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Go to previous page Global Change I Course: A Technology-Enhanced, Interdisciplinary Learning Environment Go to next page

Outcomes

The faculty who developed and continue to sustain the U of M Global Change I and II (UC110 and UC111) courses participated in the Undergraduate Curriculum Development Testbed (UCDT). The UCDT was designed to deploy an interdisciplinary curriculum as well as collect data about the interdisciplinary teaching environment at the University of Michigan. It was funded by the central administration of the U of M and an award from the National Science Foundation's Institution-wide Reform of Undergraduate Education program. Established in 1997, one of the UCDT's first projects was to field an evaluation team that worked closely with the Global Change core faculty to develop and undertake an evaluation plan intended to provide "formative" information that the faculty could use to improve their course while they were developing it. The evaluation team was led by Eric Dey, professor of Higher Education in the University of Michigan's School of Education.

Dey's evaluation team encouraged the Global Change core faculty group to articulate student outcomes, which, in turn, the team used to guide its evaluation activities. The evaluation team gathered data on students' status as science majors or non-science majors, science preparation, pre-college experiences, course expectations, behaviors, and attitudes. They collected these data by using surveys and cognitive assessments, web-based lab/lecture evaluation forums, interviews, in-class observations, focus groups, Early Student Feedback, and classroom assessment techniques promoted by Cross and Angelo (1993).a. (See Resource C for more information on the types of evaluation data collected and the College Level One's FLAG web site.)

According to Tim Killeen (former director of the Global Change Project, and now director of the National Center for Atmospheric Research, NCAR), the work that Eric Dey and his colleagues at the UCDT did was indispensable to the success of Global Change. He said that Eric's regular, critical feedback "helped [Global Change faculty] with all sorts of issues, such as the cadence of introducing new materials into the computer labs, crosscutting themes, transitions between professors, size of lab classes, numbers of discussions, and examples." According to Killeen, improvements in course organization that resulted from the evaluation process helped make Global Change one of the most highly regarded introductory science courses on campus as evidenced by student evaluations, high enrollment, and interest in the Global Change minor.b

Moreover, the faculty lauded the formative role of the evaluation because of its contribution to the improvement of student learning. For instance, Dave Allan, professor of Natural Resources and the Environment, stressed the role of evaluation in determining the amount of work that students did with modeling software.

    Dave: We started off with the course thinking that the models and the exposure to this was so important to the students that we needed to give them as much of that experience as possible, because they probably hadn't had it before. What we learned through the assessments and the feedback was that it was too much for them. Instead of having a model every week, now we have a model about every third week. And in between we give them other kinds of exercises that actually help maximize their understanding of the models and their use of that technology. We would have never figured that out. We would have thought, "Oh, these students are grumbling, students always grumble." But because it was put to us in a very different way, with figures and a clear assessment, we decided, "Okay, we've got to change this."

The surveys that Eric Dey and his colleagues designed for the computer-enhanced Global Change course seek to determine the degree to which the course fosters meaningful learning. The surveys ask students for:

  • their reactions to their laboratory, lecture, and Web experience

  • comparisons between Global Change and other U of M courses

  • any personal growth they experienced from taking the Global Change course

The results suggest, among other things, that as a result of taking Global Change, students:

  • recognize the ability of computer-enhanced laboratories to foster learning

  • "think critically about global change"

  • "feel confident in [their] ability to gather [web-based] information about global change

  • value interdisciplinary education

  • "feel empowered to act on what [they] have learned"

For example, in their responses to the surveys, students report strong cognitive gains. In the fall of 1999, over 90% agreed or strongly agreedc that: a) they learned a good deal of factual material in the course, b) the knowledge they gained improved their ability to participate in debates about global change (Figure 1), and c) the course encouraged them to think critically about global change.

Bar graph showing student survey results to, 'The knowledge I have gained through this course has improved my ability to participate in debates about global change.'  Strongly agree is about 25%, Agree is about 60%, Neutral, Disagree, and Strongly Disagree are the remaining responses.

