unc tlt annual conference, march 2004 questions | comments [email protected]

UNC TLT Annual Conference, March 2004

questions | comments [email protected]



What is a Quality Enhancement Plan?

• Plan for institutional improvement• Crucial to enhancing educational quality• Directly related to student learning• Based on comprehensive analysis of institutional

effectiveness



Criteria for selecting topic (SACS)

• Related to student learning• Addresses a strategic issue• Comprehensive, institutional in scope• Capability to implement• Commitment to implement

NC State is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. See: http://sacscoc.org



Why LITRE was chosen by NC State

• Builds on a strength• Potential for leadership• Relevant to undergraduate and graduate education• Widespread, grassroots faculty involvement and

success• Strong interest among the deans

• Potential to positively and substantively transform learning outcomes at NC State



How do we keep learning first?

Link LITRE activities to:– NC State Mission– Four Ways of Knowing and Doing– General Education Requirements – Committee on Undergraduate Program Review

(CUPR)– Departmental and Program Curriculum Objectives



The Essence of LITRE

• Scholarly inquiry focused on enhancing the technology-rich learning environment

• Investigative process through which new approaches to student learning, using technology, are proposed, vetted, empirically evaluated, and if the evaluation results indicate, deployed and routinely assessed

• Evidence will be collected, analyzed and inform future projects

InitialResearch

PROCESSFaculty EngagementInformation FluencyLearning ResourcesE-LearningEducational Infrastructure

OUTCOMESInformation gatheringLiterary reviewPeer reviewAnalysis of issuesOptimal environment

NeedsAssessment

PROCESSFaculty SurveyResearch group reportsUniversity surveys

OUTCOMESSurvey data & reportsSignificant resultsBenchmarkingConsensus-buildingSelection Criteria

InitialSteps

PROCESSIdentified needsEstablished prioritiesResourced strategiesInstitutional commitment

OUTCOMESLITRE grantsLITRE investigationsCompact planningLITRE organization

MatureInquiry

PROCESSLeadership & advocacyOngoing LITRE investmentsAssessmentSynthesis of results

OUTCOMESDissemination of resultsKnowledge of best practiceImpact on policy and planningImproved student learningImproved learning environment

LITRE: The Empirical Inquiry

LITRE VisionIn the twenty-first century, North Carolina State University will use its historic strength in technology to pursue its stated mission “to create an innovative learning environment that stresses mastery of fundamentals, intellectual discipline, creativity, problem solving, and responsibility.”

A technology-rich environment can: enhance classroom and laboratory teaching and learning. help faculty accommodate students’ individual learning styles and

circumstances. encourage active learning. extend the expertise of the university beyond the university walls. conserve scarce resources.

Technology has limitations. It is a tool for achieving the university’s mission, not an end in itself. It is an effective tool only when it is in the hands of skilled users, and only when its application is appropriate, reliable, integrated, supported and sustainable.



LITRE Research Groups

• Established a structure that divided an enormous task into workable “chunks”

• Created research group descriptions and identified leadership before the second LITRE team meeting

• Conducted research groups activities outside of the LITRE team meetings

• Developed draft reports and recommendations for inclusion in the QEP

• Extended university participation in LITRE


InitialResearch



NeedsAssessment



InitialSteps



MatureInquiry



InitialResearch





Big Ideas – Overarching Themes

• Provide an appropriate educational technology infrastructure

• Achieve institutional preparedness• Link learning with technology

– Measuring success against student learning• Define an ongoing coordinating mechanism for LITRE



Campus Forum on LITRE

• When: April 16, 2003• Who: 100+ faculty, staff and students at NC State• Purpose

– General information for the NC State community– Solicit general feedback on the LITRE direction– Solicit specific feedback on LITRE research group

activities and potential projects


InitialResearch



NeedsAssessment



InitialSteps



MatureInquiry



NeedsAssessment





LITRE Faculty Survey

• When: Spring 2003• Why: Inform recommendations of the LITRE work

groups and provide baseline for future LITRE efforts• NC State University faculty were surveyed about their

experiences with computer-based instructional and learning aids. 1,790 faculty were invited to participate in the survey. 983 did, for an overall response rate of 55%.

• Report completed in August 2003

Survey: General Results

• Respondents age and years at the university have no relationship to the number of technologies used.

• Student preparation to use technologies in and outside the class was high and met expectation

• The reason most often given for not using a technology was that it was not appropriate for the course

• Faculty were more likely to teach the use of technology themselves or ask students to teach each other before utilizing a central, student training resource



Survey: Results

• Respondents were asked what would make it easier to use the technologies that they did use in their courses. – “If they were available and supported in the

classrooms in which I typically teach” and “If I had more time to develop assignments or classes with these technologies” were chosen most often, 37% and 36% of the time.

The survey and survey report are available at http://litre.ncsu.edu


InitialResearch



NeedsAssessment



InitialSteps



MatureInquiry



InitialSteps



Criteria for Project Selection

• Greatest impact on learning (tied to curricular goals departmental, college, or university level)

• Foundational (logically prior)• Sustainable, transferable, scalable• Financially feasible• Assessable (investigator agrees to assess impact)• Broad campus relevance• Marketing value (visibility)• Politically feasible• Technically feasible

LITRE Action Initiatives

• Organizing the LITRE effort• Classroom and laboratory improvements• Grants• Infrastructure and support improvements



LITRE Recommendations on Policy

• Develop distance education course policies and strategies for resident students

• Recommend a new rationale and learning objectives for student information fluency within the GER

• Recognize and reward the scholarship of teaching and learning with technology (TLT)

• Address the university’s copyright and intellectual property policies to encourage TLT



Assessment

• LITRE Assessment Committee• Project specific

– Contributions to student learning– Tools will vary: surveys, course-embedded, longitudinal– Tied to program and general education assessment when

appropriate

• Periodic overview of results across projects• Results used to stimulate innovation, improve

programs and services, policy analysis, planning and budget

Lessons Learned

• Hire an editor• Establish a structure for broad institutional involvement• Acquire budget information early• Bring the campus into the process early• Keep the focus on learning• Be a good architect—simultaneously understand the

overarching ideas and design details • Establish a common language

– What does “technology” mean?– What is learning at NC State?– What comprises the “learning space” of NC State?



Activities to Date

• Plan complete on February 9• SACS on-site visit next week (March 23-25)• Named a LITRE leader: Dr. Lavon Page• In the midst of establishing a LITRE Advisory

Council• Actively working on first set of LITRE action

initiatives



LITRE Impacts

• Will learning change?• Will the NC State learning environment support

changes in teaching and learning?• Will students engage with technology for learning?• Will more faculty engage technology for teaching?


InitialResearch



NeedsAssessment



InitialSteps



MatureInquiry



MatureInquiry





LITRE - http://litre.ncsu.edu, [email protected]

Questions and Answers

• Contact Information– Sharon Pitt: [email protected]

• http://lts.ncsu.edu

unc tlt annual conference, march 2004 questions | comments [email protected]

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