A Faculty Members Perspective
Interview topic timestamps
00:28 – PROCESS OF SETTING UP THE CBE COURSES
- First mapped out what the student was going look at on Blackboard
- Wanted each of the competency modules to flow in the same fashion
- Then developed the labs and the tests
- Finally, enlisted the support of the instructional designer who helped design the course
01:24 – TYPE OF CONTENT IN THE CBE COURSES
- A variety of materials – text to read, online textbook, PowerPoint presentations, small quizzes at the end of each section, and videos (some developed on-sight, others were taken from places like Kahn Academy)
- The purpose of all these materials was to make the course well rounded and representative of classroom courses
02:05 – THE STRUCTURE OF EACH OF THE MODULES
- For each module, divided the course by sections in the textbook – Modules based on chapters
- “Read It, Watch It, Do It” format
- Read It contained all the information the student needed to look at to learn the material
- Powerpoints
- Textbooks
- Code examples
- Watch It contained videos – made at ACC, and from Kahn Academy, YouTube, etc.
- Do It contained the labs
- Prelab covered the vocabulary/terminology of the chapter
- Labs had a programming practice – e.g. Python programming code that a student had to write
03:27 – IMPORTANCE OF HAVING AN INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGNER
- Instructional designer is able to see the course more objectively than the faculty who created the content
- She simplified and clarified content
- Made the course flow better
- Asked faculty “Why did you do this?” At first really frustrating for faculty, but then they began to see that asking “why?” made the content better for the students
04:48 – BIGGEST CHALLENGES IN DEVELOPING THE COURSE
- Biggest challenge was planning phase – figuring out how to set up a course that was competency-based, that would allow student to move through at a faster pace
- After first round of students went through course, their feedback helped to make additional changes
05:51 – SUPPORT SYSTEMS FOR FACULTY WHO ARE DEVELOPING CBE COURSES
- Use Instructional Designers – Ideally multiple designers if multiple faculty members are simultaneously developing courses
- Have instructional designers who understand CBE trials and pitfalls to help faculty avoid
- Stipend or release time for faculty so that they don’t get overwhelmed with teaching regular courses plus developing CBE course
- Make sure CBE leader lays out very clear instructions as to what is expected to make sure all the CBE courses on the campus follow the same structure – less confusing to student
07:53 – SUPPORT SYSTEMS FOR CBE STUDENTS
- Tutors to help with coursework
- Coaches to inspire and help them stay on track
08:48 – TRADITIONAL VS. CBE STUDENTS
- CBE students much more motivated that on-campus students
- CBE students know what they want whereas on-campus students often still trying to figure out what they want
09:35 – IS CBE FOR EVERYONE?
- No – CBE is for student who already has some of the competencies and wants to go at a faster pace
- CBE is for motivated students who know what they want, have some experience in the workforce and are ready to move forward
10:30 – ARE ALL FACULTY MEMBERS SUITED TO TEACH CBE?
- Yes, if they get training or help beforehand jumping in
- Need to understand the purpose of the class, and the motivation of the students
12:00 – IN SUMMARY
- CBE is a great program for the right students
- Allows students to move through quickly, on their own time, to get the degree or certificate they need to move forward in their job
- It’s fun to teach – opens doors to all kinds of students with all kinds of experiences