Quality Matters Standards for Middle and High School Course Design

Transcription

1 26th Annual Cnference n Distance Teaching & Learning Fr mre resurces: Quality Matters Standards fr Middle and High Schl Curse Design Dr. Rn Legn Executive Directr, The Quality Matters Prgram Prvst Emeritus, The University f Baltimre Dr. Stacey Rimmerman Chair, Department f Educatinal Technlgy Grand Canyn University frmerly Research, Quality, and Evaluatin Manager The Flrida Virtual Schl In June 2010, published the first editin f the Quality Matters Rubric that is specifically tailred fr middle schl and high schl nline and blended curses. It is the result f a sixteen-mnth-lng develpment effrt in which the Quality Matters Prgram cllabrated with a leading prvider f nline curses fr students in grades 6 t 12, the Flrida Virtual Schl (FLVS). The resulting rubric has been created t address the need fr a set f standards that is specific enugh t guide the develpment, enhancement, and evaluatin f nline and blended curses fr middle and high schl students. Abut Quality Matters The Quality Matters pstsecndary Rubric, which was first develped by the MarylandOnline cnsrtium with supprt frm a U.S. Department f Educatin Fund fr the Imprvement f Pstsecndary Educatin grant in , has becme the mst widely used set f standards fr the design f nline and blended curses at the cllege level. Tday, mre than 400 clleges and universities, abut 10 percent f the U. S. higher educatin cmmunity, subscribe t the nn-prfit Quality Matters Prgram. The Quality Matters Rubric is the mst widely used benchmark f pstsecndary nline curse design in the U.S., and it has als established itself as an effective develpment tl fr teachers making the transitin int distance educatin. Over the seven years f its existence, ne f the pprtunities frequently mentined fr the further develpment f the Quality Matters Rubric has been its ptential use fr quality assurance in K-12 nline educatin. QM chse nt t enter this arena earlier, despite the dramatic grwth f K 12 nline schls, prgrams, and curses, because it lacked a credible partner with intimate knwledge f K 12. Only thrugh such a partnership culd QM be assured that significant differences between K 12 and pstsecndary educatin wuld be taken int accunt. Cllabrating with the Flrida Virtual Schl The breakthrugh ccurred in December 2008, when the Flrida Virtual Schl agreed t wrk with QM t develp a versin f the Quality Matters Rubric fr Grades 6-12 nline and blended curses. A jint Steering Cmmittee was established, and a develpment plan was apprved early in Rn Legn, Executive Directr f QM and Stacey Rimmerman, the Research, Quality and Evaluatin Manager fr FLVS were designated as the prject leads. The first stage f the prcess in February and March f 2009 was t evaluate three FLVS curses tw high schl curses and ne middle schl curse using the current Quality Matters Rubric, editin. Tw teams reviewed the three curses. The first team was cmpsed f tw QM-certified peer reviewers and ne FLVS staff member. The secnd team was cmpsed f ne QM-certified peer Cpyright 2010 Bard f Regents f the University f Wiscnsin System 1

