Do We Have Time for That? Challenges and Opportunities in Designing Short Courses

Concurrent Session 9

Session Materials

Brief Abstract

How does novel course design and structure affect the student experience? How do we encourage and support faculty innovation while working under tight timeframes? Join us as we examine the successes and challenges faced by an online degree program that runs modular courses inspired by MOOCs on a one-month schedule.

Presenters

Additional Authors

Amy Homkes-Hayes, University of Michigan Office of Academic Innovation

Amy connects the University of Michigan Office of Academic Innovation (AI) with faculty, staff and students across the University of Michigan to support the successful growth of digital edu tech tools, and innovative higher education interventions at U-M. Amy works to ensure broad adoption and responsive design of AI's portfolio. Amy leads AI's advocacy efforts including communicating across various university stakeholders, representing AI in and outside of the institution and convening communities of practice focused on digitally mediated pedagogy. Prior to her position in AI, Amy worked throughout the University of Michigan including in the Alumni Association, Student Life, College of Literature, Science, and the Arts (LSA) and the College of Engineering with increasing responsibility for launching or stewarding new education and career initiatives at scale in her various roles. Amy was also an Adjunct Instructor in LSA and is currently an Adjunct Instructor at Eastern Michigan University, where she teaches graduate students. Amy is a certified MBTI practitioner, StrengthsQuest educator and is trained in Motivational Interviewing. Amy received her MSW from Grand Valley State University and her AB from the University of Michigan.

Jake Hart, University of Michigan

Hasan Tahir, University of Michigan

Extended Abstract

One of the attractions of online graduate degrees is the high level of flexibility. Working professionals are able to customize their learning processes to fit their lifestyles and career needs. Programs can serve this population by providing fast paced courses with high level synthesis. This presentation will introduce participants to the strengths, challenges, considerations, and early-stage strategies for designing one month long courses for a 100% online graduate level STEM program.

We will examine design strategies and considerations, both within and between courses. Questions like, “How can we structure meaningful interaction between students in short, largely asynchronous, classes?” and “What are effective methods for designing assignments that enable students to practice material when constrained by the 4 week modulated approach?” are ones we will grapple with. We will also examine how to execute a curriculum that acknowledges that courses do not exist in a vacuum, and instead fit together to create an overall student experience and set of learning objectives. Questions like “How do we create a consistent student experience while maintaining flexibility, avoiding repetition, and encouraging innovation within the classroom?” and “How do we balance time for synthesis while also modularizing the content to reduce overlap and maximize time for learning new concepts?” come up as we consider the program holistically. We invite the audience to share their experiences with these questions as we do.

What’s more, hear about our experiences with issues like balancing content with context. In one month courses, students learn techniques that can be applied to real problems in real time. Consideration, though, for when or how to use them - or not - may fall by the wayside. Given aims to contextualize content and learning objectives of individual courses within a common framework, modularization and flexibility may present roadblocks for programmatic synthesis. It begs the question, where can time be granted for reflection while maintaining the rigor of technical practice within a short timeframe?

As more and more online programs create content for working professionals, these challenges will emerge more frequently. There are no easy answers, but with collaboration between design and operations teams we can create systems of support that can ease future struggles in this endeavor.

In addition to discussing our own experiences in designing for one month courses, this presentation will include involvement from our audience. Participants will collaborate on challenges and solutions using authentic scenarios from short online courses. They will have opportunities to learn from the presenters and peers, and integrate findings from this workshop to revise and strengthen their own solutions for running short courses.

Key Takeaways

  • Participants will have the opportunity to interact with fellow faculty and staff who construct fast paced, online courses and meaningfully engage with common challenges.  

  • Participants will gain a more thorough understanding of opportunities in designing for a single month course.

  • Participants will gain an appreciation of design considerations and challenges on both the program level and individual course level in programs that use an exclusive modular approach. 

  • Participants will consider how dilemmas in all forms of education (e.g. sequential design of courses, student motivation and interaction, etc.) may be intensified by a short course structure.