Using the Inverted Classroom With Microsoft Office:
Drew Foster
Welcome Stated session objectives o Detail an alternative to the standard classroom approach for MS Office courses o Show how specific learning outcomes were used in the course redesign o Provide details on the structure of the course o Tips for implementing a standardized course
Contact o Drew W. Foster; Miami University; Oxford, Ohio o Email:
[email protected]
University’s “Top 25” Program University initiated a “Top 25” program (25 highest enrollment courses) with an emphasis on: o Utilizing “active learning” and “inquiry-based learning” concepts (engage students in the classroom) o Increase student responsibility for their learning o Increase time spent outside of the classroom
Program was a way to make an impact on a large number of students quickly (30,000 seats/year)
Overall Objective: Increase student engagement and improve the level of critical thinking
Course Redesign applied to two courses CSE 141 (original): 2 Credit Hours o o o o o
Formerly prerequisite for Business
Excel (4 Chapters) Access (3 Chapters) PowerPoint (2 Chapters) Integration (2 Chapters) Text: New Perspectives Office
New prerequisite for Business
REDESIGNED Courses
CSE 141 (update): 2 Credit Hours o o o o o o
Word (4 Chapters) Excel (4 Chapters) PowerPoint (2 Chapters) Integration (1 Chapter) Some customized content Text: New Perspectives Office
CSE 148: 3 Credit Hours [NEW] o o o o
Excel (9+ Chapters) Access (5 Chapters + parts) Custom – SQL Basics Text: New Perspectives Excel Comprehensive + Access
MS Office Course Redesign Objectives Redesign the course to include/emphasize: o o o o
Active learning concepts (hands-on) Opportunities to engage with other learners Activities that develop problem-solving skills Assignments and activities that require students to acquire knowledge on their own (not from the instructor) o Projects that require critical thinking o Provide the ability to assess student achievement of course objectives and specific learning outcomes o Accomplish a set of specific learning objectives (specific skills)
Redesign: Structure of the class The most significant and important component of the redesign was changing how class time was utilized Utilized the Inverted Class Room model: o “Inverting the class room means that events that have traditionally taken place inside the class room now take place outside the classroom and vice versa” 1 o Basic knowledge acquisition is moved outside of the classroom o Provides the opportunity for more complex hands-on learning activities inside the classroom
1. Lage, Platt, Treglia; Journal of Economic Education; Winter 2000; Pg. 30
Redesign: Schematic Overview Out-of-Class In-Class
Lecture (1/4 - 1/3) Custom Learning Activity (2/3 – 3/4)
Out…
Text-based Tutorials + Cases (continued)
Online Projects
2-hours
2-hours
In-Class Out-of-Class
Text-based Tutorials + Cases
Text-based Tutorials + Cases (completed PRIOR to class)
Portfolio Projects
148
2.5-hours
1.5 - 2-hours
After Redesign
3 - 4 hours
Lecture
141
2-2.5-hours
Before Redesign
1-hr.
141
Online Training/Assessment
2-3 hrs
Steps to accomplish Redesign Step #½: CSE 148 is a prerequisite for a Business School course so we met with business school to develop detailed list of topics to be covered Step #1: Establish Learning Objectives and Outcomes Step #2: Associate text activities with learning outcomes Step #3: Create Classroom Learning Activities Step #4: Develop Portfolio (projects) Bring it all together in the classroom
Step #1 – Learning Objectives & Outcomes Learning Objectives – general statements of learning to be acquired (4-5 per course) Learning Outcomes – specific statements (I can do…) of learning to be acquired (15-25 per course) CSE 141 Example Objective #2 (of 4): To provide students with the skills needed to effectively use spreadsheet software. Outcome #2.4 (of 14): The student can use basic spreadsheet functions (e.g. SUM, AVERAGE), financial functions (e.g. PMT), and simple logical functions (e.g. IF) in spreadsheet formulas Complete copy is available from Drew Foster:
[email protected]
CSE 148 Example Objective #2 (of 4): To provide students with the skills needed to effectively use spreadsheet software. Outcome #2.4 (of 23): The student can use spreadsheet functions (e.g. SUM, AVERAGE, etc.), financial functions (e.g. PMT), lookup functions (e.g. VLOOKUP, HLOOKUP, etc.) and logical functions (e.g. IF, OR, AND, COUNTIF, etc.) in spreadsheet formulas.
