1. Institution name, contact persons,
telephone numbers e-mail addresses, fax numbers.
Southeast Missouri State
University
Dr.
Jane Stephens, Provost
Phone: (573) 651-2063
Fax: 573-651-5102
Dr.
Christina L Frazier, Director of Assessment
Phone: (573)
651-2065
2. Campus-level Initiative Title
Enhancing Teaching
and Learning
3. Abstract
Institution’s Approach to FFR
Southeast's approach merges
Funding for Results (FFR) with Strategic Planning. The FFR program provides a mechanism to fund those strategic
initiatives having to do with enhancements in teaching and learning and
assessment. Proposals are requested
from faculty and professional/administrative staff in a standard grant proposal
format. Proposals must include the
expected goals/outcomes of the project, a plan of activities designed to
achieve the goals, a plan of evaluation and a timeline. Proposals are reviewed by a Funding for
Results team consisting of faculty, staff and students. Grant recipients must file a final report.
Teaching/learning
thrusts
Use technology to enhance active learning
Provide experiential learning opportunities
Improve students’ communication and
critical thinking skills
Promote student success
A. Descriptive Listing of Projects
Use technology to enhance active
learning
·
Use
of video feedback to develop self-evaluative skills for enhancing instructional
competence in pre-service teachers
·
Improving
Student Retention in Chemistry Laboratory Courses through Web-based
Pre-laboratory Tutorials
·
Integration
of Assistive Technology into Teacher Preparation
Provide experiential learning
opportunities
·
Breaking
Down Stereotypes, Stage 2: Real Indian
Writers/Real Indian Educators
·
Millenial
Symposium of the Arts
·
The
Eighth Annual Southeast Missouri State University Student Research
Conference: A Program in Experiential
Learning
·
Developing
a Cadre of Student StarLab Presenters:
A Follow-Up to Project StarLab
Improve students’ communication and
critical thinking skills
·
Assessment
and Improvement of Ethical Reasoning in UI400, Business and Ethics
·
Oral
Communication Across the Curriculum
·
Enhancement
of Critical Thinking and Writing Skills Evaluated by University Studies
Assessment Instruments
·
Writing
Across the Curriculum Initiative
Promote student success
·
Pyramid
for Success in Nursing
·
First
Year Learning Teams (FLighTs)
·
Mastering
College Success
·
Retention
Program for At-Risk Criminal Justice Students
B. Abstracts of Multiple Projects
Use
technology to enhance active learning
Use of video feedback to
develop self-evaluative skills for enhancing instructional competence in
pre-service teachers
This project was designed to
provide opportunities for Early Childhood Education (ECE) majors to make use of
video technology for self-evaluation of their teaching skills. Through opportunities to examine actual
teaching performances, they were expected to begin to take note of and
interpret learner responses to their teaching, to evaluate and reflect upon
their practice, and to begin to develop personal teaching styles. In concert with their cooperating teachers
and university faculty members, they began to identify areas of strength as
well as areas in need of improvement.
Currently, the sole sources of evaluative information on teaching
performance is through paper-pencil reports and oral discussions with
individual cooperating teachers and university faculty. While such information provides immediate
qualitative feedback, that information is limited to a measure of what the
student “may know” and what an observer says he/she “can do.” Videotaping will serve as a tool to enhance
the evaluative process through the student’s own self-evaluation. Through systematic taping of experiences,
students will be able to actually see and evaluate their own performance,
rather than just being told by someone else.
Improving Student Retention
in Chemistry Laboratory Courses through Web-based Pre-laboratory Tutorials
First semester chemistry students are often intimidated by the expectations of the laboratory portion of the course, especially if they have no prior chemistry lab experience. Previous data in our department shows that student discouragement in the lab leads to their dropping the course completely, thus leading to a retention problem. Part of the difficulty is that students, especially those with little experience, have difficulty visualizing laboratory procedures from printed lab handouts or in-class instruction. We are setting up on-line pre-lab tutorials that will show the students, through graphics, animation, video, and text, and will help students better visualize laboratory procedures. Added benefits of the on-line tutorials are more self-paced instruction for students and a vast reduction in the amount of time devoted to lecture in the laboratory (with a corresponding increase in the amount of time spent on experimentation by the students).
This project provided
assistive technology, both hardware and software, used by pre-service special
education students during their field experience placement. This equipment was integrated into their
instruction of students with disabilities.
A pretest-posttest survey measured the awareness level of the
pre-service teachers for technology in special education and if students gained
in their awareness and use of technology for students with disabilities as a
result of using the equipment.
Provide experiential
learning opportunities
Breaking Down
Stereotypes, Stage 2: Real Indian
Writers/Real Indian Educators
The opportunity to interact
with Native Americans in the classroom greatly enhances understanding of “Real
Indians” as real people. In 1999, a
pilot FFR grant, “Breaking Down Stereotypes: Real Indians/Real People,” was used
to bring a variety of Native American activities and people to campus,
culminating in the Second SEMO Powwow.
Students in the targeted University Studies classes really appreciated
the powwow event, but they stated that the in-class experiences were even more
beneficial to their learning experience.
As the students pointed out, when individuals visited their classes and
talked with them, they felt free to ask questions and to interact on a more
personal level, thereby gaining a much deeper awareness and understanding of
“real Indians.” The purpose of this
project was to give students in a variety of classes across campus an
opportunity to experience a variety of Indian authors and educators in the
classroom, in workshops, and to hear them at public readings and discussions of
their own work. We invited six Natives
to visit: Joseph Marshall, Sicangu
Sioux author and actor; Dr. Ray Pierotti, Comanche evolutionary biologist; Rainbow
Eagle, Okla-Choctaw educator and youth counselor; Margaret Roach Wheeler,
Chickasaw/Choctaw textile artist; Dr. Theda Perdue, Cherokee historian and
author; and Nora Naranjo Morse, Tewa Pueblo poet, sculptor, and video
producer. We were also able to bring in
the Chickasaw Nation Dance Troupe, in cooperation with the Ad Hoc Committee for
University Relations with Native Americans.
