2006 Sloan-C Awards

Edited by Janet C. Moore

Copyright ©2006 by Sloan-C™All rights reserved. Published 2006

2006 Sloan-C Awards Presented at the 12th Sloan-C Annual International

Conference on Asynchronous Learning Networks: The Power of Online Learning: Realizing the Vision Wednesday, Nov 8th, 2006 - 7:00pm – 8:30pm

Grand Ballroom C The Sloan Consortium annual awards recognize excellence and effectiveness. This document introduces the 2006 Sloan-C awards for significant contributions to knowledge about asynchronous learning networks.

Excellence in Faculty Development for Online Teaching University of Maryland University College

CTLA 201, Teaching with WebTycho Training Course

Excellence in Online Teaching Bill McCarthy, Quinsigamond Community College and

Susan Oaks, State University of New York Empire State College

Most Outstanding Achievement in Online Learning by an Individual Karen Swan, Kent State University

Most Outstanding Online Teaching & Learning Program The Pennsylvania State University

Basic and Advanced Certificates in Turfgrass Management and BS in Turfgrass Science

2006 Effective Practice Awards

Kent State University — Combining Effective Individualized and Group Instruction

Ohio State University — The Statistical Buffet

WISE — A Collaborative Distance Education Model for Library and Information Science

2006 Program Profile Award

University of Michigan College of Engineering and GM Technical Education Program —Master of Engineering in Global Automotive and Manufacturing Engineering

About Sloan-C

he purpose of the Sloan Consortium is to make education a part of everyday

life, accessible and affordable for anyone, anywhere, at any time, in a wide variety of disciplines. Sponsored by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, Sloan-C is a consortium of more than 1000 organizations and accredited higher education institutions that provide infrastructure, equipment, tools, and more than 900 online programs. Sloan-C encourages networks among people as channels for sharing knowledge and effective practices in learning effectiveness, access, affordability, student satisfaction and faculty satisfaction.

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Sloan-C maintains a catalog of degree and certificate programs offered by a wide range of member institutions, consortia, and industry partners. These programs are led by instructors, emphasize high levels of asynchronous interaction, and create online quality that is commensurate with face-to-face programs. Sloan-C consultants assist institutions in learning about online methodologies; Sloan-C conferences and workshops help implement and improve online programs; Sloan-C publications—The Sloan-C View, the Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks (JALN), and annual volumes in the quality series—inform and advise academic, government and private sector audiences. Applications for membership are welcome at http://www.sloan-c.org.

“Too often we fail to recognize

and pay tribute to the

creative spirit.”

—Alfred P. Sloan, Jr.

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Sloan-C Awards Statement by Frank Mayadas, Sloan-C President

The Sloan-C awards program, which recognizes outstanding achievements in Asynchronous Learning Networks (ALN), celebrates the creative spirit that improves the quality of online learning and program development.

A. Frank Mayadas

The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation began supporting ALN implementations and research in 1992. Much has changed in the past decade, thanks to the efforts of ALN pioneers. Our understanding of how to teach effectively using new technologies has matured, and several communications channels document this understanding—the Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, the ALN Research Web Center, annual volumes in the Sloan-C series on quality, and

the Sloan-C knowledge center for sharing research and effective practices. Today, ALN is part of the mainstream of higher education, supplementing face-to-face learning and rapidly becoming the predominant delivery mode for distance education courses and programs in the United States. These annual Sloan-C awards pay tribute to trailblazers whose contributions are significant for the evolution of ALN. A. Frank Mayadas President, Sloan-C November 8, 2002

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Excellence in Faculty Development for Online Teaching University of Maryland University College

CTLA 201, Teaching with WebTycho Training Course

This award recognizes the University of Maryland University College for its outstanding faculty development program for those who teach in the online environment. UMUC's Teaching with WebTycho faculty training course was chosen for its proven record of excellence as demonstrated by its success in training new faculty to become competent online instructors in a cost-effective manner. This training program helps to ensure that students around the world will receive a quality higher education experience and aids in both student and faculty satisfaction.

CTLA 201, Teaching with WebTycho Training Course is five-week training course in online teaching, delivered completely online via UMUC's proprietary course management software, WebTycho. Required for all UMUC faculty who teach online, the training course features original content, emphasizes practical application, and covers online teaching in its pedagogical, design, and technical aspects. Each section of the training course is facilitated by an experienced UMUC faculty member who models effective online teaching, and the course itself is a model for online course design. Each section of the course averages 20 participants, allowing for optimal interaction, while the asynchronous nature of the course provides ample flexibility for busy faculty.