Step #2: Associate text activities with learning outcomes CSE 141: New Perspectives Office Determined learning outcomes addressed in each tutorial Developed custom material where needed (e.g. COUNTIF, SUMIF)
CSE 148: New Perspectives Excel & Access Comprehensive Determined learning outcomes addressed in each tutorial Developed custom material where needed (e.g. SQL)
Step #3: Create Classroom Learning Activities For 141 which meets 1/week, identified 11 CLA’s; For 148 which meets 2/week identified 23 CLA’s For each CLA: o o o o o
Specify Learning Outcomes addressed Determine if a single or paired activity (mix it up) Do we want to emphasize “skill” or extend problem solving? Do we include critical thinking aspect? (what would happen if…) Do we want to require additional knowledge acquisition (e.g. use the PPMT function to…. where PPMT function has not been discussed)
Each semester, assignments are refined Continue to develop new ideas to mix it up semester to semester
CLA Examples – CSE 141 1. Word (Tutorial #2)
141_CLA02.pdf
141_CLA02Solution.pdf
a) Create a Word table of your current course schedule b) Required to use a number of the table features and formatting capabilities c) Use a section break (first page landscape; second page portrait) d) Use the footnote feature
2. Excel (Tutorial #3 – various formulas and functions) a) b) c) d) e)
141_CLA07.pdf
Create an IRA calculation sheet (30 years) Use input cells for annual contribution and earnings % 141_CLA07Solution.pdf Required to use an IF to display when certain conditions are met Modify inputs to end with $100,000 Use Help to learn and use the FV function to accomplish the same task
CLA Examples – CSE 148 1. CLA #1 (Excel Tutorials #1 & #2)
148_CLA01.pdf
148_CLA01Solution.pdf
a) Start with an empty spreadsheet b) Set up sheet to track up to six stocks (Stock, Symbol, Date Acquired, Shares, Initial Price per Share, Initial Cost, Current Price per share, Current Value, Gain/Loss and Percent Gain/Loss) c) Provided data on two stocks and then and students use Yahoo to get data for several of their own d) Format the sheet to look professional and format for printing.
2. CLA #14 (Pivot Tables) a)
148_CLA14.pdf
148_CLA14Solution.pdf
Spreadsheet with over 1000 rows for every football game ever played by the university (Date, teams, location, coach, score, win/loss, etc.) b) Requires students to create pivot tables to answer certain questions.
Step #4: Develop Portfolio (projects) Open-ended projects Requires students to combine and utilize skills in the context of an objective Contains critical thinking components o o o o
Evaluate quality of data Consider multiple perspectives Develop a conclusion Requires written communication
Requires students to acquire knowledge on their own CSE 141 (1 Portfolio); CSE 148 (3 Portfolios)
Portfolio – CSE 141 Students select topic of their interest (e.g. education ranking and spend/student) Obtain data from available resources Use excel to analyze data and develop charts/graphs Use Word to write a “professional memo” that summarizes findings and presents their conclusion
Portfolio – CSE 148 (3 Portfolios) Word Portfolio Create a newsletter 13 specific features of Word to be included Topic varies (Top 5 vacation locations) Provide students access to Word tutorial information Requires knowledge acquisition on their own Completely individual assignments
Excel Portfolio (Analysis) Provided a large spreadsheet of Census data (earnings information) Asked several questions that requires students to restructure data, create formulas and charts to answer Also develop an amortization spreadsheet (required to discover and use functions never discussed) Requires a Peer Review
Portfolio – CSE 148 (3 Portfolios) Data Analysis Portfolio Access database of fictitious university data Students select one of two questions provided Students need to determine data required from Access Export selected data from Access to Excel Perform analysis in Excel (requires functions, pivot tables, charts, etc.) Requires students to perform multiple analyses (different views or perspectives of the data) Present findings in a professional memo that explains the analysis, findings and provides a recommendation Students work in pairs
Bringing it all together – Sequence of Events #1: Students assigned Tutorial/Case assignments o Completed outside of the classroom; Due Sunday Night
#2: Instructor delivers 20 minute lecture o Reviews material learned from homework o Expands on what was learned o Presents material not in the text
#3: Students complete Classroom Learning Activity o Combines lecture and text-based learning in a problem-solving activity o Instructor assists students throughout the class – provide assistance when needed on more complex activities o End of class the assignment is turned in & instructor grades the activity
#4: Students work on Portfolios outside of class
Results – Four measures Student Self-Reporting: First Day and Last Day survey is taken where students indicate their ability to perform each learning objective. Objective assessment: Each graded exam task is associated with a learning outcome. Analyze graded tasks to provide assessment of performance on each learning objective. Critical Thinking Analysis: Alternating semesters, random selection of portfolio projects provided to independent critical thinking assessors. Top 25 Survey and Focus Groups: Combination of survey and focus groups with students to obtain information about the class.
