An AS Engineering Degree Program via ALN

Transcription

1 An AS Engineering Degree Program via ALN John Sener and Merrily Stover Extended Learning Institute Northern Virginia Community College Annandale, VA Abstract - This semester (Fall 97), Northern Virginia Community College (NVCC), through its Extended Learning Institute (ELI), is offering what is to our knowledge the first Associate in Science (AS) engineering degree available via distance education to home-based learners in the U.S. Funded largely by grants from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation during the past four years, NVCC/ELI has developed the engineering, mathematics, chemistry and physics courses required to offer a complete AS engineering degree program. This paper describes how NVCC/ELI has incorporated asynchronous learning networks (ALNs) into its math, science, and engineering courses and highlights some of the issues involved in developing ALNs for home-based community college students. Background NVCC received two grants from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to develop a distance education engineering degree program for community college students. This degree is a two-year Associate in Science (AS) degree that will enable recipients to transfer to undergraduate institutions to complete the remaining two years for a Bachelor of Science degree. NVCC s AS degree in Engineering currently requires 21 courses (63 credits) to complete. Through grants from the Annenberg/CPB Foundation, ELI had previously developed the courses required for AS degrees in General Studies and Business Administration. Since the General Studies courses satisfy the elective requirements for the AS in Engineering degree, the focus of the Sloan Foundation-funded project was to develop the required engineering, mathematics, chemistry, and physics courses for the degree. This project is one of over 30 projects funded by the Sloan Foundation under its Asynchronous Learning Networks (ALN) initiative, which is designed to explore new outcomes in higher education in which current, affordable technology enables asynchronous access to remote learning resources [Mayadas, 1994]. ELI s program and this project have several distinct characteristics which make it a significant and unique project. ELI is essentially a home study program, primarily serving students who live close enough to one of NVCC s five campuses to make a limited number of trips to a campus for testing, laboratories, or buying textbooks, but whose life and time demands restrict their ability to attend classes scheduled on campus. Secondly, ELI is a community college program, so maximum access and relatively open admission are central to the program s mission. The resulting characteristics of the students served -- cost-sensitive, time-strapped learners relying on technologies widely available in the home -- and their particular needs have shaped project development [Sener, 1996c]. To our knowledge, this is the first associate in science engineering degree program for home-based learners available in the U.S. Although use of the World Wide Web for course delivery is increasing quite rapidly and hundreds of courses have materials posted on the Web [e.g., University of Texas at Austin, 1996], most of these are syllabi, course notes or other materials that support oncampus classroom instruction rather than complete in-depth courses [Bourne et al., 1997]. Entire science and engineering courses available to home-based learners are still quite rare, and even fewer of these courses offer opportunities to interact or collaborate with each other via computer. Course Development Since developing an entire degree program in a discipline such as engineering is a sizable undertaking, it was decided to approach course development in two stages, or phases. In the project's first phase, ELI offered two engineering courses, one calculus course, and one chemistry course to over 150 students during the spring and summer semesters of To attain the basic objective of developing viable courses, course development focused on ELI's prior success in using print and video media for course delivery. Experimentation with developing ALNs and selection of a suitable computer-mediated communication (CMC) delivery platform was also done [Sener, 1996a]. To give students a sense of continuity among courses and to promote a sense of shared purpose among participating faculty, ELI developed a common instructional model for the four Phase 1 courses based on a lecture, laboratory and recitation model common to higher education science instruction. Video was the medium selected for the lecture delivery component of each course, and the same studio set was used for video production to produce a common look and feel to the lecture delivery component of the courses. Another key objective of the project s first phase was to select a suitable CMC delivery platform for facilitating electronic recitation with learners. Lotus Notes TM, a groupware/ CMC software product [Lotus, 1997], was used as the delivery platform, which also offered a common look and feel to students as well as several other advantages. For the laboratory component of the chemistry course, a combination of on-campus and off-campus

