ITC Archives

 
Pew Grant Program

Overview

In 1999, the Innovative Technology Center (ITC), Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures (MFLL), and Center for Undergraduate Excellence (CUE) were awarded $200,000 from the Center for Academic Transformation's Pew Grant Program in Course Redesign (http://www.thencat.org/PCR.htm). The purpose of this institutional grant program is to encourage colleges and universities to redesign their instructional approaches using technology to achieve cost savings as well as quality enhancements.

The redesign projects focus on large-enrollment, introductory courses, which have the potential of impacting significant student numbers and generating substantial cost savings. Spanish 150: "Intermediate Spanish Transition," a course traditionally oversubscribed, was selected for the program redesign to 1) shift grammar, vocabulary, and listening to an online environment, thus freeing class time for interactive and collaborative learning experiences focused on information exchange, negotiation of meaning, interpretation, and authentic self-expression, and 2) serve more students while significantly decreasing labor costs.

The project team members, Prof. Dolly J. Young, Dr. Jean A. Derco, Mr. Alec Riedl, and Dr. Julie K. Little, have utilized a reflective process approach to strengthen the course content and delivery format. As the project enters the full implementation phase this fall, all courses will be offered under a pedagogically sound redesign using Online@UT (Blackboard). With the support of Dr. Carolyn Hodges, MFLL Dept Chair, and using this reflective approach the project has been able to achieve further cost savings (course costs per student: traditional=$109; 1st redesign=$32; and 2nd redesign=$28).

Another goal of the project is to ascertain the effectiveness of online instruction and to identify significant differences in student competency and performance based on the traditional format of the Spanish 150 course and its redesigned version. While preliminary results indicate there is no significant difference in proficiency, there are significant differences in language competency (achievement) for learners participating in the redesigned course. Research from the fall full implementation will be presented in the ITC Spring 03 newsletter.

The course site is developed using Blackboard v5.5 and is hosted on the University of Tennessee's online course delivery secure server Online@UT.

Learning Goals

  • Use technology to support skill practice (e.g., listening comprehension, grammatical competence, vocabulary development, quizzing).
  • Offer two types of learning approaches for students, analytical (online) and global (in class).
  • Increase active learning through class interaction.
  • Emphasize active speaking skills and cultural awareness through in-class tasks.
  • Provide immediate feedback to students on their progress through online diagnostic homework exercises.
  • Increase instructor's and student's computer literacy.
  • Encourage peer teaching and collaborative learning of students in assigned group activities, both online and in class.

Institutional Objectives

  • Increase student enrollment by one-third while significantly decreasing labor costs.
  • Reduce grading time from 141 to six hours.
  • Provide any-place, any-time access to course materials.
  • Design a model that can be replicated within other language courses.
  • Adhere to instructional and technological standards to allow course materials to be easily shared by other institutions.

Project Updates

  • Mid-Course Assessment Workshop, San Antonio, TX, March 15, 2001 Update
  • June 2001 Update
  • September 2001 Update
  • Round II Results, Dallas, TX, February 25, 2002 Presentation (Internet Explorer only)
  • June 2002 Update
  • Round II Results, Pittsburgh, PA, June 17-18, 2002  Presentation (Internet Explorer only)

Implementation Plan

PHASE I (Pilot)
Spring 2001 5 redesigned sections / 29 traditional sections
PHASE II (Partial)
Fall 2001 15 redesigned sections / 19 traditional sections
Spring 2002 19 redesigned sections
Summer 2002 2 redesigned sections
PHASE III (Full)
Fall 2002 TBA
Spring 2003 TBA
Summer 2003 TBA

Research Component

Below is the status of the instruments to be used in the research part of this project.
  • A student background questionnaire conducted and results compiled.
  • A cognitive style questionnaire (SILL).
  • A standardized oral interview (SOPI).
  • The University of Tennessee Spanish Placement Test.
  • The Minnesota Language Proficiency Assessments in Reading, Listening and Writing (in place of the ABLE exam, as originally proposed).
  • A student questionnaire re: their online experience at the beginning of the course conducted and results compiled.
  • Human subjects' Form B permissions.
  • Midterm exam.
  • Final exam.
  • Focus group goals: questionnaires, questions, etc.
  • Two syllabi, one that corresponds to the traditional Span. 150 course and one for the redesigned version. The redesigned Span. 150 course syllabus will be written to weave in online assignments that are supposed to be taken to class.
  • In-class interactive activities and tasks for the teacher to follow; these will be part of a teacher packet.
Project Personnel
Dr. Julie K. Little, Dr. Faye Julian Co- Principal Investigators
Dr. Dolly A. Young Content Specialist; Project Implementation
Dr. Jean A. Derco Proposal Development; Instructional Design; Project Management
Mr. Alec Riedl Research Associate; Content Developer; Course Management System Specialist