Figure 1. Responses to sample "cognitive gains" question
Global Change I, Fall 1999

The students also reported strong positive responses to the lab component of the course. Eighty percent of the students either agreed or strongly agreed that lab assignments were both carefully chosen and intellectually challenging. While only just over 50% of respondents indicated that laboratory assignments made an important contribution to their understanding of the topics discussed in lecture, over 60% agreed or strongly agreed that ArcView helped them understand Global Change concepts and principles (Figure 2). Over 90% agreed or strongly agreed that they felt confident in their ability to use ArcView to construct models. And over 80% agreed or strongly agreed that ArcView helped them understand the relationships among different variables.

Bar graph showing student survey results to, 'ArcView has helped me understand Global Change concepts and principles.'  Strongly agree is about 12%, Agree is about 55%, Neutral is about 18%, Disagree, and Strongly Disagree are the remaining responses.

Figure 2. Responses to sample laboratory question
Global Change I, Fall 1999

The student survey responses also show generally favorable responses to the lecture component of the course. Over 80% agreed or strongly agreed that having several professors in lectures contributed to their understanding of concepts, and only about 14% agreed or strongly agreed that the transition from one instructor to the next interfered with their ability to learn. However, 74% of respondents disagreed or strongly disagreed that the transition from one instructor to the next interfered with their ability to learn, and 72% disagreed or strongly disagreed that it was difficult to understand how topics covered in the lecture fit together.

The evaluation also showed that students valued their work with the Global Change website and the World Wide Web. Over 80% of the students agreed or strongly agreed that using the web made a significant contribution to their learning. Forty percent said that links from the Global Change website to other internet websites provided them with helpful information, while 50% were neutral on this issue. Over 90% agreed or strongly agreed that they felt confident in their ability to use the Web to gather information about global change, and 60% agreed or strongly agreed that they used the web skills they learned in Global Change in other classes, and to investigate areas that interested them.

When asked about the personal growth experienced from Global Change, students once again responded favorably. Over 90% of the respondents agreed or strongly agreed that they had deepened their interest in the subject matter of the course (Figure 3). Over 80% agreed or strongly agreed that they were enthusiastic about the course material. Over 50% agreed or strongly agreed that they have had opportunities to help other students learn about global change issues. And over 80% said they felt empowered to act on what they learned.

Bar graph showing student survey results to, 'I have deepened my interest in ths ubject matter of this course.'  Strongly agree is about 38%, Agree is about 50%, Neutral, Disagree, and Strongly Disagree are the remaining responses.

Figure 3. Responses to sample "personal growth" question
Global Change I, Fall 1999

To see the complete tabulations of the Fall 1999 assessment see Resource D.




a. Angelo, T. A. (1993). Classroom assessment techniques: A handbook for college teachers. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass

b. Tim: "I got really excited, when I could see the course getting better through the evaluation process. We looked at the student ratings at all the large enrollment interdisciplinary courses in science on campus for the last couple of years, and when you take biology, geology, atmospheric science, electrical engineering-the large enrollment, greater than a hundred students, introductory 100-level classes-we outscore them all in terms of the student interest. We get an 'A,' the next highest rating is astronomy, 'A-.' This is not stuff I talk about normally because it's sort of a, 'we're better than you,' but for us involved it's concrete evidence that students regard this course very highly. We've seen that in the enrollment, and we think it's because it's relevant to their lives.

***

Dave: "There are several measures of whether we are reaching the students and whether this interdisciplinary approach is worthwhile. The student enrollments are increasing, the feedback that we get from the students in simple questionnaires is very positive. They continue on in the Global Change sequence, they've shown enough interest to help us develop a minor in the college. So there are lots of very standard assessment measures and instruments that show that we are on the right track."

c. Students were asked to respond to statements by indicating one of the following choices: strongly agree, agree, neutral, disagree, strongly disagree.


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