This project engaged
students in the research, organization, and presentation of a celebration and
critique of the literary canon as represented by the 17 compelling, even
controversial, names on Kent Library.
The Symposium consisted of two main components, framed within the
performing arts disciplines of spoken literature and dance: 1) Orated declarations in period costume,
based upon works by the 17 men of letters, were contrasted alongside
counterpoint responses from a rich diversity of minority and alternate
opinions, including women, Native Americans, African-Americans, Asians, and
Gays/Lesbians – loosely based on Aristotle’s peripatetic Lyceum school in
ancient Greece, the week-long series of events was comprised of daily addresses
and replies, culminating in a Panel Discussion concerning those writers; and 2)
A special highlight of the Symposium was a major turn-of-the-millennium modern
dance concert by the internationally-acclaimed, New York-based Parsons Dance
Company – mirroring the canon-counterpoint paradigm from the literary field,
master classes steeped in the classical ballet tradition were juxtaposed
against the contemporary rejoinder from this avant-garde company.
The Eighth Annual Southeast
Missouri State University Student Research Conference: A Program in Experiential Learning
There were six primary goals
of this conference. The first was to
encourage Southeast students from across campus, both undergraduate and
graduate, to present their research in a professional manner. Research was broadly defined as theoretical,
review, or empirical, which promotes the interdisciplinary nature of the
conference and supports the Strategic Plan of the Psychology Department as well
as the University. The opportunity to
collaborate with faculty and present research, as well as to witness
presentations from students across campus, provided student presenters with an
invaluable experiential learning opportunity.
The second goal was to encourage students who are not presenting
research to attend the conference in order to inspire them to collaborate with
faculty on research, to consider becoming a presenter in the future, and to
provide them with the opportunity to recognize the accomplishments of their
classmates and the value of making presentations of one's work. The third goal was to broaden the scope of
the conference to include students from two community colleges, Mineral Area
Community College and Three Rivers Community College, which have ties to
Southeast through both location and articulation agreements. The fourth goal also involved broadening the
scope of the conference to high school students as a means of reaching out to
the community as well as potential Southeast students. The fifth goal was to reward students for
outstanding research. Students competed
for the Best Paper and Best Poster awards in either the undergraduate or
graduate student categories. The sixth
goal was to continue improvements and assessments of the conference, including
continued emphasis on research quality and participation by students from all
departments on campus.
Developing a Cadre of
Student StarLab Presenters: A Follow-Up
to Project StarLab
Five Southeast Missouri State Univeresity students were trained during
the summer of 1999 in the operation of the StarLab system, its educational
applications, and techniques for presenting effective StarLab programs. These students were then made available to
make presentations in southeast Missouri, especially in the classrooms of
non-StarLab trained K-12 teachers. This
was a step toward more effectively serving those K-12 students in the region
whose teachers were not certified to operate the StarLab system. Accomplishments of the project have been
significant. Through Project Cadre,
a total of 65 StarLab presentations have been given by Cadre students,
impacting a total of 1,318 K-12 students and adults. Equally important, their Project Cadre experiences have
been very rewarding and benefical to the Southeast students on the team,
especially in terms of heightened self-confidence and their overall sense of
professionalism and accomplishment.
Improve
students’ communication and critical thinking skills
The first objective of this
pilot study was to establish baseline data on measurable improvements in
students’ moral reasoning abilities as a result of this course. Once the baseline data was established, it
was analyzed to see whether there were significant differences in either
performance or increase according to the approach of the instructor. Should it turn out that one approach to the
course, or components of it, produces demonstrably superior student outcomes,
the course proposers will examine ways to restructure the course. A second use made of the baseline data with
potentially significant consequences for student learning relates to the
identification of primary traits that account for low scores. The investigators established primary trait
rubrics to be used in a second round assessment of papers determined to be of
marginal or lower proficiency. Low
proficiency papers (scored 3 or lower) were re-scored using the primary trait
criteria in a group session. The
objective here was to determine whether there was a consistent deficiency, or
set of them, in the low proficiency papers and, if so, how can we modify the
course to address those deficiencies.
Finally, data gathered from the summer pre-session and ITV courses were
scored, analyzed and evaluated to determine whether, and if so, how,
alternative delivery modalities effect student gains.
This project laid the foundation for developing an Oral Communication Across the Curriculum (OCXC) Program at Southeast Missouri State University. The goals of the OCXC Program are to support students’ incremental acquisition of oral communication knowledge and skills, establish Southeast Missouri State University’s expectations in terms of oral communication proficiency, and assist faculty in the development and implementation of oral communication activities. This project was designed to address three essential components of an OCXC program: assess students’ oral communication skills, work with faculty and administrators to develop and refine an oral communication intensive curriculum, and develop an Oral Communication Center. This project is part of a program that will be developed incrementally over three years. During these three years, the oral communication skills of freshmen and senior level students will be assessed. Students will receive direct feedback, both quantitative and qualitative, and will be asked to provide their own feedback about their experience. Thus, special consideration will be given to the creation of direct feedback loops for those involved with the OCXC Program. When space constraints are no longer an issue, the Oral Communication Center will be created. This center will provide students and faculty with assistance pertaining to oral communication skills and activities.