Results – Student Self-Reporting Results indicate that students believe they have made significant gains in their ability to perform the learning outcomes. Students feel like they “learned something”. Fall 2010 n=412 80%
Results: Objective Exam Assessments Objective 2: Spreadsheet o Generally strong results o Continue to improve Pivot Tables
Objective 3: Database o Generally good results o Continue to improve SQL Fall 2010 n=672
80%
Results: Critical Thinking Assessment For a “skills class”, not too bad Continue to nurture critical thinking
Course: CSE 148 Primarily Freshman (80%) Items #2, #4, #5, #6 are the focus Aspiration for course: 2.5 Based on Portfolio #3
Spring 2010 N=50
∆ Freshman – 2005 data based on survey of foundation courses Aspiration – university aspiration upon graduation
•
SCALE 1 = Not developed 2 = Minimally developed 3 = Moderately Developed 4 = Substantially Developed
Results: Top 25 Survey/Focus Groups When comparing responses to the other Top 25 redesigned courses at the university… Strengths More often work with other students in class More often required to combine ideas to build understanding on your own More often worked harder than you thought to meet expectations More often experienced supportive faculty relationship More often required more preparation time
Weaknesses Less often required to explain reasoning Less often required to support ideas with evidence More often “memorizing” Less often analyzing elements of an idea/theory
Redesign Objectives – How Accomplished Objective
How Accomplished
Active learning concepts (hands-on)
Homework; In-Class Activities; Portfolio projects
Opportunities to engage with other learners
In-Class Activities (paired); Portfolio #2 (peer review); Portfolio #3 (paired)
Activities that develop problem-solving skills
In-class Activities; Portfolio projects
Projects that require critical thinking
Portfolio projects; In-class activities (to some extent)
Students acquire knowledge on their own
Homework (out-of-class); In-class Activities; Portfolio Projects
Assess student achievement of course learning Subjective – Student Survey Objective – Analysis of exam scores outcomes Accomplish specific Learning Objective
Tie each assignment/activity to specific learning objective
Tips: What to do about grading? Turn-in all text-based tutorials and cases (36 items for CSE 148) o Randomly select 1 item from the weekend for grading (18 for a semester)… students don’t know ahead of time what is graded o Each is only worth 8 points of 1000 (.8% of grade/assignment) – so grade each one fairly quickly, looking for more obvious errors o Provide case check-your work (students can self-correct before turning in) o Use SAM Projects (auto-grade) o No late assignments accepted… and only count the best 15 of 18, so if you “forget”, no big deal
For the in-class CLA’s to work, students MUST complete homework prior to class. Requiring turn-in is the method we used to “force” this action”
Tips: What to do about grading? Classroom Learning activities (11 in CSE 141 and 23 in CSE 148) o Must submit by end of class (cannot complete outside of class) o Each is worth 8 points of 1000 (.8%). o Does take some time to grade these, but assistance provided in the classroom is a big help o Drop 1 of 11 (or 3 of 23). So if class is missed for any reason (skip, ill, athletics), no impact. However, if regularly not in class, it does impact the score
Tips: Standardized Course For each section, the exact same thing is going on in every classroom. Every assignment for all sections is exactly the same Use Common Exam All material developed and managed by course coordinator o Ensures specific learning outcomes attained o Is a great way to ensure course quality when using new or part-time instructors
Tips: Standardize the Instruction Common set of detailed lecture notes for each class o Administrative topics identified o “Standard” Lecture
Communicate the “Lecture” o Create “Lecture Videos” – use an excellent freeware product: JING o Lecture videos cover the detailed outline for each day 148_Lecture_01_Outline.swf o Lecture videos demonstrate the specific topics as they would be demonstrated in class 148_Lecture_02_InputCells.swf
Able to re-use these videos for access by students
o Provide starting lecture files which allows instructors to “mimic” video lecture if desired
Thank You! Additional Information Available o o o o o
Course Learning Objectives and Learning Outcomes Classroom Learning Activities Course Calendar (what is covered in each class day) Example Lecture Outlines Example Video Lectures
Contact: o Drew Foster:
[email protected] o Miami University 205 T Benton Hall Oxford, OH 45056