2 laboratory activities was developed [Sener, 1996a]. Several important lessons learned during the project s first phase were used to inform course development in the project s second phase. Although participating faculty gained considerable skills during the project s first phase, using a common instructional model was too restrictive for them. Accordingly, in the project s second phase ELI returned to its faculty-centered development model, in which a team of instructional technologists and other staff support the faculty member as prime developer of the course [Lemke, 1995]. This approach affords faculty more latitude in accommodating a subject s specific needs and is more likely to develop faculty ownership of the course. The course delivery model s reliance on multiple media (print, video, computer, voice mail) to deliver course content did not take full advantage of Lotus Notes s applications development and hypermedia capabilities; Notes was also relatively expensive to use, difficult for students to learn, and cumbersome for us to administer with our resources, so FirstClass TM, another CMC software product [SoftArc, 1997], was selected for use in the project s second phase [Sener, 1996a]. The project s first phase also demonstrated that adequatesufficient student access could be maintained even with mandated computer use, but that to develop the interactive and collaborative activities needed to create ALNs in these courses, it was necessary to suspend ELI s continuous enrollment policy, which allows students to enroll for most courses on any day of the year. Most importantly, the project s first phase demonstrated that it was feasible to develop viable math, science, and engineering courses deliverable to home study students with results comparable to oncampus offerings [Sener, 1996a]. During the project s second phase, the remaining math, science, and engineering courses required for the associate degree were developed, so that the complete degree program is available starting in the fall semester The following courses were developed in the two project phases: x College Chemistry I (CHM 111) x College Chemistry II (CHM 112) x Engineering Graphics ( 115) x Introduction to Engineering ( 120) x Computer Programming for Engineers ( 126) x Engineering Mechanics -- Statics ( 140) x Engineering Mechanics -- Dynamics ( 245) x Basic Electric Circuits I ( 251) x Calculus with Analytic Geometry I ( 173) x Calculus with Analytic Geometry II ( 174) x Vector Calculus ( 277) x Differential Equations ( 291) x University Physics I (PHY 241) x University Physics II (PHY 242) Table 1. ALN Resources Available in All Courses (Spring' 97) Resource Type FirstClass Support conference FirstClass online manual ELI Learner Support conferences: - Counseling Services - Student Lounge - ELI Procedures, Info. - Learning Independently Purpose help w/using FirstClass: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ), modem settings files for >500 modems, & questions and answers on specific software instructions on how to use FirstClass access to advice from counselors social area for students only policies and procedures information tips on self-paced, independent learning For Students with World Wide Web Access: Library catalog links Course Resources Web page links access to available library NVCC & elsewhere pages of comparable courses at other schools; other pertinent Web-based resources Integrating ALNs Into Home Study Courses For its ALN initiative, the Sloan Foundation has classified its projects into one of three types: ALNs for students living on or near a campus; ALNs for students living within commuting distance (~within 50 miles) of a campus, and ALNs for students living very far from campus [Mayadas, 1994]. The courses in ELI s project fall into the second category since most of ELI s students live within commuting distance. As such, the courses

3 are not entirely delivered via ALN but have a substantive ALN component integrated into them. One of the principal challenges faced by this project has been how to integrate interactive and collaborative activities into a course delivery structure designed for the self-paced, independent study favored by ELI s home-based learners [Sener, 1997]. One guiding design principle was that merely establishing computer-mediated communication (CMC) was not enough to develop a true learning network; interactive and collaborative activities were also necessary for learning to occur [Sener, 1996b]. Initial ALN development efforts in the project s second phase focused on providing access via CMC to people as remote learning resources through interactive and collaborative activities. More recent development has also focused on providing access to content resources. Table 1 summarizes ALN resources that are available for all courses, while Table 2 summarizes ALN resources available in specific courses. Table 2 illustrates the variety of ALN strategies employed by faculty in course development. For example, in the math (calculus) courses, the instructor s preferences and student focus groups suggested that collaborative activities would not be appropriate for the subject matter, so these courses rely instead on interactive activities, which also function in effect as content resources as the content of these conferences is accumulated and posted. Other courses such as the Introduction to Engineering ( 120) and the chemistry courses rely more heavily on collaborative activities. Table 2. ALN Resources in Specific Courses (Fall' 97) Course => Type of ALN Activity/Resource CHM 111, PHY 241, 242 Interaction Student Introductions x (_) (_) Q&A (private ) (_) (_) (_) (_) (_) (_) (_) (_) (_) (_) (_) (_) Q&A (conference) (_) (_) (_) (_) (_) (_) (_) (_) (_) (_) (_) (_) Practical Applications x x Online Quizzes x x Graphics Calculator (_) (_) Practice Tests Collaboration Collaboration Exercises Computer Program x Lab Experiments x* x* Lab Reports x x Library Research (_) x x Mock Meeting x* Study Groups (_) (_) (_) (_) Content Resources Homework Assignments x x x x HW Help/e-lectures (_) (_) Example Problems (_) (_) Legend: x = required activity or resource * = also includes face-to-face activity (_) = optional activity or resource x x