Enhancement of Critical Thinking and Writing Skills Evaluated by University Studies Assessment Instruments
This two year project will
determine if selected University Studies assessment activities can be used in
conjunction with specific faculty development activities and interventions with
students to improve student learning.
In one part of the project, data from the California Critical Thinking
Skills Test (CCTST) taken inUI4XX and the 75-hour writing proficiency
examination (WP003) were evaluated to select two departments whose students
have scored below the University average on the instruments. Each study department has been paired with a
control department from the same college with similar performances on the CCTST
and WP003. Two or three faculty members
from each study department will work with Writing Outcomes Program personnel to
design writing assignments that strengthen students’ writing and critical thinking
skills. The data analysis will span
five years to allow for value-added determinations. In all five years, the performance of the students in the paired
departments will be compared on the following measures: scores on the CCTST given to upperclass
students, and students’ writing and critical thinking scores based on
WP003. In the other part of the
project, data from the CCTST given to incoming students was to be evaluated to
identify individuals needing additional enrichment in the area of critical
thinking. However, since this test is
no longer given to all incoming students, at-risk students are identified by
Student Development personnel and offered the opportunity to participate in a
seven-session intervention provided by personnel from the Learning Enrichment
Center and faculty/staff volunteers.
The retention of participants and their performance on WP003 and the
CCTST will be compared with non participants matched for ACT and HSGPA.
Five faculty – 3 from the
Department of Mathematics, 1 from the Department of Management, and 1 from the
Department of Criminal Justice – met individually with the Director of the
Writing Center during the fall semester (1999) to discuss ways of improving the
design of one or more writing assignments in their courses. Revisions included (1) adding or refining
criteria of evaluation, (2) including an additional step (e.g., a pre-writing
activity, a revision, a complementary reading), and (3) changing the manner of
presentation (specifically, Dr. Randolph wrote in response to her own
assignment and shared the paper with her students before they tackled the
assignment themselves). Revisions were
implemented during both fall 1999 and spring 2000 semesters. Data in the form of student responses were
collected and, when possible, compared to student samples produced
“pre-project.” In addition to
conferring with participants, the coordinator visited sections of MA-318 and
CJ-230 to assist with various pre-writing activities (i.e., small group
discussion, "clustering" the topic, and using "discovery
questions" to generate ideas about an assigned topic). Descriptions of results as well as samples
of student writing were obtained from all participants at the end of the spring
semester for future analysis. The
results of this project will be summarized and disseminated in some form to the
entire faculty during the coming academic year.
Promote
student success
A high priority for the
Department of Nursing is to prepare students who can competently practice
nursing in the current and future health care environment. By intervening early in the program, at-risk
students can be remediated.
Foundational to this project was the Pyramid for Success program from
W.B. Saunders Co. This includes 3,000
computer practice questions, one hundred review models, a CD-ROM of instructor
resources, and PowerPoint slides. The
program also provided leveled content on test-taking strategies, study
techniques, computer use for testing (required for NCLEX), and all areas of
nursing content, organized in the same format as the NCLEX. The students in each nursing semester were
given the appropriate leveled content and practice questions, and instruction
on the testing techniques. In addition,
two pharmacology programs were purchased to provide additional resources to the
students as they took the practice questions.
Early in the fall semester, the 1999-2000 seniors took a normed computer
exam administered by Arnett Corporation, which served as the summative
evaluation of their basic nursing
knowledge. Those students identified as
at-risk for failure of the NCLEX were assigned faculty mentors. All of the seniors attended two special
sessions focused on the NCLEX administration, and were required to complete
2,000 computer practice sessions in sets of 100 questions each. These were analyzed by the graduate
assistant and results given to each student, and the assigned mentor if appropriate,
at the half-way point and at the end.
Areas of weakness and strength were identified and predictions of NCLEX
performance were made. There was a 5.59% increase in NCLEX success, and
anecdotal comments from the graduates indicate that the program increased their
confidence and ability to take the NCLEX.
First Year Learning Teams
(FLighTs)
The purpose of the
First-year Learning Team (FLighT) program was to create a seamless learning
environment for first-year students, enhancing their academic and social
integration by fostering strong relationships among students and their
instructors. Focus was placed on three
new additional indicators of success:
the long-term effects of FLighTs; the presence/absence of high-risk
behaviors in FLighT students; and the frequency of encounters with the University
judicial system. FLighTs increased from
four communities in 1997 to ten in 1999.
Each FLighT, comprised of 25 commuter and residential first-year
students, was a theme-based learning community consisting of three cluster
courses, one of which was GS101. With
the help of a Peer Mentor (a veteran student), the three FLighT instructors
worked collaboratively to integrate curricular and co-curricular activities
relevant to the FLighT theme. Most
on-campus FLighT members resided together in Towers East Residence Hall. The FLighT program responds to the
University’s priorities to offer a top-quality curriculum with co-curricular
programs reflecting University Studies objectives, to increase student success,
and to optimize and stabilize enrollment by serving students more
effectively. Assessment for this type
of program will be longer than the project itself; therefore, each cohort will
be tracked for four years or until graduation.
Curricular and co-curricular components of FLighTs will be evaluated
using baseline data (ACT, high school rank) and GPA, first-semester completion
rates, and fall-to-spring retention rates.
Due to changes in software
availability after the proposal was approved, this project was redesigned and
will be will be implemented in Fall 2000.
Research shows that many “adult learners” feel very apprehensive about
technology and its uses in the classroom.