Learn more at http://www.umuc.edu/distance/odell/ctla/index.shtml.

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Excellence in Online Teaching Bill McCarthy, Quinsigamond Community College

William McCarthy, Associate Professor of Criminal Justice developed a new course for Quinsigamond Community College which used learning style methodologies to deliver its content to students who possess a variety of knowledge, skills, and aptitudes. The course was designed with a dual purpose through a unique collaboration with the Quinsigamond Community College Office of Academic Advising and personnel from the Title III Grant which was awarded to the school to assist students so that they improve their reading and writing comprehension skills.

One of the key components in this dual approach involved creating an awareness of terrorism preparedness in the US for

tudents and academically challenged students. nse to Terrorism online course provides

instruction to students in the fundamentals of preparing a community for terrorism in the 21st century. Areas of study include the concept of threat assessment, prevention, and response. Consequently, students learn about crisis management and about how to respond to terrorist incidents involving nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons of mass destruction. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has asserted that “an effective response to terrorist incidents involves having employees recognize the unique characteristics of Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Weapons of mass destruction in order to protect themselves and the

bo l sThe Respo

community.”

th traditionaBill McCarthy

Student assessments, surveys and retention data at Quinsigamond Community College show that Dr. McCarthyýs course, Response to Terrorism, has far exceeded expectations in terms of student performance outcomes. The connection forged with students and the community through this distance e-learning experience has produced a lasting impression, increased awareness, and demystified some of the past and emerging terror events and responses we are all intensely experiencing in various ways. Professor McCarthy is becoming a recognized expert on this subject and has delivered this course in a manner that provides a realistic informative interpretation of how and why choices made in response to terrorism are so critical.

This unique course with its partners has been able to build a record of academic success for struggling students who were given the opportunity to access writing tutoring while in a course that engages them with the discipline that may become their profession.

Learn more at http://www.qcc.edu.

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Excellence in Online Teaching Susan Oaks, State University of New York Empire State College

Susan Oaks has taught and designed courses every year since the first years of the State University of New York Empire State College (SUNY) Learning Network, now for ten years. As department chair, she also supervises the development of many other courses taught in multiple sections. She was the primary developer, teacher and supervisor include for these courses: College Reading and Writing, Introduction to Literature, College Writing, Educational Planning, Children's Literature, 21st Century Careers, Proposal Writing, Exploring the Disciplines, Literature, Effective

Academic Writing, and Communications for Professionals. She has also supervised

numerous other courses taught by others, a sample includes: American Literature, Creative Writing, US Multicultural Life Writings, US Multicultural Fiction Mythology and Modern Life, Speechwriting, Shakespeare, and Spanish.

Susan Oaks

Empire State has one required course, enrolling 3–400 students in 70 sections taught student advisors. As academic area coordinator, Dr. Oaks has designed and refined the approach to these educational planning courses over the past eight years, improving it with each opportunity the LMS provides. She stretches the use of the template to allow for faculty who prefer to work individually with students or in groups. Dr. Oaks was a leader in considering ways faculty could create repositories for objects and lessons that could be accessed apart from courses. In the late 90's she created an online writing lab (SUNY Quality of Student Life Award in 1997) and in the early 2000's, she also created an online resource center for educational planning. In both of these cases she worked with faculty and instructional designers to share resources in a web space for multiple faculty. Students also have independent access to these sites.

Dr. Oaks is particularly known among the faculty for her design approach which is non-linear. She strongly believes that you begin with adult learners and their experience, and then move from that point of success to more challenging areas. Susan Oaks is an accomplished course developer. She is adept at using innovative approaches to course design as exemplified in the College Writing and Educational Planning courses. She designed College Writing so that students can determine the order in which they will work on each type of academic writing. Whether they choose to begin with essays or research assignments, students learn how to approach each type, including prewriting activities and the revision process. Students also share and discuss one another’s work in an on-going writing workshop. By giving students the flexibility in designing their own path through the course, each student has the opportunity to master different forms of academic writing in a sequence that is relevant to their backgrounds.

Learn more at http://www.escdegree.com.

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Most Outstanding Achievement in Online Learning by an Individual Karen Swan, Kent State University

Dr. Swan is Research Professor in the Research Center for Educational Technology (RCET) at Kent State University where she directs a research staff of five investigating ubiquitous computing in education. She is the Editor of the multimedia, online RCET Journal which she created and Special Issues Editor for the Journal of Educational Computing Research. She served as a project director on several large scale grants including work for the US Department of Education and the National Science Foundation, and as principal investigator on work for the NYC Board of Education and Sloan-C. Dr. Swan's scholarly work on online learning has increased our knowledge and contributed to improving both pedagogy and research methodologies in the field. Her own research has been focused on learning processes in online environments and the effects of interactivity, social presence, collaboration and assessment on

online learning outcomes. Her work is well known and frequently cited internationally; it is especially appreciated for its theoretical grounding.

