Center for Distance Learning

For CDL Courses

Faculty Orientation

July 2009

Curriculum & Instructional Design

Nicola Martinez, Director

Curriculum Committee

The Curriculum Committee oversees the approval of course proposals and development of policies and procedures for Center for Distance Learning courses.

The committee provides leadership in identifying and discussing curricular issues on the course and overall curricular levels.

Committee Members represent each of the four area of study subgroups.

Curriculum Committee Members

Phillip Ortiz, Chair and representative of the Science, Mathematics and Technology subgroup

Carol Carnevale, Faculty Chair and representative of the Business, Management and Economics subgroupEric Ball, Representative of the Cultural Studies subgroupJulie Shaw, Representative of Human Development and Social Science ResearchNicola Martinez, Co-Chair and Director of Curriculum and Instructional DesignValerie Chukhlomin, Representative of Marketing and Management Studies subgroup

Laura Wait, Secretary to the Curriculum Committee

Curriculum Committee

Curriculum Committee Reviews are Required for:

• New courses - All proposals for new courses must be reviewed by the curriculum committee and receive committee approval prior to starting the full course development.

• Major revisions of existing courses - A major revision is defined as an existing course that needs to be changed in one of the following ways:

1. major change in focus/purpose of the course2. major change in texts, necessitating a change in course focus/purpose3. change in level of course from lower < -- > advanced, in credit amount, in liberal vs. non-liberal designation

Curriculum Committee

Curriculum Committee Reviews are Not Required for:

• Existing, previously-approved courses changing delivery methods – E.g., print-to-web conversions, enhanced learning contract-to-web conversions.

• Minor revisions – A minor revision is defined as a change necessitated by a newer edition of the same text, the introduction of a synchronous component, testing of new software, revision of course title, etc., as long as these changes do not change the focus/purpose of the course.

• Note: Your assistant area coordinator usually manages minor revisions for you.

Our curricular and instructional design goals :

Promote deep learning through visual and multimedia approaches.

Enhance collaborative learning – teams, group presentations, debates, students as facilitators.

Integrate Case studies across the disciplines to promote learning transfer.

Integrate library research and library based activities into every course.

Integrate optimal technology tools for multiple pedagogical uses.

Integrate work-based learning and connection with social problems.

Build community beyond coursesVisual Approach to Mathematics

Curriculum and Instructional Design Group

Advises area coordinators on curriculum development

Shepherds developers through the development cycle

Provides pedagogical, assessment, and instructional development training as needed

Designs course development processes

Facilitates team development sessions

Aligns support for course developers

Assures academic excellence and design quality of courses

Oversees program evaluation and improvements.

Curriculum and Instructional Design Group

Nicola Martinez, Director of Curriculum and Instructional Design

Ken Charuk, Team Lead, Coordinator of Curriculum and Instructional Design(BME)

Robert Kester, Coordinator of Curriculum and Instructional Design (Social Sciences)

Lisa Snyder, Coordinator of Curriculum and Instructional Design (SMAT)

David Wolf, Coordinator of Curriculum and Instructional Design (Humanities)

Audeliz Matias, Coordinator of Curriculum and Instructional Design (SMP)

Betsy Braun, Curriculum Design Specialist (HUM; SMAT)

Claire Ouderkirk, Curriculum Design Specialist (Social, BME)

Darlene Dow, Program AideTiffany Williams, Secretary/Curriculum and Instructional Design GroupMaryJane Baird, Secretary/Curriculum and Instructional Design Group

Course Development Teams

CDL courses are designed by teams made up of different configurations of faculty, instructional designers, librarians, and various educational technology specialists, as follows:

An area coordinator (faculty supervisor)A coordinator of instructional design & curriculum development who serves as project manager for the course developmentOne or more faculty course developers (content expert/s who develops course content & assessment activities)One or more instructional designers; a multimedia developer; an instructional technologist; a librarian; support staff

Course Approval Process

Course Concept Presented to All Faculty Discussion/feedback from Area Coordinators

Course Proposal Presented to Curricular Teams Open to Discussion/feedback from Area Coordinators and Course Development Teams

Course Proposal Review/Approval by Curriculum Committee With public feedback

Once Approved, course enters development cycle And is assigned a team

Once Completed, Course Review/Rating by Instructional Design Team using the course evaluation checklist

Coursetrak Screenshot

Coursetrak

Course Resource Needs Analysis

Records the resources, support, and services

needed for a course in development or revision.

Library Resources Librarians recommend electronic resources from: subscription research databases and online services the public Internet for use as supplemental readings

and related course materials (.edu; .gov; and .org)

Sample Library Request

Arts Management Course

Tier 3 Rating System

Tier Rating

Tier 3 Exemplary Course

Tier 2 AcceptableSome criteria met, revisions needed

Tier 1 Not Acceptable (recommend postpone or cancel)

Online Course Evaluation Checklist

http://www.esc.edu/coursetrak

Theory based design

Adult centered learning Active, deep, and

authentic learning Visual pedagogies Media-rich and librarian

researched content/resources.

Student interaction and collaborative learning

With emphasis on opportunities for teaching, social and cognitive presence

For large-scale development of pedagogically and academically sound courses, instructional designers work with course developers to ensure:

Studying with Scientists

Virtual Research Cruise

Best Practices CDL uses a best-practice based

approach, as online learning is relatively new; best practices are the result of ongoing research, discovery, and experimentation.

Full time CDL faculty and staff attend national and international conferences to learn about emerging practices, newest research and technologies, and to share our practices with external audiences.

CDL faculty members and instructional designers contribute their best practice ideas so that innovations and improvements may be shared across the center and college.

As a general rule, a new practice is piloted in one course and tested in a few more before implemented on a larger scale.

Virtual Research Cruise

Marine Biology

Some of our distance learning methodologies applied to the design of instruction include:

Visual PedagogyCollaborative

LearningScientific Field

Studies and Field Study Support

Interactive ToolsVisual MathematicsResearch-Based

DiscussionVisual Case Studies

Quality Factors

• The key differentiating factors of quality in CDL courses are: The teaching presence of instructor, e.g. through

course description, statement of goals and objectives, module-at-a-glance and frequent feedback

The internal consistency of the course, determined by congruence between components

Use of cognitive enhancement strategies such as library review, problem solving, image and multimedia resources, and Web links

Use of collaborative learning, e.g. through discussions, icebreaker and group projects

• All of these factors are amply supported by research on online learning.

Contact Information

• Visit our web site at:

http://www.esc.edu/cdl

Nicola MartinezDirector of Curriculum and Instructional Design

Center for Distance Learning111 West Avenue, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866518-587-2100, ext. 2276

Nicola.Martinez@esc.edu