4 Table 2 illustrates the variety of ALN strategies employed by faculty in course development. For example, in the math (calculus) courses, the instructor s preferences and student focus groups suggested that collaborative activities would not be appropriate for the subject matter, so these courses rely instead on interactive activities, which also function in effect as content resources as the content of these conferences is accumulated and posted. Other courses such as the Introduction to Engineering ( 120) and the chemistry courses rely more heavily on collaborative activities. Measuring the Success of ALN Integration into Courses Developing this program has presented a number of significant challenges and issues. Some of these, such as balancing student access with technology use, developing effective physical science and engineering laboratory activities, transmitting graphical content, demonstrating problem-solving processes, developing faculty competence without requiring universal expertise, and assuring portability of courses to other interested institutions, have been described in detail elsewhere [Sener, 1997]. One issue of particular significance relative to ALN development is the degree to which ALNs are successfully integrated into courses. For the Spring 1996 semester, three revised courses ( 173, CHM 111, and 120) and two new courses ( 174, PHY 241) were offered. Although subjective observation suggested that all three revised courses exhibited significant increases in student interaction and collaboration via ALN compared to their first offering in the Spring 1995 semester, there were significant differences in activity and successful use of ALN among the five courses. For instance, the math course exhibited a large increase in the level of interaction between students and the course tutor, while the introductory engineering course exhibited a marked increase in both the level of interaction between instructor and student and in the level of collaboration among students. As a result, an attempt was made to develop a more objective measure of the degree to which ALNs are integrated into each course. Since ELI s experience from past course offerings coincided with observations from other practitioners that students generally behave as if grading formulas are an ultimate statement of what is important in a course [e.g., Harasim et al., 1995], grading was used as a criterion to measure degree of ALN integration into courses. Accordingly, calculations were made for the percentage of a course grade that required ALN activity, as measured by submission of assignments electronically. Since ELI s policy of requiring on-site exams greatly limits the percentage of graded assignments that can be submitted by computer, calculations were also made for both percentage of total grade for assignments which must be submitted by computer and percentage of non-exam-related assignments that were submitted by computer, as noted in Table 3. This table was useful in that it largely confirmed several of our perceptions about ALN development, for instance that the math courses had integrated required computer assignments to the maximum extent possible based on the instructor s preferences; that the physics and engineering courses had substantially integrated ALN activities; and that the amount of ALN activity in the chemistry course had been disappointing. Based on this measure of ALN integration, the chemistry course was revised to include more required computer assignments as instructionally appropriate, including Student Introductions and collaboration on lab reports (see Tables 2 and 3). Table 3. Percentage of Computer-Submitted Course Assignments, Spring' 96 Course Total Grade Non- Exam Grade % 100% 90% % 100% 90% CHM 111 (Sp 96) CHM 111 (F 96) 0-5%* 14-19%** 0-11%* 23-31%** Exam= % of Tot. Grade 55% 40% PHY % 63% 60% % 52% 57% Notes: Total Grade = percentage of total grade for assignments which must be submitted by computer; Non-Exam Grade = percentage of grade for assignments excluding exams which must be submitted by computer; Exam = % of Total Grade = percentage of grade obtained through exams; * = computer submission was optional; **= depends on student s selection of lab assignments However, although submission of graded computer assignments is a useful criterion, it is not a sufficient one to measure ALN integration into courses entirely. A more complete set of criteria would include the percentage of graded assignments which requires computer collaboration or interaction to complete, and the percentage of total coursework (graded and ungraded) for which computer collaboration or interaction is available (i.e., required or optional). These criteria are broader and thus more difficult to measure, particularly the value of optional ALN activities since students may value the availability of such

