Common Assignment/Final

Is there really a need to kill another tree if CANVAS provides a medium for quizzes? In a quasi-experimental design, introductory stats students across two semesters (SP and FA ‘16) with two different instructors self-reported the number of hours spent studying for a common cumulative quiz. One group used e-quizzes, the second used paper quizzes. Results are as follows:

Math faculty have developed a MAT091 complete common final exam to be required to be given by adjuncts and as an option for full time faculty.  Since the first implementation, the questions have been reviewed and changes have been made as necessary.  One of the purposes of the common final is to give instructors guidance on the competencies that are most important.  Another purpose is to identify where students are doing well and also not so well so that we as instructors can adjust our teaching.  Each instructor receives their individual reports as well so they can comp

Starting in Fall 2013 math faculty worked on developing a complete common final exam to be required to be given by adjuncts and as an option for full time faculty.  The first semester that it was widely used was Spring 2014 Since the first implementation, the questions have been reviewed and changes have been made as necessary.  One of the purposes of the common final is to give instructors guidance on the competencies that are most important.  Another purpose is to identify where students are doing well and also not so well so that we as instructors can adjust our teaching.&

I have required my introductory statistics students to meet with tutors in the student success center as part of course requirements for the past three academic years.  However, without accountability, very few attend.  To this end, I designed a passport for students that needed to be signed by the tutor with time logged as well as weekly comments that reflected their experience with course content.  Students were required to spend at least 6 hours in tutoring during the semester with at least two hours completed during each third of the semester to avoid students using the 6

For both students and instructors, major writing research projects are problematic:  they're especially difficult for students who lack strong writing skills, and they difficult for instructors in the time it takes to grade the projects.  After several semesters grading a major APA-style career research 5-7 page paper for CPD 150, I was disappointed in student scores (especially in grammar), and I never looked forward to the amount of time I knew it would take me to grade all of the papers.  It was time to "build a better mousetrap"!

Since Fall 2014 , the calculus instructors have been working on creating common questions to have on the final exam for calculus I.  Faculty (both full and part time) meet to discuss pedagogy, common questions and creation of a pre-post test.  The common questions are the first half of our final exam with the 2nd half written by each individual faculty member.  Each semester, the questions are looked over and kept or modified.  The purpose of the common questions is to make sure all calculus faculty are covering "core" topics in MAT22X.

In our first run of the PHY131/MAT231 learning community (LC) in Fall 16, we tried a format of seting up a physics problem on an exam, and then use the resulting integral to be solved on the math portion of the exam. We would like to do this for each of the 5 exams in Fall 17. This would allow/require us to focus on intgrals from day one and reorder material in both classes. Some reordering was done in Fall 16, but after our first time around, we realize that more needs to be changed.

To combat students being overly concerned with page length and the number of quotes/paraphrases when writing research papers, I decided to take the paper out of the equation. For this research project, students use the research process to determine how realistic the science/technology is in a selected Marvel film. By removing the paper, the students are able to focus on and practice the various steps in the research process, such as crafting a research proposal, annotated bibliography and outline.

Students enrolled in Culinary courses measure ingredients by weight and volume on a daily basis while producing a variety of recipes/baking formulas.  Challenges occur with differentiating between weight and volume measurement / fl oz, and the ability to identify the appropriate measuring vessel (gal, qt, pint, cup, TBSP, TSP). I sought collaboration from other Culinary instructors at local high schools and colleges in relation to instructional methods on volume.

In Spring 2017, I will be implementing an updated orientation process for students to learn the MathAS system (the LMS we use in Math) and get oriented in the course including:  navigating in MathAS, syllabus, netiquette, time management, and learning styles.  This is all done in MathAS rather than Canvas.  I will track the number of students that are withdrawn from the course for not completing the orientation and compare that to previous semesters in other online courses.  I will also track the success of the students in the course (end course grade) compared to comple

For only the second time EMCC offered PHY131/MAT231 LC this fall. While N was small (12 and 15) some interesting results were found. On CSEM post test both classes scored above national average of 47% and no real difference in classes. The LC improved dramatically from first exam to last (pre-final) where the other remained flat. It is encouraging that the LC even though the students started at least 1 MAT class behind performed as well and improved up to traditional class scores as semester progressed.

The SLPA program is somewhat unique given we are teaching clinical courses in an online format.  It can be difficult to demonstrate disorders and treatment without hands-on learning opportunities.  In order to address the need for examples of disorders and interventions to students, we have included a variety of videos and recorded lectures.  One of the speech sounds I cover in my SLP 214 course is the /r/.  The /r/ sound is one of the most common speech errors children see speech therapists for.

As I pilot the the Online version of ASB 214, I want to see how much taking this class improves the students' General Education Abilities of Critical Inquiry and Information Literacy, as these are the two skills I have noticed many students are lacking when they first enroll for the face-to-face version of the class. I will assess the students by assigning them a self-evaluation assignment for both of these skills, both at the beginning and the end of the course, to measure how much they feel they have improved.

The economics faculty at EMCC collaboratively assessed our students' quantitative reasoning abilities in fall 2015, aligned with EMCC’s Quantitative Reasoning rubric. The assessment required students to place themselves in the hypothetical role of a leader of a task force appointment by the new President of the United States to recommend a strategy for eliminating the US Budget deficit within a year To complete this successfully, students needed to address all areas of the quantitative reasoning rubric.

I wanted to find the most beneficial method for students to understand their writing revisions. 

Based on their learning styles tendencies, I compared the their VAK Learning Styles Self-Assessment Questionnaire (Swinburne University of Technology) results with their method of submission (online or in-person) to the Writing Center.