Karen Swan

In her role as a best practices editor for the Sloan Consortium, Dr. Swan has also performed an important role in synthesizing research findings on learning effectiveness across the discipline and reporting these to the online learning community, with a particular focus on their implications for practice. Similarly, Dr. Swan has played a significant role in reporting and critiquing research methodologies in online learning, as well as contributing an oft-employed protocol for identifying social presence in online discussions.

Dr. Swan has authored 12 book chapters, 2 extended entries in the Encyclopedia of Distance Learning, 12 articles in juried journals (including JALN; Teachers College Record; European Journal of Open and Distance Education; Education, Communication and Information; Distance Education; Journal of Educational Computing Research), and 12 articles in juried conference proceedings on online learning. She has given over 100 regional, national and international presentations on online learning topics.

Dr. Swan has also contributed significantly to the research on ubiquitous computing and its use in education. She has authored 6 book chapters, 4 juried journal articles, and 7 articles in conference proceedings on the topic. She co-edited a special issue of the Journal of Educational Computing Research on ubiquitous computing as well as a DVD-ROM entitled Ubiquitous Computing: How Anytime, Anywhere, Anyone Technology is Changing Education which includes interviews with several prominent ALN researchers. She also co-edited a book on the topic, Ubiquitous Computing in Education: Invisible Technology, Visible Impact, published by Lawrence Erlbaum Associates in 2006.

Learn more at http://www.kent.edu/rcet.

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Most Outstanding Online Teaching & Learning Program The Pennsylvania State University

Turfgrass Management and Turfgrass Science

Penn State's Turfgrass Programs are models of successful online teaching and learning—profitable, student-centered, and innovative. Launched in 1998, Penn State's original Certificate in Turfgrass Management has attracted students from all 50 states and at least 12 different countries to learn the latest research and best practices in pesticide use, turfgrass nutrition, soil analysis, and other aspects of contemporary turfgrass management.

Access: Enabling Turf students to participate in class activities, work on group projects, interact with faculty and one another, and complete assignments whenever their schedules allow has made it possible for hundreds of turfgrass professionals to obtain the knowledge and skills they need to perform at the highest level in their jobs and to advance in their careers.

Learning Effectiveness: To ensure that the program's content is relevant to all of its students, the online program teaches turf practices that are applicable worldwide via practice-based learning and information exchange.

Cost Effectiveness: Penn State's Turfgrass programs have achieved efficiencies for both students and the World Campus. For students, the availability of online courses allows them to earn college credit, improve their knowledge of turfgrass science, and boost their earning power while remaining employed. Those seeking the Bachelor of Science can also save tuition dollars through credit by portfolio for their participation in non-credit, turfgrass continuing education seminars offered by the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA) and other providers. Rather than relying on textbooks as the foundation for course content, instructors use readings, case studies, problem solving, group assignments, and other activities that can be readily and inexpensively modified when needed.

Student Satisfaction: Enrollments in the program have grown steadily over the years, and have remained high, around 450 enrollments annually. In World Campus's end of course evaluation of cohort programs for the 2005–06 academic year, the Turfgrass programs achieved an aggregate score of 4.4 (on a 5-point scale) When answering the question “Compared with your expectations for this course, how satisfied were you with your course experience?” responses from Turf students averaged 4.5.

Faculty Satisfaction: The original instructors, all of whom are full-time, tenured or tenure-track faculty, have been teaching, off-load, in the online Turfgrass courses since the program's inception in 1998 and throughout its development.

Learn more at http://turf.cas.psu.edu.

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Effective Practice Award: Kent State University, Combining Effective Individualized and Group Instruction

The basic Learning Theories course in Kent State University’s College and Graduate School of Education, Health, and Human Services was redesigned in 2004 to become an entirely online course. A central goal was to use instructional strategies derived from established theories of learning and grounded on research. The two instructional strategies chosen were The Personalized System of Instruction, coming originally out of behaviorism (specifically operant conditioning) and Problem-Based Learning, derived from cognitive and constructivist learning theories. Both began several decades ago, and both have extensive research bases that support their effectiveness in promoting

learning and retention. At the same time, one focuses on individualizing instruction to the extent possible while the other emphasizes group learning and the interplay of ideas among people. Problem Based Learning is explicitly a group-based instructional strategy designed to take advantage of the abilities of motivated and competent learners to discuss problems, develop hypotheses and ways of testing them, and come to consensus while supporting the learning of everyone in the group. A PBL group might be given a problem by a facilitator who helps them define their needs for more information and problem-solving approaches. They may then do research individually on the background information needed and meet later to exchange that information and their ideas about the solution. Depending on the size and nature of the problem, the group may go through several cycles of research and group collaboration. Again, there is a research base that shows that PBL groups can learn as much or more, even on basic concepts (not just problem solving), than students taking traditional lecture courses.

