DE Oracle @ UMUC

Adjusting to Changes in Course Length

Susan Ko

Director

Center for Teaching and Learning

Published: May-June 2008

Category: » Online-pedagogy » Classroom-management

UMUC is in the midst of changing the length of courses so that some will be shorter by several weeks while others may longer than those you previously taught. How can faculty best handle these changes so that a course retains its coherence, quality, and integrity?

First, it's important to recognize that the transformation of a course to a shorter or longer length does require changes in design in order to ensure that all learning objectives are met and the pacing of assignments and readings remains reasonable. It also may require some changes in the way that faculty approach teaching and managing that course.

Let's assume you have taught the same course before, but for a different number of weeks. (Or this is the first time you are teaching this course, and it's the first time it's being offered in the shorter or longer format.) The first thing you should do as part of your redesign is plot out your new course on a weekly calendar alongside the schedule of your previous class (or another's syllabus) as a reference. Where are the new breaks, if any, for holidays? Which week is your new final exam or midterm week? Looking back on your prior course section, how much time did you previously devote to introductions, wrap-up, review, small group formation, visiting speakers, or library-related activities?

Whether lengthening or shortening a course, your focus should remain on preserving the essential learning objectives and goals as you go about making your adjustments to the course. Review the published Course Description throughout the process of redesign to make sure that your plan continues to be in accord with the specific details contained there.

Also keep in mind that all changes should be clearly reflected in your syllabus and schedule so as to better manage student expectations. If you are ever uncertain about whether a particular change is advisable, don't hesitate to consult your academic administrator.

Now you are ready to look at some specific adjustments:

Going from Longer to Shorter

Topics and Readings

What was the prior total reading load for students, including textbooks, online lectures, or other required readings? Calculate the prior weekly load and now examine how many hours that translates to under the new schedule. If you expected students to read 60 pages of a textbook each week and the readings now work out to 90 pages a week, is it possible for you to trim some of the reading without negatively affecting the attainment of learning objectives?

On the other hand, are there entire topics or subtopics that have proved non-essential and could be eliminated, along with their corresponding readings? If you cannot in good conscience cut any of the topics or textbook reading, consider reducing other content such as your online lectures and commentary and additional Web resource readings. You may also choose selected chapters that you can assign to students—singly or in pairs—to read, analyze, and then present in summary to fellow students in the conference area, using a special template for this activity. Sometimes a change in pacing will do, with longer reading assignments reserved for times when students are not busy with major projects and papers. If none of these approaches is a possibility, look to freeing up reading time in other ways for students through one of the elements detailed below.

When altering reading assignments, consider all elements of the class, including any Course Modules, reserved readings, or external Web site materials. Make sure any cuts you make in one element or another of the reading do not undermine support for the learning objectives, assignments, or exam questions.

While "coverage" of a subject remains an important consideration, a rushed and superficial learning experience is sometimes the result when one attempts to pack too much into a shorter period. Again, the core learning objectives should be the main factor of your redesign choices.

Conference Activities, Number of Conferences and Topics

If you have created one or more conferences for each week of the course, start by reducing the number of conferences to the new length of weeks. Review past conference activity; are there particular topics and questions that seemed to stimulate the most productive discussion in your students? If so, those are the ones you want to make sure to preserve. Are there some topics and discussion questions that might be consolidated within another conference? (Be careful not to make discussions too unwieldy by creating too many threads in each conference or too many multipart questions in each thread.) Finally, are there any discussion questions or conference topics that are not really essential and could be eliminated in their entirety?

In regard to assessment of conference activity, you may want to slightly reduce the number of responses students are required to make each week while retaining your original design. For example, if you require students to respond each week to three or four faculty-posted discussion questions as well as to two responses from other classmates, you might reduce that requirement to two responses to faculty-posted discussion questions and one response to a classmate. If you use a rubric or other clearly stated criteria to judge the quality as well as quantity of postings, you can probably preserve the desired level of interactivity in discussion.