The target population for this project is first semester students with
fewer than 24 hours of credit who are 24 or older and desire a greater
familiarity with computers and the use of technology to enhance learning. They will work with the CD-ROM “Mastering
College Success: Using the Internet to
Become a Better Student.” In
addition, two “adult learners” acting as Peer Mentors will host weekly study
sessions in the computer lab using the “Final Exam” web site to facilitate
student success as well as greater familiarity with the technology.
The goal of this program was
to operate a model program that increases retention rates of at-risk criminal
justice majors. Data had alerted the
department to two identifiable problems.
First, a significant number of criminal justice majors were on academic
probation. These students were deemed
vulnerable to attrition based upon research showing that a student’s GPA is one
variable closely associated with college withdrawal. Secondly, the data reveals a substantial number of majors had
failed the University’s mandated 75-hour Writing Proficiency Exam. This group posed a significant risk of
attrition because those who fail are at risk of not being considered as
candidates for graduation. This program
implemented a Field Essay Assignment for those students that had failed the
writing exam. The participants visited
community criminal justice agencies, observed professionals utilizing written
communication skills and composed an essay based upon their observations that was
critiqued by a writing consultant. The
program also provided at-risk participants with intensive support from the
program coordinator. The additional
support helped students access resources, improved GPA’s and strengthened the
connection between the students and faculty members. Intervention efforts were evaluated by an analysis of pre- and
post-cumulative grade point averages.
The interrelationship between number of contacts with program
coordinator and student’s ending GPA was discussed. A measurement of students that pass the Writing Proficiency Exam
was also obtained.
4. Summary of Activities
A. Process
A
call for proposals containing a brief description of the program, information
on obtaining more information on the application procedure, and the due date is
sent to all members of the faculty and professional/administrative staff .
The
standing FFR team which evaluates all proposals, awards funds and continues to
refine our approach, is composed of one student, one department chairperson,
one representative each from each of the five academic colleges, the
Polytechnic Institute, the library, the administrative/professional staff, the clerical/technical staff, and the Professional Staff and two additional
faculty members. Ex-officio members include the Provost, the Executive Vice
President, the Dean of Students, the Dean of University Studies, the Associate
Provost, and the Dean of the Graduate School.
Proposals
are reviewed and scored according the following criteria:
·
Is
the proposal clearly stated and innovative?
·
Is
the proposal directly aimed at improvements in teaching and learning?
·
Is
the project related to the unit's strategic plan/priorities?
·
Are
expected outcomes clearly defined and are they assessable?
·
Are
baseline data available/accessible?
·
Does
the project demonstrate potential for achieving expected outcomes?
·
What
is the likelihood that the project will lead to enhanced learning?
·
Is
the budget reasonable and well justified?
Proposal Numbers
·
Submitted: forty-five projects directed by fifty-nine
faculty and student affairs staff
·
Funded: fifteen projects directed by twenty faculty
and student affairs staff
B. Implementation/Impact
1. Implementation
Use technology to enhance active learning
·
Three
faculty used video feedback to assist pre-service teachers to develop self-evaluative
skills for enhancing instructional competence.
·
Four faculty and 7
students have developed on-line pre-laboratory tutorials for first semester
chemistry labs.
·
Twenty-nine
faculty trained pre-service special education students during their field
experience placement in the use of assistive technology, both hardware and
software, in the instruction of students with disabilities.
Provide experiential learning opportunities
·
Thirty-two
students and 11 faculty were involved in the planning and execution of a
project to break down stereotypes through interaction with real Indian writers
and real Indian educators.
·
Fifty-one
faculty orated declarations based upon works by 17 men of letters, or
contrasted alongside counterpoint responses from minority and alternate
opinions, including women, Native Americans, African-Americans, Asians, and
Gays/Lesbians as part of the Millenial Symposium of the Arts.
·
Forty-one
faculty sponsored students’ research papers and 3 faculty sponsored research
posters presented at the Eighth Annual Southeast Missouri State University
Student Research Conference.
·
Four
faculty members trained students to be student StarLab presenters.
Improve students’ communication and critical thinking skills
·
Six
faculty have been involved in the assessment and improvement of ethical
reasoning in UI400, Business and Ethics.
·
Twelve
trained faculty and the Director of the OCXC program assessed the oral
communication skills of students using a holistic scoring rubric.
·
Three
individuals
from the Learning Enrichment Center and faculty/staff volunteers lead a
seven-session intervention to assist to enhance their critical thinking skills.
·
Five
faculty – 3 from the Department of Mathematics, 1 from the Department of
Management, and 1 from the Department of Criminal Justice – worked with the
Director of the Writing Center and devised ways of improving the design of
writing assignments in their courses.
Promote student success
·
Forty-seven
faculty gave nursing students the appropriate leveled content and practice
questions from the Pyramid for Success program.
·
Twelve
peer mentors, 28 faculty, and 3 Residence Life Community Advisors worked
collaboratively to integrate curricular and co-curricular activities into 10
FlighTs, which are theme-based learning communities consisting of 3 cluster
courses around a common theme.
·
Four
student mentors and 7 Faculty members from the Department of Criminal Justice
worked to enhance the success of at-risk students through intensive support
from the program coordinator and activities including visits to community
criminal justice agencies, observations of professionals utilizing written
communication skills and composition of essays based upon their observations
that were critiqued by a writing consultant.
2. Impact
Use technology to enhance active learning
·
Two
students pre-service teachers used of video feedback to develop self-evaluative
skills for enhancing instructional competence.
One pre-kindergarten class; approximately 12 children; 1 cooperating
teacher; and 1 teacher aide were also involved.