5 activities as much as their actual use of them. Results Table 4 summarizes course enrollments to date. As Table 4 indicates, enrollment in these courses thus far has steadily increased as new courses have been added; enrollments within courses have fluctuated moderately within reasonable ranges. None of the courses has an enrollment cap except for the chemistry courses, which are limited to 35 students per course per semester because of limited resources for on-campus laboratory activities. It is anticipated that enrollments in all courses combined will range between 250 and 300 in the fall and spring semesters once all courses are available. Course Table 4. Course Enrollments by Semester (through Summer 97) Sp 95 Sm 95 Sp 96 Sm 96 F 96 Sp 97 Sm 97 All CHM n/o 26 n/o n/o n/o n/o n/o 23 n/o n/o n/o n/o n/o n/o 8 13 n/o n/o n/o n/o n/o n/o n/o n/o n/o n/o n/o n/o n/o n/o n/o n/o n/o n/o n/o n/o 27 PHY 241 n/o n/o 22 n/o 16 n/o n/o 38 Totals Notes: CHM 112, 251, and PHY 242 offered for first time in Fall n/o = not offered during this semester. Table 5 summarizes grade results to date through the spring 1997 semester. One area of concern indicated by grade results attained thus far is the attrition rate. Community college courses can be expected to have higher attrition rates than four-year institutions for several reasons, including lower entry requirements and very inexpensive tuition rates. At NVCC, this problem is compounded by a registration system which allows easy registration via telephone or mail and which does not prevent unqualified students from registering, so that for example students can easily sign up for a more advanced course without having completed its prerequisites. ELI courses traditionally have somewhat higher attrition rates than on-campus courses for additional reasons: independent study requires students to be self-directed and self-motivated, and some students withdraw from ELI courses after learning that this method of study is not suitable for them. ELI s math, science, and engineering degree courses show significantly higher attrition rates than their on-campus counterparts. Telephone surveys and other student feedback indicate that students withdraw for reasons largely beyond our control; lack of time, enrollment in an on-campus course, conflict with work or other duties, and personal matters are the reasons most commonly cited. Table 5. Grades (through Spring 97) Course A B C D F W(NS) I X All* CHM (24) (33) (27) (11) (7) (5) (65) (30) (7) (15) PHY (11) All (235) Note: W = students who withdrew from the course; (NS) = Non-Starters = students who withdrew before submitting any assignments; I = Incomplete; X = audited course; * = excludes students who withdrew with refunds before starting course. One issue identified by student feedback which is somewhat within our control is the level of course workload required. Home study courses, which substitute independent study and CMC for classroom lectures, aggravate the sense of too much content, too little time which math, science, and engineering faculty say they experience in teaching on-campus courses as well. In addition, pre-prepared, self-paced courses such as ELI s do not allow for partial or total omission of topics, as can happen in classroom courses when instructors run short of time at the end of semesters. Student feedback and course results indicated that some of our courses, for instance the physics course, required revision in order to deliver a more manageable yet substantive level of course content.

6 On the other hand, students who have completed ELI s math, science, and engineering courses thus far have achieved promising results. To compensate for the significant number of students who withdraw from courses for reasons entirely beyond our control, ELI uses a criterion called starter success rate, defined as the percentage of students who submit at least one assignment for a course and who earn an A, B, or C in the course, to measure student success. By that measure, ELI students who start their math, science, or engineering degree courses are comparably successful to their on-campus counterparts (58% vs. 60% on-campus). Accordingly, we are exploring ways to increase the percentage of enrolled students who start their courses. Also, as is typical of other ELI courses, ELI students who complete the math, science, and engineering degree courses receive a higher percentage of A s (29% vs. 25%) than on-campus completers. Conclusion & Acknowledgments ELI s experience thus far indicates that developing ALNs for the math, science, and engineering courses required to complete an entire Associate in Science engineering degree program can be an effective way to deliver such a program to home-based community college students. ALN course components can support interactive and collaborative learning and provide remote access to rich content resources, while also preserving the advantages of self-paced, independent study. Project progress thus far indicates that results comparable to on-campus course offerings can also be achieved. This project has been made possible by the generous support of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. For more information about the project, visit ELI's World Wide Web site at: Alfred P. Sloan Foundation's Program in Learning Outside the Classroom. URL: 6) Sener, J. (1997). Creating Asynchronous Learning Networks in Mathematics, Science, and Engineering Courses for Home-Based Learners. International Journal of Educational Telecommunications, 3(1), pp ) Sener, J. (1996c). Delivering an AS Engineering Degree Program to Home-Based Learners Using Affordable Multiple Media. Journal of Interactive Instruction Development, Fall 1996, pp ) Sener, J. (1996b). Delivering an A.S. Engineering Degree Program through Home Study Distance Education. ERIC Clearinghouse for Community Colleges, April ED ) Sener, J. (1996a). Developing a Home-Based Distance Education Engineering Program: Lessons Learned. Journal of Instruction Delivery Systems, Winter 1996, pp ) SoftArc (1997). FirstClass Web page. URL: 11) University of Texas at Austin (1996). World Lecture Hall Home Page. URL: References 1) Bourne, J., Brodersen, J., Campbell, J. Dawant, D. & Shiavi, R. (1997). A Model for On-Line Learning Networks in Engineering Education. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, 1(1), March ) Harasim, L., Hiltz, S., Teles, L. & Turoff, M. (1995). Learning Networks: A Field Guide to Teaching and Learning Online. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press. 3) Lemke, R. (1995). Encouraging and Supporting Asynchronous Learning Networks. Presented at the First International Conference on Asynchronous Learning Networks, Philadelphia, October ) Lotus (1997). Lotus Notes Groupware and for the Net. URL: 5) Mayadas, A. (1994). Asynchronous Learning Networks: