Redesigning The Telecourse For The Millennial Generation

1. Redesigning The Telecourse For The Millennial Generation Erik Christensen Patricia Manderville South Florida Community College 1

2. South Florida Community College • 4 rural campuses in 3 counties • 3,521Enrollment • 54% Female • 34 % Full Time • 36% Minorities • Average Age 23 • 29 Online Courses • 65 Full-time Faculty • Desire To Learn (D2L)

3. Alternative Course Offerings 3

4. Traditional Telecourse Format • Watch a some videos • Take an exam • Watch some more videos • Take another exam

5. Traditional Telecourse Results Passive learning experience Minimal interface with instructor or other students Requires a lot of self motivation Poor retention Poor student satisfaction Poor student success Procrastination rules!

6. Our Guiding Philosophy It’s not what the instructor does that matters. Rather, it is what the student does.

7. The Telecourse “Redesign” Digitized and loaded all videos on campus server Added online components Discussion Boards Online Quizzes/Exams Added Experiential Learning Components Imposed a Very Structured Course Design

8. Millennial Generation Traits Special Achievers Sheltered Team Oriented Confident Pressured Conventional - Howe and Strauss (2000, 2003)

9. Special • Parents continual praise • Awarded for participation rather than victory • Civic generation 9

10. Monthly On-line Self-Reflection Forces students to reflect on their performance Allows non-threatening opportunity for advising, counseling, or acknowledging good performance • How do I think I am doing in this class? • What do I need to do to improve my grade?

11. Rapid Email Response Promise a response within 24 hrs But typically reply within 8 hours Under promise but over perform!

12. Star Project Each student is assigned their own star Must apply fundamentals to their star: Age Size Luminosity Lifespan Location Historical significance

13. Achievers • Expect high grades for meeting standards • Prefer objective assessments, not subjective • Respect Heroes - media driven 13

14. Online Quizzes and Exams • Unlimited attempts allowed on weekly quizzes • Only highest score counts • Randomly selected questions from a larger database • Engages most students to seek highest score

15. Extra Credit Opportunities Turn in projects one week early Attend a Star Party Service Learning Opportunities

16. Sheltered • Need structure • Trust and count on authority • Safety rules • Constant contact with parents 16

17. Very Structured Course

18. Detailed Instructions/Examples W E Example of Lunar Observation Data Be sure to do your observing between Moonrise and Moonset! Shade in the parts of the Moon that you do NOT see. Place a large dot on both figures to show the location of the Moon as you see it.

19. Explicit Grading System

20. Team-oriented • Like to congregate and desire cooperation • Readily volunteer for causes • Prefer group learning 20

21. Virtual Teams Class subdivided into small groups Must work together online to respond to conceptual critical thinking questions Great for conceptual homework questions Students really enjoy discussion type exercises

22. Online Chat Rooms Homework Discussions Exam Reviews

23. confident • Negotiators • Optimistic • High levels of trust 23

24. Online Question of the Week • Students must post a response and comment on a classmate’s response each week. How would you explain to an 8-year old what a black hole is and how we know they exist?

25. Online Surveys

26. Online 24/7 Submissions

27. Pressured • Multi-task • Structure to lead them to achieve • Use to zero tolerance policies • Perform in standardized tests, lack creativity 27

28. Weekly Reminders with Hyperlinks • Week 10 • We now are in week ten of the course. This week we will study about our solar system . This is presented in one chapter (16). The following items are due this week: • Read Chapter 16 • Watch Video #16 • Answer Question of the Week #10 • Take online Quiz #10 • REMINDER: Your lunar project is due NO LATER THAN 9:00 AM on Monday, November 12th.

29. Variety of Assignments Each Week: Read textbook Watch videos Question of the Week Weekly Quiz Two month-long projects Goal is to minimize procrastination

30. Conventional • Respect cultural differences • “Going along” is the best way to get along • Comfortable with parents’ values 30

31. Lunar Observation Project Observe the Moon for one Lunar cycle (28 days) Collect data Analyze correlation between Moon phase and tidal cycle The most demanding part of the course but also the most rewarding

32. Star Parties Twice each month Telescope viewing sessions See with their own eyes what we have been studying Bring along family and friends Great recruitment tool for future students!

33. Clearly Articulated Outcomes • Demonstrate a workable vocabulary enabling them to intelligently read astronomy articles. This will be assessed through your Star Project. • Identify and describe the primary members of our solar system, galaxy, and the universe. This will be assessed via quizzes and exams. • Understand the relationship between the earth and movements of celestial objects. This will be assessed via the Lunar Observation Project.

34. Results Course enrollment is skyrocketing Up 200% in one year! High student satisfaction Improved student learning Highly recommended by peers Challenging but rewarding

35. Typical Student Feedback “I think this an excellent course and one you can excel at. As silly as it sounds, don't blow off this class for your "real" classes. This class deserves a full slot in your life! I am glad I took this course, I've learned a lot about something I knew nothing about. I did get all of my assignments done early instead of waiting until the last moment for once. It was great.!! P.S. Take part in the star parties and join in. They're cool!”

36. Thank You Erik Christensen christensene@southflorida.edu Patricia Manderville mandervp@southflorida.edu 36