·
Twenty-nine
pre-service special education students used assistive technology, both hardware
and software, in the instruction of students with disabilities during their
field experience placement. The
hardware and software were shared with another 120 Block III students. Twenty -nine special education practicum
cooperating teachers were also involved.
Provide experiential learning opportunities
·
In
addition to the 32 students and 11 faculty who were involved in the planning
and execution of a project to break down stereotypes through interaction with
real Indian writers and real Indian educators, more than 2,000 students and 50
faculty were participants in project events.
·
Fifty-eight
students from History, Dance, Music, Theatre, Visual Arts, English, Musical
Theatre, and 10 faculty participated in assessment of the Millenial Symposium
of the Arts, and hundreds of students were involved in both presentations and
as audience members.
·
In
addition to the 41 students, each with a faculty sponsor, who presented
research papers and three research posters at the Eighth Annual Southeast
Missouri State University Student Research Conference, the audience for the
two-day conference ranged from approximately 10 to 275 people at any given session
across the two days, with an estimated total of about 400 students having
attended the conference.
·
Five
Southeast students became student StarLab presenters and worked with 1,244 K-12
students and 74 adults (primarily a combination of K-12 teachers and parents of
K-12 students).
Improve students’ communication and critical thinking skills
·
147
students have been involved in the assessment and improvement of ethical
reasoning in UI400, Business and Ethics
·
The
oral communication skills of 343 students were assessed by trained faculty
using a holistic scoring rubric. Forty-seven faculty were involved in workshops
on oral communication, taught the classes in which the assessment was done,
and/or acted as evaluators.
·
Twenty students identified by
Student Development personnel participated in a seven-session intervention
provided by personnel from the Learning Enrichment Center and faculty/staff
volunteers to enhance their critical thinking skills.
·
Approximately
350 students participated in courses where the faculty had devised ways of
improving the design of writing assignments.
Promote student success
·
343
nursing students were given the appropriate leveled content and practice
questions from the Pyramid for Success program.
·
179
first-year students participated in 10
FlighTs, which are theme-based learning communities consisting of three
cluster courses around a common theme.
·
Twenty-nine
at-risk criminal justice students were provided with intensive support from the
program coordinator, visited community criminal justice agencies, observed
professionals utilizing written communication skills and composed an essay
based upon their observations that was critiqued by a writing consultant. The project also involved 1 FBI Agent, 2
Probation & Parole Officers, 1 US Marshal, 1 U.S. Attorney and 2 Cape
Girardeau Police Officers.
C. Financial Report
1. Total Allocations
|
Campus
Teaching and Learning FFR Projects |
$277,560 |
|
2. Total Seed Money |
$151,515 |
||
|
a. Personnel |
$72,820 |
|
|
b. Equipment |
$30,126 |
|
|
c. Publications |
$3,536 |
|
|
d. Assessment Instruments |
$0 |
|
|
e. Professional Development |
$125 |
|
|
f. Other A |
$44,908 |
|
|
3. Total Performance Money |
$0 |
||
|
a. Personnel |
$0 |
|
|
b. Equipment |
$0 |
|
|
c. Publications |
$0 |
|
|
d. Assessment Instruments |
$0 |
|
|
e. Professional Development |
$0 |
|
|
f. Other A |
$0 |
|
|
4. Other Expenditures of
FY2000 FFR Campus Allocation |
$126,045 |
|||
|
a. Travel for students to
attend conferences and make
professional presentations |
$11,241 |
|
|
|
b. Professional
Development b |
$7,500 |
|
|
|
c. Operations (duplicating, supplies, etc.) |
$16,686 |
|
|
|
d. Allocated funds for
multiyear and extended projects to be spent next year |
$50,618 |
|
|
|
e. Carry over C |
$40,000 |
|
|
A = includes funds for speakers
and dancers, software and non equipment supplies such as videotapes
B = each project director was
allocated $500 in professional development funds
C = the FFR Team stringently
applied the criteria to project selection and decided to carry funds over to be
used for future projects meeting the criteria rather than use them for current
proposed projects that did not met the criteria
D. Objectives of FFR
Initiatives
Use
technology to enhance active learning
Use of video feedback to develop self-evaluative skills for enhancing instructional competence in pre-service teachers
Through a systematic review
and analysis of self-evaluative video feedback information, collected over
time, early childhood pre-service teachers will modify and improve their
teaching performance.
Improving Student Retention in Chemistry Laboratory Courses through Web-based Pre-laboratory Tutorials
Develop on-line
pre-laboratory tutorials for first semester chemistry labs.
Special education
pre-service teacher education students will be provided with the opportunity to
use special education technology directly with students at their field
experience site, a method recommended by the National Council for the
Accreditation of Teachers in Education.
Provide experiential
learning opportunities
Students and faculty will
have the opportunity to meet Native Americans who are professionals in their
fields and to allow prominent Native Americans to learn about the Southeast
Missouri State University community with the overall purpose of dispelling
stereotypes of any of the groups held by any other group.
Diverse student populations
will be engaged in a focused, academic, campus-wide millennial celebration and
examination of the names on Kent Library within an interdisciplinary arts
context.
The Eighth Annual Southeast Missouri State University Student Research Conference: A Program in Experiential Learning
Southeast students, students
from feeder community colleges and high school students will be encouraged to
attend the Student Research Conference and present their research in a
professional manner with the opportunity to be rewarded for outstanding
research.
A cadre of five university
students will be trained in the operation of the StarLab Planetarium, its
educational applications, and techniques for presenting effective StarLab
programs; and then utilized to better meet the demand for StarLab presentations
in the southeast Missouri region.
Improve
students’ communication and critical thinking skills
A holistically scored
instrument for evaluating student moral reasoning will be refined and applied
in a pre- and post-test setting to students in a one semester, upper level
University Studies course in Business and Ethics.
Oral Communication Across
the Curriculum
Support students’
incremental acquisition of oral communication knowledge and skills.
Enhancement of Critical Thinking and Writing Skills Evaluated by University Studies Assessment Instruments
Select University Studies
assessment activities will be used in conjunction with specific faculty
development activities and interventions with students to improve student
learning.
Writing Across the
Curriculum Initiative
The principles of writing
across the curriculum will be promoted by assisting individual faculty in
disciplines other than English in improving the design of writing assignments.
Promote
student success
Pyramid for Success in
Nursing
Improve the performance of
BSN graduates on the licensing exam (NCLEX).
First Year Learning Teams
(FLighTs)
Create a seamless learning
environment for first-year students, enhancing academic and social integration,
expanding intellectual skills early on in the college experience, fostering
strong relationships among students and their instructors, and assisting in
increasing student persistence to graduation.
Mastering
College Success
Provide “adult learners”
with opportunities to become greater familiar with computers and the use of
technology to overcome their apprehension about technology and its uses in the
classroom.
Retention Program for At-Risk Criminal Justice Students
Increase the retention rate
of at-risk criminal justice majors and increase the number of criminal justice
students that pass the Writing Proficiency Exam.
E. Results obtained
Use
technology to enhance active learning
Use of video feedback to develop self-evaluative skills for enhancing instructional competence in pre-service teachers
·
Both
students who participated in the pilot videotaped one lesson in an actual
classroom teaching situation. The
overall comments from the students were that they “noticed their teaching styles,
body language, verbal cues and overall effectiveness. Both commented on what they noticed about their posture, their
voice quality, and the ways they responded to children, instructionally.” The technology was used without a
problem. Both students found it
difficult to tape from the back of children.
Each was anxious to share the tape with her instructor.
·
A
formal study will be conducted during Fall 2000 and Spring 2001 which will
involve 2-3 faculty and approximately 50 students. A complete report will be submitted at this time next year
(August 2001).
Improving Student Retention in Chemistry Laboratory Courses through
Web-based Pre-laboratory Tutorials
A full set of pre-laboratory tutorials have been developed for CH185 and CH180 and are being implemented this semester. The tutorial work in CH180 has also led and supported the first Web-based chemistry course at Southeast. Evaluation of student retention is pending the results of implementation of the on-line tutorials this academic year. The presence of the multimedia studio computer system has also sparked interest among other faculty members in developing their own pre-laboratory materials for upper division courses such as Physical Chemistry and Biochemistry. Mike Rodgers and I are committed to present a paper on our work on this project at the Regional American Chemical Society meeting in St. Louis this October.
Integration of Assistive Technology into Teacher Preparation
A survey, modified from an instrument developed by Blackhurst (1988),
was developed to measure the awareness of special education technology by these
pre-service special education teachers. Statistically significant results were
demonstrated in the following areas:
1. knowledge of
operation of microcomputers and peripherals:
2. use of
computer operating systems:
3. acquire
knowledge of the use of computers and related technology:
4. evaluation
of software:
5. use of
computer for assessment:
6. use of
technology to facilitate instruction:
7. use of
assistive technology:
8. use of
technology as a teacher
9. developing a
technology plan:
10. dissemination
of technology
Provide
experiential learning opportunities
Breaking Down Stereotypes, Stage 2:
Real Indian Writers/Real Indian Educators
The events brought Native American professionals in close contact with
over 1,550 students and faculty at lectures and dinners, plus with students in
17 different cross-disciplinary classes who were treated with special
discussions with the speakers. In all,
over 2,000 students and faculty were able to interact with Native Americans in
a personal manner not possible through any of our other university
programs. All of our involved students
found the experience both educational and spiritually enriching. This multicultural program has been very
successful and is certainly unique to only a few universities in the
nation. It not only dispels
stereotypes: it promotes student study and appreciation of America’s first cultures.
Millenial Symposium of the Arts
Numerous students (as well as a solid representation of faculty
sponsors, staff, and community members) actively participated in the Symposium
as researchers, presenters, performers (in dance, music, rhetoric, theatre, and
panel discussions), back-stage production workers, and other activities. From basically a naïve and uncertain
understanding of the value of the literary canon, as represented by the 17
names on Kent Library, all participants helped bring to life many of these
writers’ works in ways that demonstrated their actual impact on contemporary
life. The uniqueness of the
presentations – essentially dialogues between the writers and non-canonical
responders, in various artistically staged contexts – helped all participants
gain not only an appreciation of the original words, but set up opposing
viewpoints to illuminate new perspectives.
For example, the neo-classical architect John Ruskin’s views on
permanence were juxtaposed with a Native American’s (Chippewa) different belief
system on eternity. Leo Tolstoy’s
concept of artistic infection was contrasted with the traditional Japanese
aesthetics of perishability and simplicity.
Exciting intellectual discourse, as well as a renewed interest in the
canon and alternative versions of tradition, were among the major results of
this project.
The Eighth Annual Southeast Missouri State University Student Research
Conference: A Program in Experiential
Learning
·
There
were 41 research papers and three research posters presented. These works represented the involvement of
45 student researchers. In addition,
each project had a faculty sponsor, and eight faculty were co-authors on at
least one project.
·
The
eighth annual conference was the first year that acceptance and rejection
criteria were clearly outlined in the Call for Papers, and in the opinion of
the members of the Conference Committee, resulted in a greater proportion of
high quality projects, even though the number of submissions was down slightly
from the year before.
