University of Maryland Baltimore County

1. University of MarylandBaltimore County Department of Psychology Psyc100: Introductory Psychology Eileen O’Brien, Ph.D. eobrien@umbc.edu

2. Traditional Introductory Psychology Course • General foundation requirement course • 180+ students • 7 sections per year • 4 credit course • 3 ½ clock hours each week for instruction • 15 weeks of class • Large lecture halls • 4 major multiple choice exams

3. Traditional Introductory Psychology Course • Failure rate peaked at 15% • 60% attendance rate • Lack of preparation for class –limited discussion • Overwhelming amount of course content • Faculty are less interested in teaching this course

4. Advisory Group for Course Redesign • Faculty teaching the course* • Lecturers and Adjuncts • Provost • Dean of Arts and Sciences • Department Chair* • Faculty Development Director* • Student Learning Resource Center Director* • Blackboard Administrator* • Evaluator* • Graduate TAs* • Undergraduate Student* *Review team for timeline tasks

5. RedesignIntroductory Psychology Course • Goals: • Improve student outcomes in the course • Make psychology exciting and relevant to students’ lives • Increase number of psychology majors • Promote active adult learning • Share faculty expertise and experience • Realize cost savings

6. RedesignIntroductory Psychology Course • Replacement Model • Reduced class meeting time (decrease of one hour/week) • Mandatory individual online simulation labs and mastery assessments • Supplemental discussion groups for students needing extra support • Pedagogy to include online interactive activities, classroom group exercises, and the classroom performance system (clickers)

7. Redesign Team ActivitiesIntroductory Psychology Course • Review of existing online activities and textbooks • Presentation from publishers April/May 2007 Pearson McGraw-Hill CengageWiley Houghton Mifflin • Two hour presentation and hands-on use of all online interactivities and quizzes • Complete listing of all resources and cross-reference to critical concept areas • Redesign Group evaluated each presentation and discussed strengths and weaknesses of each product

8. Redesign Team ActivitiesIntroductory Psychology Course • Decision and design of interactive labs for Blackboard - June 2007 • McGraw-Hill customized interactive labs for Blackboard at UMBC in August 2007 • Essentials textbook chosen • Key to the decision: • Amount of interactivity related to foundational concepts, interface with Blackboard, accuracy of online test bank, ease of immediate tech support, cost to student

9. Redesign Challenges • Faculty development and negotiation • Agreeing to commonalities • Technology • Roles of Graduate TA and Undergraduate Peer Mentors • Role and Training • Pedagogy change and classroom technology • Small Group Activities • Classroom Performance System (CPS) • Freshman student preparedness • Accuracy of online quizzes and technology glitches • Evaluation • Focus group attendance • Progress on key student outcomes

10. Potential Benefits of the Redesign • Improved pedagogy should increase success rates in the course • Students should be engaged in the course and able to apply psychology to their lives • Encourages interactive learning and independent accountability • Reduces the number of sections of Intro Psych from 7 to 5 each year while maintaining a stable enrollment • Reduces faculty time on administrative tasks for the course • Reduces the use of classroom space on campus • Labor saving strategies should draw tenured faculty to the course

11. Status ofRedesign • Pilot Spring 2008 • Two sections of the redesign • One section of the traditional model • Common exams across all three sections • Redesign sections are using the same small group activities, CPS questions, and labs • All sections are early morning classes with similar enrollment numbers