2 26th Annual Cnference n Distance Teaching & Learning Fr mre resurces: reviewer and tw FLVS staff members. The FLVS reviewers were prepared fr their rle by participating in an verview f the QM Rubric. The purpse f these early reviews was t determine whether the existing rubric made sense when applied t middle schl and high schl curses: Which standards fit, which did nt, and what gaps must be addressed t fully evaluate the design f these curses? Based n the results f these early reviews, the prject leads cncluded that almst all the pstsecndary standards were relevant t these curses, but that they did nt address sme fundamental cnsideratins in the design f K 12 curses, such as the rle f parents, the greater cncern with student privacy, and the cmmn practice f teacher cmmunicatin with students and ther stakehlders utside the curse management system. It was als clear that the anntatins that are a key element f the rubric needed t speak mre directly t the details and circumstances f K 12. These findings were brught t the Steering Cmmittee in March, and the cmmittee members endrsed mving frward with drafting a versin f the QM Rubric. A fur-member Wrking Grup was established t prduce a draft. The grup cnsisted f Rn Legn, Stacey Rimmerman, Pam Deering a QM Master Reviewer and Marcela Piners a FLVS instructinal designer. Meeting ver the Internet n a weekly r bi-weekly basis, this grup wrked frm April until August t draft a QM Rubric fr Grades 6 12 and a Curse Wrksheet t capture the data necessary t apply these standards. Integratin f Other Respected Standards In additin t taking the results f the preliminary review int accunt and relying n the their extensive knwledge f middle and high schl educatin, the Wrking Grup cnsulted existing standards fr K 12 nline educatin prmulgated by: The Suthern Reginal Educatin Bard (SREB): The Nrth American Cuncil fr Online Learning (inacol): %20Curses% pdf The Internatinal Sciety fr Technlgy in Educatin (ISTE) Natinal Technlgy Standards and Perfrmance Indicatrs fr Teachers: ards_final.pdf The Partnership fr 21 st Century Skills: ew Features f the Grades 6-12 Editin f the QM Rubric The mst significant differences between QM s Pstsecndary Rubric and the Grades 6-12 Rubric are as fllws: New Cntext: The rle f stakehlders parents, cunselrs, hst schls, etc. Increased privacy cncerns Increased cmmunicatin utside f the curse management system befre, during and after the curse The rle f state standards, natinal standards, AP standards and 21 st Century Skills Cpyright 2010 Bard f Regents f the University f Wiscnsin System 2

3 26th Annual Cnference n Distance Teaching & Learning Fr mre resurces: Examples f gd practice made mre relevant t grades 6 12 K 12 terminlgy replaces pstsecndary terminlgy, e.g., teachers nt instructrs New Standards: Standards f academic integrity are clearly stated (Standard 1.4) Curse bjectives must meet state standards (Standard 2.3) Curse cntent is apprpriate t students reading level (Standard 4.3) Instructinal materials prepare students t meet lcal, state and natinal standards (Standard 4.5) Curse cntent is balanced and bias-free (Standard 4.6) Increased Imprtance f Specific Standards: Netiquette Academic integrity Student self-check pprtunities Standards fr teacher respnsiveness Student access t technlgies Text alternatives t auditry and visual cntent Ttal pints increased t 100 with 85 needed t meet standards Data Cllectin: Primary cntact is labeled the Curse Representative wh is nt necessarily the teacher Curse Wrksheet: replaces Instructr Wrksheet Sme f the additinal data elements: Cmmunicatins Matrix Cmmunicatins Prtfli State standards Age and grade level f the students Testing the New Rubric The next step in develpment f the Grades 6 12 Rubric was t test the new rubric by applying it t a range f middle and high schl curses t see if there were any unanticipated prblems. A chrt f reviewers was trained fr this purpse in Nvember and early December and the reviews tk place in January Eight curses were selected three frm the Flrida Virtual Schl, tw frm the Maryland Bard f Educatin, tw frm Minnesta Virtual Schls and ne frm a schl district in Illinis. The results f these reviews were analyzed and resulted in sme mdificatin f the rubric anntatins and instructins t reviewers. Amng the findings f the eight pilt reviews, several pints are wrth nting. First f all, nne f the eight curses met Quality Matters Standards in the first pass, thugh several came clse. This result is nt surprising, since the rubric is new, and n similarly detailed standards fr curse design exist in the K 12 arena. Furthermre, the teachers and ther curse develpers respnsible fr the design f these eight curses had n advance access t the standards, which we encurage in ur existing higher educatin prcess and will recmmend as the rubric is implemented fr middle and high schl curses. Cpyright 2010 Bard f Regents f the University f Wiscnsin System 3