Developing a Cadre of Student StarLab Presenters: A Follow-Up to Project StarLab
·
A
total of 65 StarLab presentations have been given by Cadre students during the
grant period.
·
Through
Project Cadre presentations, a total of 1,244 K-12 students and 74
adults have experienced StarLab education, resulting in Project Cadre
impact on a total of 1,318 individuals.
·
Involvement
in Project Cadre has proven to be a wonderful experience for the
students on the team. These Southeast
students have not only learned to effectively operate a high-tech planetarium,
they have also: become confident and
competent public speakers; become capable developers of StarLab presentations,
lessons, and activities; gained valuable experience through their interactions
with K-12 teachers and students; and acquired a heightened sense of overall
professionalism and accomplishment. In
the opinion of Godwin Center personnel, Project Cadre has been one of
the most beneficial experiences available to them at the University.
Improve
students’ communication and critical thinking skills
Assessment and Improvement of Ethical Reasoning in UI400, Business and
Ethics
·
There
is a significant main effect between pre- and post-tests (average gain 1.29, SD
.32).
·
The
instrument is reliable (r=.91 for reader pairs).
·
There
is no significant interaction between the prompts.
·
The
discipline of the instructor is not a significant factor in performance gains.
·
The
main effect is not attributable to writing proficiency (pre-test scores
correlate more closely with WP003 scores than do post-tests, and that
correlation is weak).
·
We
have not yet determined whether the main effect is attributable primarily to
critical reasoning skills.
Oral Communication Across the Curriculum
The oral communication skills of 343 students were assessed. During Fall 1999, 176 students enrolled in
GS-101: Creative and Critical Thinking were asked to design and deliver a
speech. Students completed two
instruments that measure communication apprehension. As a whole, students reported a moderately high level of
communication apprehension. For the
Willingness to Communicate questionnaire, range 0-100, the mean score was
57.46. For the Personal Report of
Communication Apprehension, range -4 to 20, the mean was 10.29. Students’ speeches were videotaped and
evaluated by trained faculty. The
holistic scoring rubric used to evaluate the speeches has a range of 0-6. The mean score of the freshmen students was
3.02, meaning their oral communication skills are at a developing
level. The oral communication skills of
167 students enrolled in senior level courses were also assessed using the same
rubric. Oral presentations designed by
instructors were videotaped. The mean
for the senior level students was 4.21, meaning that their oral communication
skills are at an adequate level.
Enhancement of Critical Thinking and Writing Skills Evaluated by
University Studies Assessment Instruments
The data analysis for this project will be long term, so there are few
results to report to date. The students
demonstrated changes on pre- and post-tests indicating changes in their ideas
about the issues covered, reflecting a more inclusive critical thinking
process.
Writing Across the Curriculum Initiative
Faculty report the following:
·
“requiring
[students] to incorporate . . . language and concepts learned during the
course” in a final revision of an interview assignment in MG-275 resulted in
improved student writing and student “feedback that this kind of assignment is
helpful.”
·
after
incorporating a pre-writing activity and making other changes in the design of
a three-part writing assignment in MA-318, “the general trend was toward much
more thoughtful responses.”
·
“Because
of Dr. Gaskins's ideas/help/suggestions, my students [in MA-118] have created a
much more meaningful outcome – a paper which truly reflects their mathematical
history . . . from their own perspective. . . . This has been a wonderful experience for myself as well as my
students.”
·
“the
post-essays [in CJ-230] are impressive.
I'm currently requiring the revised writing assignment for all [future]
reaction papers.”
·
participation
“led to significant positive conclusions concerning the merits of writing in
College Algebra.” He has presented the
results in a paper to be published in the Missouri Journal of Mathematical
Sciences.
Promote
student success
Pyramid for Success in Nursing
All stages of the “Pyramid for Success in Nursing” proposal were
implemented with 100% participation from the 1999-2000 senior BSN
students. (We had implemented non-cost
parts of the proposal for the spring 1999 graduates, prior to funding, but the
results were not formally calculated).
We were able to predict, with greater than 90% accuracy, those students
who would face the greatest risk of failing the NCLEX. Those students then received individualized
help and mentoring to increase their chances for success. As a result, we saw an actual increase in
our NCLEX passage rate of 5.59%, from spring 1999 to spring 2000. While this is still less than a 100% success
rate, which is an obvious ultimate goal, it is a significant increase for our
students. This increase has encouraged
us to continue the program for 2000-2001 with the resources we were able to
purchase with the grant.
First Year Learning Teams (FLighTs)
·
Students
reported the program helped them with the transition to college, provided an
immediate support network, increased contact with faculty, and enhanced student
connection and campus involvement.
Pre-enrollment of FLighT students for the Fall 2000 semester is consistent
with all first-year students (69.8%). Reasons reported for attrition include financial, personal, being
closer to home, and changing schools.
Non-returning FLighT students had a lower mean grade point average of 1.657
compared to those who did return in the Spring 2000 (GPA= 2.79), and those
retained exhibit increasing academic achievement from a Fall 1999 mean grade
point average of 2.79 to a cumulative mean grade point average of 2.82.
·
Three
new indicators of success reviewed this year were the long-term effects of
FLighTs (ongoing); the presence/absence of high-risk behaviors in FLighT
students (no significant differences between FLighT and non-FLighT students);
and the frequency of encounters with the University judicial system (10%
adjudicated, consistent with all first-year students).
Mastering College Success
Due to changes in software availability after the proposal was
approved, this project was redesigned and will be will be implemented Fall
2000.