Albert ‘Chip’ Ingram Associate Professor

The quizzing system used in this course for several semesters has kept detailed records, allowing tracking of performance during a semester and across semesters. In general over 90% of students complete the chapters required for an A on that portion of the course. On average, students pass about 70% of the quizzes they take, which seems to indicate that they are not necessarily too "easy." This percentage varies widely among individual students, however, from about 50% to 100%, indicating that the mastery and self-pacing aspects of the system are genuinely useful. Unfortunately, at this time there has been no opportunity to follow up to see how much of the material is retained over time.

The PBL problems have also been successful. It was found early on that students, even graduate students, do not always know how to collaborate, and this problem can be especially acute in an online setting. Detailed instructions for how to collaborate were developed, and these, along with feedback on the first problem, have resulted in much higher quality problem solutions every semester.

Learn more at Kent State University — Combining Effective Individualized and Group Instruction.

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Effective Practice Award: Ohio State University, The Statistical Buffet

Ohio State University’s Introductory Statistical Concepts course employs a “Statistical Buffet” model which gives students a choice of content delivery strategies. By using automated course administration and individualized Web content, the model enables OSU to individualize instruction for students in a large multi-section course. Large multi-section courses are often criticized for not addressing individual student needs. Ohio State's Introductory Statistical Concepts course uses a "buffet model" which enables different course sections to accommodate different learning styles. The model gives

students choices to create their own mix of activities for learning the same set of course objectives. Using automated course administration and individualized web content optimizes each student's experience and improves success rates. The buffet model thus uses large class size as a strength instead of a weakness by optimizing individual learning rather than group norming, and by integrating technology into the design rather than as an expensive add-on. The Introductory Statistical Concepts course enrolls 2,500–3,000 students each year, making this course a large-scale intervention.

Professor Dennis K. Pearl (left)

Improved Learning Effectiveness and Retention: Early results indicate that student in the pilot program had equal or greater success on common exams than students in traditional course sections.

When the buffet model was implemented in all sections during the fall 2002 quarter, the percentage of student withdrawals before the end of the quarter has been reduced from 11% to 8%; the percentage failing the course (or receiving a passing grade that does not satisfy a requirement of their major) was reduced from 7% to 3%; and the percentage of incomplete grades was reduced from 2% to 1%, relative to the previous four quarters before the buffet model was implemented. These low Increasing student choice based on learning style, use of a help room, and having a clear and succinct taxonomy of learning objectives were seen as the techniques which contributed most to improving the quality of student learning, according to the Pew Course Redesign project results.

Cost Effectiveness: This course redesign has produced cost savings to the university of about $127,000 per year, or $48/student, a 25% reduction over the previous cost, according to the Pew Course Redesign project results (see links below). The help room was also effective in reducing costs by eliminating an additional TA position and allowing for more on-demand staff scheduling. A reduction of scheduled in-class problem-solving sessions from five to three per week also reduced costs by allowing re-assignment of senior TAs to active learner sections.

Learn more at Ohio State University — The Statistical Buffet.

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Effective Practice Award: WISE, A Collaborative Distance Education Model for Library and Information Science

University of Maryland Rutgers University Simmons College Syracuse University University of British Columbia University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

U North Carolina-Chapel Hill University of Pittsburgh University of Texas at Austin University of Western Ontario University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Victoria University of Wellington

WISE (Web-based Information Science Education) is a collaborative distance education model designed to increase the quality, access, and diversity of online education opportunities in Library and Information Science. Comprised of over a dozen LIS programs in the U.S., Canada, and New Zealand, WISE enables students to take courses from participating institutions that their home institution does not offer. The Web-based Information Science Education (WISE) consortium is a unique and groundbreaking opportunity in online education. The vision of WISE initiative is to "provide a collaborative distance education model that will increase the quality, access, and diversity of online education opportunities in library and information science." Leading library and information science schools are sharing courses to broaden the educational opportunities available to students.