4 26th Annual Cnference n Distance Teaching & Learning Fr mre resurces: We can als identify the standards that were mst frequently missed. The tp six f these, in descending rder, are as fllws: 8.1 Adherence t Institutinal Accessibility Plicy (75% missed) 3.2 Statement n Grading Plicy (62.5%) 3.3 Statement f Criteria fr Evaluatin (62.5%) 5.3 Statement f Standards fr Teacher Respnsiveness (62.5%) 1.5 Statement f Minimal Technical Skills (62.5%) 1.2 Curse Intrductin (50%) A significant prprtin f curses (3 f 8 r 37.5%) als failed t meet the fllwing eight standards: 1.1 Instructins n Getting Started 1.3 Etiquette Expectatins 2.1 Measurable Curse Objectives 2.5 Instructins n Meeting Curse Objectives 8.2 Alternatives t Auditry and Visual Cntent 1.4 Standards fr Academic Integrity 4.5 Instructin Materials Meet Lcal, State and Natinal Standards 7.3 Instructins and/r Tutrials n Research, Writing, Technlgy, etc. These deficiencies are nt unexpected in curses develped withut a clear set f standards t guide their design, but they als pint up the need fr such standards and the fact that middle and high schl nline curses have substantial rm fr imprvement. We strngly recmmend that thse respnsible fr the design f a particular curse have access t the Grades 6-12 Editin f the QM Rubric prir t any QMbased review. We als learned thrugh the pilt reviews that sme jurisdictins have a unique set f mandated elements that they require t be incrprated in every nline r blended curse. Rather than subject a curse t a separate review t determine whether these cmpliance issues are satisfied, QM has built a feature int the Grades 6 12 Editin f the QM Rubric that enables these cmpliance matters t be addressed alngside the design issues in the rubric. This ptinal General Standard 9, Cmpliance Issues, is available t be custmized by the client. The cst f a QM-managed review that includes this custm cmpnent is adjusted t accunt fr the additinal scrutiny. Cmpsitin f Grades 6-12 Curse Review Teams The pilt reviews established the efficacy f tw-member review teams. Bth experienced teachers and instructinal designers will be eligible t serve as reviewers fr Grades 6 12 curses. At least ne member f the team must have nline teaching experience. Bth members f the team must agree fr a standard t be cnsidered as met. Tw-member teams will reduce the cst f Grades 6-12 frmal reviews as cmpared with QM cllege level curse reviews, which use three reviewers. Ptential Users f the Grades 6-12 Editin f the QM Rubric The ultimate beneficiaries f the Grades 6 12 Rubric, we believe, will be students experiencing mre effectively designed nline and blended curses. But hw d we expect this new tl t be used? The fllwing grid is ur initial assessment f the audiences that are likely t benefit frm the availability f the Grades 6-12 QM Rubric. Cpyright 2010 Bard f Regents f the University f Wiscnsin System 4

5 26th Annual Cnference n Distance Teaching & Learning Fr mre resurces: Audience Teachers, Instructinal Designers and Design Teams Public and Private Virtual Schls and Publishers Schls Administratrs Students, Parents and Cunselrs Schl Systems, Lcal and State Bards Cllege Admissins Officers Teacher Educatin Faculty Applicatin Imprve existing curses Build mre effective curses Demnstrate cmmitment t quality t schl systems and ther stakehlders Screen and select curses Seeking quality curses fr students Prvide evidence f quality assurance and meet demands fr accuntability Evaluating nline learning experiences f applicants Preparing their students t teach nline Based n QM s experience with the pstsecndary rubric, we anticipate that we will learn a great deal frm the early adpters f the Grades 6 12 Editin. Based n this early experience, we will prduce a revised set f standards within ne r tw years, the review prcess will be fine-tuned and the expressed needs f ur clients and subscribers will shape the services we build arund the new rubric. We invite yur feedback and yur active participatin in this prcess. Abut the Presenter Rnald Legn Executive Directr The Quality Matters Prgram f MarylandOnline Suite Annaplis Exchange Pkwy. Annaplis, MD Phne: rlegn@qualitymatters.rg Cpyright 2010 Bard f Regents f the University f Wiscnsin System 5