Dr. Greg Gellene’s presentation on course design emphasizes five key tips for enhancing student engagement and outcomes, including creating a comfortable learning environment and utilizing instructional assignments. He advocates for abandoning traditional weekly homework in favor of more structured, distributed assignments to improve completion rates. Additionally, he suggests integrating booster shot sessions to reinforce learning and retention.

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The Journey to Digital
Professional
Development
Series
October 21, 2015
5 Course Design Tips to Increase
Engagement and Outcomes

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Questions and Comments

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Today’s Presenter
Dr. Greg Gellene
Texas Tech University
Lubbock, Texas

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Greg’s Story
1990s
LCD projection panel (8 shades of magenta!)
WebAssign - /X
2000s
Connect (McGraw-Hill)
OWL (v1)
2014
MindTap

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My 5 Course Design Tips
1. Put your students at ease
2. Homework: think “how structured” vs. “how much”
3. Use instructional (contextual) assignments
4. Abandon the weekly homework paradigm
5. The Booster Shot Session

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Tip #1: Put Your Students at Ease
 What excuses for learning do you hear at the beginning of the
term?
 Try a pep talk
 Help students get comfortable early
 Keep students comfortable

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Tip #2: Homework: Think “how structured” rather than “how much”
“Learning results from what the student does
and thinks and only from what the student does
and thinks. The teacher can advance learning
only by influencing what the student does to
learn.”
Herbert Simon
Nobel Laureate, Economics 1978
 Most of what students “do” is homework – Help them do more
 Distribution and timing of assignments  Tip #4

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 A common approach
 What could go wrong
 What can help bridge the gap
Tip #3: Use Instructional (Contextual) Assignments

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Tip #3: Use Instructional (Contextual) Exercises

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Tip #3: Use Instructional (Contextual) Exercises

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Tip #4: Abandon the Weekly Homework Paradigm
 Approach
• Each Assignment 2-3 hours
• New assignments MWF
• Rarely asked for an extension
 Benefits
• High homework completion
• Students are prepared for lecture
• “Auto” flipped classroom

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Tip #4: Abandon the Weekly Homework Paradigm
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
PercentofStudents
Percent Homework Completed
Distributed
Homework
(Bi-)weekly
Homework
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
A B C DFW
PercentofStudents Course Grade
Distributed
Homework
(Bi-) Weekly
Homework
Value of Distributed Homework – First implementation in 2013

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How I used to think online homework systems led to content mastery:
Tip #5: The Booster Shot Session
incorrect
Assignment
Correct Answer
and Feedback
Content Mastery
correct
Answer Newly
generated
question(s)

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Tip #5: The Booster Shot Session
0 – 1 time through the
loop

Long-term memory
2+ times through the
loop

Medium-term memory
(at best)
What I learned seemed to be going on

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0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34
%DFWinCHEM1307
CPE Score
Without Support With Support
p < 0.001 p > 0.10
 Weekly, highly interactive Clicker-based sessions
 Reinforce problem solving techniques and concept understanding
 ~20 multiple choice questions
 Results:
Tip #5: The Booster Shot Session

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Outcomes and Student Feedback
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
A B C DFW
10.6%
20.1%
27.6%
41.7%42.5%
29.5%
12.3%
15.8%
%Students
CHEM 1307 Grade
Face-to-Face DistanceMindTapMastering

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The Journey to Digital
Professional
Development
Series
September 24, 2015
Incorporating Technology to Strengthen
Critical Minds