Retention Program for At-Risk Criminal Justice Students
· Five students were included
in the group because they had previously failed the Writing Exam. All of the students completed the Field
Essay Assignment. Four students were
re-administered the exam and passed, while one student enrolled in the
portfolio option and subsequently satisfied the requirements.
· Twenty-one students were
included in the program because they had GPAs of 2.0 or less. Academic success was measured by comparing
means for beginning and ending GPAs.
The baseline cumulative GPA mean was 1.768. Following intervention, the cumulative ending GPA mean had
increased 13.1% to 1.981. The paired
difference was statistically significant beyond the .01 level with a
probability for the two-tailed test of p <.051.
· Nearly half of the
participants increased their GPAs to the point that they were removed from
academic probation. Thirty-two percent
avoided academic suspension by elevating their GPAs but were continued on
academic probation until their GPAs reach a level of 2.0 or greater. Only three students failed to increase their
GPAs sufficiently to avoid academic suspension.
· To identify
interrelationships among the outcome variables, correlations were computed
between the number of contacts with the program coordinator (some [7 or less],
moderate [8-12] and extensive contacts [14 or more]) and the members’ ending
GPAs (negative or no change, some improvement, and substantial
improvement). No student with less than
seven contacts elevated their GPA above the 2.0 level. All of the students removed from academic
probation had eight or more contacts with the coordinator. Overall, the relationship was significant,
with 38% of the variation in ending status being explained by the number of
contacts.
F. Lessons Learned
1. From the projects
Use technology to enhance active learning
Plan opportunities to repeat specific learning
activities.
Provide experiential learning opportunities
Active participation with others is beneficial.
·
Direct
interactions between individuals from different cultures can change attitudes
for both.
·
Participation
in and direct contact with professionals in the arts can broaden student
perspectives.
Participation can be enhanced by publicity.
·
Community
college contacts could be improved by having our students visit those campuses,
and by sending conference mailings, more often during the fall semester (Call
for Papers deadline is in the Spring).
·
More
early publicity might be needed to stimulate a higher level of student participation.
Students respond to enhanced standards.
·
Implementation
of higher standards for acceptance improved the quality of research projects
received.
·
Southeast
students are capable of shouldering major project responsibilities and
attaining a high degree of professionalism if given the opportunity.
Students will develop a high degree of ownership in projects in which
they are allowed to actively and significantly participate.
Improve students’ communication and critical thinking skills
Course format may impact learning.
· Students in ITV courses
exhibit gains in moral reasoning comparable to those of students in traditional
(F2F) courses.
· Students in temporally
compressed sections (e.g., 3 week pre-session) show markedly LOWER gains than
students in traditional full semester courses.
This raises serious questions about the appropriateness of scheduling
courses of this sort in a temporally compressed format.
A comprehensive across the curriculum oral communication program can be
beneficial.
·
Students
will not be able to speak effectively unless and until oral communication
activities are implemented across the curriculum.
·
Students
reported a high level of communication apprehension further justifying the need
for more oral communication activities to be integrated into Southeast’s
curriculum.
·
As
students mature, they do not necessarily become more effective speakers;
therefore, it is imperative that students be provided with ample opportunities
to engage in numerous oral communication activities.
Providing learning opportunities for faculty facilitates the
introduction of new pedagogical methods.
·
Faculty
who attended the workshops seemed comfortable developing and integrating oral
communication activities into their classrooms; however, the majority had
questions about assessing oral communication activities. Given this observation, subsequent faculty
development workshops will take assessing oral communication skills as their
primary focus.
·
Faculty
who participate in writing across the curriculum activities support the
objectives of writing across the curriculum and appreciate the value of writing
as a way of learning.
Improvement in how a writing assignment is designed and presented to
students will result in improved student performance on that assignment.
Promote student success
Projects to promote student success do work.
·
Individualized analysis
and help do make a difference in the success rate of students on the
NCLEX.
·
Criminal Justice
students that have a higher frequency of contacts with the program coordinator
significantly improve their chance of returning to good academic standing.
·
Criminal Justice
students that actively participate in field study that promotes writing as a
successful experience improves their chance of passing the Writing Proficiency
Exam.
·
Participation in a
program for high-risk students can improve the department’s retention rate.
The attitudes of faculty, peer mentors, family and administrators impact programs to
promote student success.
·
The support and
enthusiasm of the department chair is vital to the program’s success.
·
Students appreciate and
benefit from the enthusiasm and approachable attitude of a highly motivated
graduate assistant as their first point of contact.
·
Students and families
are attracted to the “small community within the large community” concept.
Accountability is important.
·
It
is necessary to have consequences, both positive for timely completion, and
negative for procrastinating.
·
To
improve the involvement and accountability of Peer Mentors, more focus must be
placed on selection, training, contractual responsibilities, expectations, and
follow-up.
Steps to facilitate student participation are necessary.
·
Advance
preparation of the students is absolutely essential if one wishes them to be
cooperative.
·
A
strong focus on academic success is critical to students in the program.
·
Intentional
efforts to offer inclusive activities at convenient times to meet the needs of
the non-residential students are essential since commuter students benefit from
the connection aspect of the programs.
2. From the process
·
Mechanisms
for supporting multi-year proposals should be investigated.
·
Mechanisms
to expand or transport projects that have demonstrated a potential for
continuing success to new venues should be investigated.
·
Mechanisms
for fostering the securing of funding to continue successful projects after the
FFR funded period should be investigated.
·
A
mechanism to fund University initiatives in addition to the traditional
individual proposals should be investigated.