The WISE consortium enables its member schools to offer their students a wide array of special topics courses offered by other WISE member schools. Members schools choose which of their own courses are made available to the consortium, and which consortium courses are offered to their own students. WISE member schools also provide access to administrative, pedagogical, and technical support.

Student Satisfaction: About two-thirds of students assessed teaching effectiveness and the overall quality of WISE courses highly. About 80% of students reported adequate information/learning resources. Instructor feedback was rated as “always” or “mostly” timely by about two-thirds of the students, as was satisfaction with the level of interaction in the courses. Faculty Satisfaction: Faculty report adequate to excellent support. Learning Effectiveness: Student survey respondents are generally positive about the quality of their learning experience, which relates to perceived learning. Cost Effectiveness: For the current year (2006–07), WISE has instituted a membership fee system and pricing model which should allow the initiative to be self-sustaining with the current level of membership.

Learn more at WISE — A Collaborative Distance Education Model for Library and Information Science.

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2006 Program Profile Award

University of Michigan College of Engineering and GM Technical Education Program: Master of Engineering in Global Automotive and Manufacturing Engineering

The Master of Engineering in Global Automotive and Manufacturing Engineering (Global MEng) is a 30 credit Masters Degree offered by the University of Michigan’s College of Engineering to General Motors’ employees. This innovative master’s degree requires the completion of coursework strategically aligned to accelerate GM global initiatives by developing and sustaining a technical organization capability and job related competency base. It features unique partnership arrangements with over 30 outstanding universities around the nation and the world. The flexible curriculum design allows students to import up to 12 credits of pre-approved coursework from the other universities and draws on the unique strengths and multicultural perspectives of these partners. The program content and curriculum design is based on an extensive Global Needs Assessment conducted at General Motors and is meant to sustain a global, technical organization capability. In addition to the technical content, the program includes courses to provide a global business perspective and a capstone project requiring the effective application of knowledge to reach innovative automotive solutions within a global, virtual team environment. The graduate is a technical leader who can think, learn, and apply to contribute to innovation and GM’s sustainable competitive advantage. The courses are offered online in a “globally-friendly” format. Since 2004, over 140 engineers from around the world have been fully admitted to the degree program. Learning effectiveness: The value of this program to General Motors and its employees is rooted in a Global Needs Assessment, conducted by the General Motors Technical Education Program in conjunction with a central engineering advisory board at GM. Cost effectiveness and institutional commitment: GM sought a program that was global in scope and included a commitment to multi-university participation. The University of Michigan showed its commitment to these values by responding with a program design that includes courses or course participation from over 30 universities around the world. This product array makes for cost effective use of the materials created by UM, and provides for a selection of educational options that may be more affordable in developing regions. Access: The 140 engineers who have been fully admitted come from: Australia: 31; Canada: 12; Mexico: 30; U.S: 67. The program has also provided faculty with the opportunity to collaborate with colleagues from other outstanding universities around the world. Faculty satisfaction: Faculty teaching in this program have opportunities to work closely with GM Subject Matter Experts who bring knowledge of the latest practices and challenges in the industry. Student satisfaction: The pilot course in 2004, Global Product Development, featured global teams jointly completing a project that was designed to meet a real-world need within GM. Students found this to be extremely satisfying, and one of the projects resulted in the first ever multi-national team patent application at GM. Learn more at University of Michigan College of Engineering and GM Technical Education Program -Master of Engineering in Global Automotive and Manufacturing Engineering.

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2006 Selection Committee

• Judith S. Eaton, President, Council for Higher Education Accreditation

• Starr Roxanne Hiltz, Distinguished Professor, New Jersey Institute of Technology (2004 Sloan-C Award for Most Outstanding Achievement in Online Learning by an Individual)

• John V. Lombardi, President, University of Massachusetts, Amherst

• Joseph McDonald, President, Salish-Kootenai College

• William Messner, President, Holyoke Community College

• Burks Oakley II, Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs, University of Illinois (2003 Award for Most outstanding Achievement in Online Teaching & Learning by an Individual)

• Gerardo de los Santos, President, League for Innovation in the Community College

• Charles Dziuban, Professor, Educational Foundations, University of Central Florida (2005 Sloan-C Award for Most Outstanding Achievement in Online Teaching Learning by an Individual)

• Eric E. Fredericksen, Associate Vice Provost, University of Rochester, non-voting Chair

Effective Practice and Program Profile Awards were selected by the Sloan-C Editors for Effective Practices:

• Tana Bishop of the University of Maryland University College

• Melody Thompson of The Pennsylvania State University World Campus

• Peter Shea of the State University of New York University at Albany

• John Sener of Sener Learning Services

• Karen Swan of Kent State University

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