, learning activities, and course environment elements including learner accessibility. This phase will include regular milestone meetings and periodic "think tank" sessions. The design phase has multiple purposes including (1) a map for the course development phase; (2) a means of identifying needed resources for the redesigned course, (3) a process for explicitly stating instructional objectives and learning outcomes; and (4) a representation of benchmark achievement for program administrators.
Faculty Learning Community will meet periodically on a day and time to be determined. Three to five meetings during the quarter will be scheduled.
Outcome : Complete course development project plan
Timeframe : Spring Quarter 2008
Activities : Faculty participants will identify and create course materials - learning objects, assessments, rubrics, readings, study guides, teaching guides, etc. and course learning environment. Faculty teams will be supported in the production of accessible digital content for learners, including those with disabilities. Additional support staff - instructional technologists and librarians - will be available as needed.
Faculty Learning Community will meet periodically on a day and time to be determined. Three to five meetings during the quarter will be scheduled.
Outcome : Completed course ready for piloting.
Timeframe : Summer/Fall Quarter 2008
Activities : Faculty members will teach the course. Student learning outcomes are assessed to measure attainment of program goals.
Faculty Learning Community will meet periodically on a day and time to be determined. One to two meetings during the quarter will be scheduled.
Outcome : Course is piloted and assessment data are collected.
Timeframe : Winter Quarter 2008 - Spring Quarter 2008
Activities : Course is evaluated against original goals. Development faculty will present results to their departments and colleges and at an all-university conference on e-learning to be held in April or May 2009.
Outcome : Courses are evaluated. Course improvements and refinements are outlined. Data are collected for overall program evaluation.
Tenured and tenure track faculty are eligible for the DOLCE da Solo Course Transformation Project. Lecturers, faculty members who are retired (including FERP faculty) or serving in administrative positions are not eligible to apply.
A prerequisite for consideration of inclusion in the Course Transformation Project is completion of the DOLCE e-Learning Academy at the time of application submission or provide evidence of extensive experience teaching in an online or blended format at Cal Poly Pomona . The DOLCE eLearning Academy is a five -week course on teaching and learning online delivered in a blended learning format. Participants learn strategies for effective, efficient, and learner accessible online instruction. The focus is on pedagogy and not on development of course materials.
The next eLearning Academy will take place from November 9 to December 14, 2007.
Examples of courses eligible for the Course Transformation Project include but are not limited to:
• Large- to medium-section courses taught by several instructors with a lead instructor in charge of the sections
• Large- to medium-section courses taught by a lead instructor in charge of multiple sections
• Medium-sized courses that are regularly and frequently taught by a single instructor
All courses must be redesigned for online or blended learning (partially online, partially face-to-face) environments.
Proposals should contain the following:
Submission and Review Process
Applications are due in electronic form to the Faculty Center for Professional Development (Building 1, Room 227 no later than 5:00 PM no later than Friday, January 18, 2008 . The selection committee will review the proposals and make a recommendation for awards to the Provost and Vice President for Instructional and Information Technology. Awards will be announced on January 25, 2008 . Up to ten awards will be granted.
Informational sessions will be held on Monday, October 29, 3:00-4:00 PM and Tuesday, October 30, 3:00-4:00 PM in the Faculty Center Conference Room, Building 1, Room 228.
Reuse of Course Materials
In order to meet the requirement that the courses developed under this program can be sustained over a period of time, it is expected that the materials developed within this program will be available for use by the university for a period of not less than five years.
Proposals will be evaluated on the following criteria:
Each faculty member will receive 4 WTUs released time during Fall Quarter 2008 for teaching the course developed in the DOLCE da Solo Course Transformation Project. Active and full participation is required to receive the released time award.
Date |
Activity |
Deliverable |
October 29,30 |
Information sessions |
|
January 18, 2008 |
RFP Due |
Completed RFP. Only completed proposals will be considered |
January 25 |
Announcement of selected faculty |
Acceptance of the offer |
Jan 28-Mar 21 |
Design Phase |
Completed design document |
Apr 1-July 31 |
Development Phase |
Redesigned course in online or blended learning format |
• Chair of the Teaching, Learning, and Technology Committee
• Director of Faculty Center for Professional Development
• Director of I&IT Learning
• One additional representative from Teaching, Learning, and Technology Committee
• One representative from the Senate Committee on Technology
• One representative from the Faculty Development Advisory Committee
• Two representatives from previous DOLCE faculty teams
Dr. Peggy Perry
Director of the Faculty Center for Professional Development
909-869-2897
Informational sessions will be held on Monday, October 29, 3:00-4:00 PM and Tuesday, October 30, 3:00-4:00 PM in the Faculty Center Conference Room, Building 1, Room 228.
Coordinated by the National Center for Academic Transformation and funded by the Pew Foundation, www.center.rpi.edu
