CCLI Annotated 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

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

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.