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Project Description

The table below contains report excerpts (right column) accompanied by annotations (left column) identifying how the excerpts represent the Project Description Criteria.

Annotations Report Excerpts
 

Excerpt 1 [Teaching Introductory Combinatonics by Guided Group Discovery, Dartmouth College]

Project Features:
Describes project goals and objectives

In the proposal for this project, Professor A wrote that 'the primary goal of this project is to design teaching materials for a course in introductory combinatorics in which a large majority of the students learn of large majority of the material.' The project thus eschews the too-common practice of fixing the class pace to engage the better students, accepting that the less able or less prepared will emerge with shaky understandings and battered confidence. Guided discovery seeks to make learning more efficient for all students by matching the pace of instruction to the individual learner through a structured series of problems and by reducing isolation (and increasing available brain power) through group work. A grading system that rewards mastery before moving to the next level reinforces the message that genuine understanding is the goal. The evaluation of the Guided Discovery project thus has two goals: (1) to determine whether students learn combinatorics better and understand more deeply by guided discovery than through a standard lecture presentation and (2) to identify those pedagogical strategies that promote learning.

 

Excerpt 2 [Collaborative Research: Developing and Implementing Just-in-Time-Tracking (JiTT) Techniques in the Principles of Economic Course, North Carolina A&T State University]

Project Features:
Describes project goals

Research and Education Activities:

This project focused on the adaptation and implementation of an innovative teaching technique originally developed for physics education Just-in-Time Teaching (JiTT) for use in introductory economics courses. Broadly speaking, JiTT techniques combine the use of out-of-class web-based exercises with active-learning pedagogy in a traditional classroom setting that makes students active participants in the learning process. By exploiting the communication and instructional efficiencies provided by the web and web-based course management tools and directly linking out-of-class student academic work with classroom-based learning, JiTT promotes increased student participation in the learning process, provides students and faculty with prompt feedback on student learning, and encourages better student preparation for class.

The multi-faceted approach of JiTT out-of-class web-based exercises followed by an interactive lecture, class discussion, or collaborative problem-solving exercises based on students' responses to the JiTT questions creates a positive learning cycle that actively engages students in the learning process and puts students at the center of that process. Our classroom experience bears out the benefits of using JiTT techniques: better student preparation for class, greater participation in classroom discussion, and useful feedback for instructors and students. An annotated timeline for the research and education activities carried out during the project is provided below:

Describes project activities and duration

An annotated timeline for the research and education activities carried out during the project is provided below:

Spring, 2001 (Grant Awarded)
===========================

-National Science Foundation grant DUE-0088128 'Developing and
Implementing Just-in-Time-Teaching (JiTT) Techniques in the Principles
of Economics Course' awarded April 1, 2001
- Initial planning for implementation of JiTT pedagogy during fall, 2001

Summer, 2001 (Initial Development)
===========================

- Initial course planning for implementation of JiTT pedagogy in fall, 2001 courses
- Development of JiTT exercises for use in fall, 2001 courses

Fall, 2001 (Development and Implementation)
=======================================

- First implementation of JiTT in Principles of Macroeconomics and Principles of Microeconomics. 180 students in three sections.
Creation of library of student JiTT responses and student comments about use of JiTT

Spring, 2002 (Development and Implementation)
========================================

Second implementation of JiTT in Principles of Macroeconomics and Principles of Microeconomics courses. 160 students in four sections. Creation of library of student JiTT responses and student comments about use of JiTT.

Summer, 2002 (Development and Implementation)
=====================================

- Formative assessment of implementation experience during fall, 2001 and spring, 2002 courses
- Development of formal assessment procedures and planning for collection and analysis of student data (human subjects release, questionnaire development, assessment design)
- Continuing development of JiTT exercises for use in fall, 2002 courses

Fall, 2002 (Assessment of Learning Outcomes)
==================================

Third implementation of JiTT

Working paper analyzing student learning outcomes developed Initial JiTT presentations on student learning outcomes resulting from classroom research

Spring, 2003 (Assessment/Dissemination)
=============================

Fourth implementation of JiTT in in Principles of Macroeconomics and Principles of Microecnomics courses. 160 students in four sections. Creation of library of student JiTT responses and student comments about use of JiTT.
Working paper analyzing student learning outcomes developed Continuing JiTT presentations on student learning outcomes resulting from classroom research

Summer, 2003 (Assessment, Dissemination, Web Development)
=====================================

- Initial development of JiTTEcon web site
- Continuing analysis of student learning outcomes using updated data

Fall, 2003 (Assessment, Dissemination, Web Development)
==================================

Fifth implementation of JiTT in in Principles of Macroeconomics and Principles of Microecnomics courses. 160 students in four sections. Creation of library of student JiTT
responses and student comments about use of JiTT.
- Continuing development of JiTTEcon web site
- Continuing presentations on JiTT based on classroom research

As indicated in the timeline above, the project was divided into three phases: (1) initial development and implementation (with formative assessment), (2) implementation and formal assessment of student learning outcomes, and (3) dissemination of results (via presentations and development of JiTTEcon web site).
 

Excerpt 3 [Interactive Computer and Web-Based Learning of Software Packages Used in Engineering, University of Texas Pan American]

Project Features:
Description of features of Education Technology-based project

Introduction

The principle objective for the grant was to introduce new pedagogical methods into the engineering curriculum that allow for the teaching and integration of professional course related software. Interactive computer based training (CBT) or instruction was used to accomplish this objective where the asynchronous delivery of interactive materials accommodated instruction that was outside of the typical classroom environment and where access to the instructor was limited. The objective was accomplished in the four courses outlined in the proposal and to a limited degree in two other mechanical engineering courses (Thermodynamics and Biomechanics). The software integrated with each course is listed as follows:

  • Engineering Graphics           Pro-Engineer
  • Measurements and instrumentation         LabView
  • Mechanism             Working Model and MathCAD
  • Finite Elements            Visual Nastran
Each software application requires a significant investment of time for the instructor to teach and for the student to learn and apply. This extra burden on students was minimized through the effective use of CBT tools that can adapt to the student's instructional needs.

The introduction of CBT tools into the curriculum brought with it the ability to impact other aspects of the course and student learning. The interactive games, quizzes, virtual world, and other resources offered on the instructional web sites developed for each class focused on course fundamentals that are problematic for students. The additional assistance that students receive from these interactive tools can offset the cost of introducing engineering software into the curriculum but more significantly provides needed feedback and variety in the instructional environment.