Assignments

What are the major graded assignments and how much time do students require for each?
The main choices you have are a. redesign to reflect less time available, b. consolidate, or c. eliminate. Or you may do a bit of each.

• Redesign: Is it possible to redesign the assignment so that less time is needed to complete it without making it a less rigorous exercise? For papers, some possibilities are narrowing down research topics or reducing the number of words/pages required. For group projects, have students meet for the first time earlier in the course, and make all group projects more explicit and directed so that students can quickly engage in the project without spending a lot of time organizing themselves or coming to a decision about the path to take.
• Consolidate: You may be able to combine two assignments that address different learning objectives or skills so that both are fulfilled in a single assignment. For example, you may have had one assignment in which you asked students to come up with their own imaginary marketing plan and another in which you asked students to analyze a company's approach to marketing. It may be possible to combine these two assignments into one in which students are asked to devise a plan to improve the company's approach to marketing. Both analysis and planning skills will come into play in the newly consolidated assignment.
• Eliminate: Eliminate what is no longer current for your field or does not have a good time/benefit ratio for students. That is, if an assignment has really not proved effective in the past, consider why it was ineffective. Calculate whether it can be revised, eliminated, or even replaced by something better yet less time-consuming. Perhaps in the past you asked students to write a 2-page critique of a peer's work. This task might be replaced with an activity in which students fill out a rubric in order to critique a peer's work and additional comments would be optional.

A final cautionary note regarding assignments:

Your department may have designated a particular assignment as a key part of a program's outcomes assessment plan, in which case you may not be permitted to make changes to that assignment. You may want to review the assessment plan for your subject area. Look at the degree program on this Web page for your own subject area. If you have any doubts about whether to eliminate or change an assignment, it's best to consult with your academic administrator.

Managing Your Own Feedback and Interaction

With a shorter course, you may worry that you will not have sufficient turnaround time to give high-quality feedback on assignments and in the conference area. Maintaining high levels of interaction and quality feedback should remain a high priority—this is not likely to be the case if you try to maintain exactly the same assignments and conferences that you had in your previous longer course. Therefore, when making your changes in the assignments and conferences, retain those activities, discussion questions, and projects that have proved to be the most effective learning activities.

Using E-mail To Keep Students on Track

Even though you may post weekly announcements at the start of each new week, it is often a good idea to send an e-mail version of your announcement as well. This note can serve as a reminder to students to log in and help prevent them from falling behind. Your announcement might highlight the week ahead, note the main objectives, due dates, etc.

You may also want to begin your announcement and e-mail by commenting on the week just ending, especially when a significant learning milestone in the class has passed or whenever there has been a particularly active discussion.

In any online course, but particularly in a shorter class, it is a good idea to send a personal e-mail reminder to students who have not been posting regularly in the classroom.

Going from Shorter to Longer

Topics and Readings

Avoid the temptation to add "filler" to your course. Analyze your existing topics to determine the natural subtopics and related topics for the subject matter. Are there additional readings that would add a dimension to the course? Research your course subject in the library to see if there are new or additional readings that might clarify the subject for your students.

Assignments

Take the opportunity to diversify the learning approaches you have tended to pursue. If you have never quite had time to accommodate a small group project, perhaps you might now insert one. If you have previously had little time for a major paper, perhaps now you might consider assigning one. The extra few weeks may also afford you the opportunity to invite the library staff to visit and work with your students prior to their work on a major research paper.

Keep in mind the level of the course and make sure that anything added is relevant, appropriate, and aligned with your learning objectives. Sometimes the best use of extra time is to allow for a deepening of the existing assignments rather than the addition of more. For example, if you previously assigned a major project, you might now find there is sufficient time for students to not only complete the major project but also present and discuss their project with the entire class.

Assessments

With more time, you can create incremental assignments that allow you to assess students and give feedback early on in an assignment. You may be able to afford more time to review and prepare students for major exams. You will have more time to take stock of the class through formative assessments like surveys.

A Template for Planning out Your Course

You may find the following template useful in adjusting your course: