Abstract
Marian College is seeking $10,400 to develop an asynchronous web-based course delivery format for EDU 400 The Mission and History of Catholic Schools (1 credit hour). This course is currently in its pilot year as a required course for all teachers and administrators in the Catholic schools of the Indianapolis Archdiocese. The asynchronous format will be used along with a variety of other traditional delivery schedules in order to reach the 1,700 Catholic school teachers in a timely manner. The format will be evaluated for use by Marian's Theology Department for additional Theology requirements for Catholic school personnel in the Archdiocese for replication, and by Notre Dame for dioceses across the nation.
Project narrative
Statement of the Problem
The Indianapolis Catholic Archdiocese covers 39 counties in central and southeastern Indiana, stretching from the Ohio border to the Illinois border, and from Indianapolis to the Ohio River. The Archdiocese has 71 elementary and secondary schools, and employs 1,700 teachers. Marian College is one of two Catholic colleges located within the Archdiocese, and the College has maintained strong ties with the Archdiocese, especially between the Archdiocesan Office of Catholic Education and the Education and Theology Departments of the College.
In 1995 the Office of Catholic Education of the Archdiocese, with faculty and administrators of Marian College, began a planning process which included improvement of educational excellence and Catholic Identity for the diocesan schools. The fulfillment of these goals rests largely in the hands of the predominantly lay faculty of these schools. It is therefore important that all persons engaged in the education ministry are able to convey both the religious and educational goals of the Catholic school, and fully understand how the history and traditions of Catholic education are reflected in the practice and mission of today's Catholic schools. To this end, the Education Department at Marian College, with the assistance of members of the Archdiocesan staff and lay principals in the schools, developed a one credit hour course in Catholic school mission and history. It is the intention of the Office of Catholic Education that all personnel employed in the Catholic schools take this course.
During the summer of 1997, Catholic lay principals who had completed the Indiana Catholic Principals Institute - a staff development program offered at Marian College - worked with the Education Department chair at the college to develop the course syllabus, select readings, and schedule sections. Four of these principals were selected as adjunct faculty to teach sections during the 1997-98 pilot year. The college sought to deliver the course in various sites in the Archdiocese and with various delivery schedules. During the fall, 1997, four sections were offered and 107 teachers registered. The college will conduct an extensive debriefing with the adjunct faculty in December on the content and delivery of the course, and four more sections will be offered in the spring.
Initial reaction has been very positive, however, concerns have been voiced regarding timely availability for teachers in all sections of the Archdiocese. The first concern is distance. This fall, teachers from ten counties attended classes in two locations in Indianapolis and in Oldenburg. Teachers from 27 counties, therefore, have yet to be reached. St. Mary of the Woods has indicated an interest in teaching one or two sections in the western section of the Archdiocese, and Marian welcomes this addition. The second concern is numbers. Even with the addition of sections offered at the Woods, and additional sections planned during the summer, it is estimated no more than 280-300 teachers could be reached in any given year. With the current course faculty of four, it would take close to six years for all teachers in the schools to take the course. This estimate does not account for new hires each year which currently runs around 130. The next concern is of scope of content. The Archdiocesan Office of Catholic Education sees this course as the first in series, with the remaining four courses concentrating on the Catholic Theological foundation the faculty and staff need to fulfill their religious ministry.
It is easy to understand the challenge and the need to examine alternative delivery systems. The task, however, is not as daunting as it may first appear. First, there is a substantial number of Catholic school principals in the Archdiocese, who have completed the Indiana Catholic Principals Institute (ICPI). The content of EDU 400 is contained in the ICPI curriculum so these principals are familiar with it. All of these principals possess at least a masters degree and therefore could be recruited as adjunct faculty. Secondly, although technological availability throughout the Catholic schools is uneven, there are several schools throughout the Archdiocese with internet accessibility, and some teachers have accessibility at home. Teachers from all sections of the region have indicated an interest in an on-line delivery of the course. Lastly, the nature of the course itself lends itself to asynchronous delivery. Reflection on readings and discussion of local conditions could be placed on an on-line discussion forum, and the peer reaction to individuals' mission statements and reflections could enrich the knowledge for all participants.
Therefore, in order to increase the capacity to offer this course in a timely manner, Marian College wishes to develop an asynchronous web-based course delivery model for EDU 400 The Mission and History of Catholic Schools, using this method as one delivery format for this course. Because this course is only one credit hour, equivalent to 15 clock hours of class time, the content and requirements are very manageable for web-based delivery.
Institution's Capacity and Commitment to the Course-Development Project
As stated earlier, Marian College has been in the planning process with the Indianapolis Archdiocese for two years. EDU 400 is seen as the first of several courses needed if the goal of maintaining Catholic identity in parochial schools is to be realized (see Education Week, 11-19-97, article on the report to the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, in appendix). Additional courses will be in theology, and the Theology Department of Marian College will have primary responsibility for delivery of these courses throughout the Archdiocese. The piloting of EDU 400 during 1997-98 has been an exercise in examining long-range course delivery for the additional Theology courses which will come. Four sections of EDU 400 were offered this fall in three different sites and with three different delivery schedules. One section was offered as a weekend retreat, one section was offered on six different Monday nights for 2 1/2 hours each night, and two sections were offered on five Wednesday nights for 3 hours each. We examined selection trends and plan to offer similar schedules plus a section which would meet on two Saturdays next semester. During the summer, we will offer still different schedules. However, shear number of teachers and the geographical extent of the Archdiocese compels us to examine a technological approach to course delivery. Should the asynchronous web-based delivery prove to be successful, we will strongly consider beginning the required Theology course sequence with this delivery format (see support letter from Office of Catholic Education, Indianapolis Archdiocese).
The Indianapolis Archdiocese and Marian College are not alone in examining ways in which to prepare the increasing numbers of lay faculty and administrators for the spiritual dimension of their jobs. The University of Notre Dame has been working with the U.S. Catholic Conference to ensure that the goals set by the National Conference of Catholic Bishops education committee be met. Norte Dame is therefore examining the efforts of Marian College and the Indianapolis Archdiocese to see what can be replicated on a national level ( see support letter from Norte Dame).
Instructional Design Plan
Our first offerings of this course through asynchronous web-based delivery will follow a fixed sessions model, with specified beginning and ending dates for the course and enrollment initially capped at 15 students per session. We have chosen this format with which to begin, in order to increase the sense of class participation by the students involved in the on-line courses and also to make the on-line courses easier for our instructors to manage. As we gain experience in offering courses on-line, we will explore the possibility of adding sections based on the correspondance model, with ongoing open enrollment periods and self-paced independent study by the students.
One major function of the on-line course materials will be to facilitate the delivery of specific course content to the students enrolled in the course. Content from the existing course will be divided into modules based on the learning objectives of the course, and delivered as a combination of text, images, audio and video (preferable as streaming audio and video to those students who have the capability, or as short videotapes to those students who donÕt).
As described above, the on-line modules will initially be covered chronologically within a fixed sessions framework. The modularization of the course content will also facilitate future implementation of the correspondance model. A critical key to the success of the on-line courses will be the degree to which the on-line environment fosters interaction among the class members: between student and instructor, and among the students themselves. We plan several strategies to promote such interaction. As part of setting up the course, we will establish a password-protected gallery of photos and basic biographies of the instructor and students, to encourage comaraderie among the class members. The content modules will have built into them on-line forms through which students will submit answers to questions, comments and other feedback to the instructor. This will allow the instructor to determine how well students are mastering the material and what are areas of difficulty. There will also be an on-line discussion forum associated with each class section. These forums will allow the instructor (or students) to post topics for discussion, with followup replies (and replies to replies, etc) by members of the class.
Student performance in this course is currently assessed through the use of portfolios that the students assemble, including such elements as a reflective journal, written analyses of assigned readings, analysis of school mission statement and personal mission statement. This assessment approach will be retained and augmented in the on-line version of the course. Each student will have a web page where they will be able to input these elements on-line. Course instructors will have access to these journal pages and will be able to provide rapid feedback to the students on their progress in portfolio development. The portfolio approach also solves one of the problems that can arise in distance education, which is how to handle remote testing. Marian College prides itself on being Òthe college that mentorsÓ.
Personal contact between faculty and students is important to the college mission. This is not necessarily incompatible with providing instruction through telecommunications, as the advances which we have seen in telecommunications merely provide new ways for faculty to interact with students. For the first few offerings of the on-line course we plan to supplement the distance education experience with a closing session for each class where the class members will get together, either at Marian or at some other apprpriate site in the Archdiocese, to summarize and evaluate the class experience. As our experience with providing mentoring on-line develops in the future, we will evaluate whether these closing sessions are necessary or not.
Course Evaluation Plan and Peer Review
All sections of EDU 400 which were offered this fall were evaluated with the standard student course evaluation forms used by the college. The team of faculty, the chair of Marian's Education Department, and the Director of Schools from the Archdiocesan Office of Catholic Education, will meet the third week in December to examine enrollment requests for various delivery schedules, review course evaluations, review readings and requirements, and evaluate the quality of the student portfolios across sections, to ensure that student outcomes are equivalent across the various delivery formats. This extensive evaluation of the content and delivery of the course will continue after each semester, providing opportunities for all faculty and administrators to maintain high quality and effective delivery of the course throughout the years. During the 1998-99 school year one of the present faculty will offer the asynchronous web-based section in the fall. That person and one more of the current faculty will offer web-based sections of EDU 400 in the spring. As with this pilot year for the course, all faculty and administrators will meet at the end of each semester for extension evaluation of each section and the entire course. This format will provide an excellent opportunity to evaluate the asynchronous course delivery in comparison to other delivery formats and schedules. Additionally, we will convene at least one, possibly two, focus groups of student participants to discuss the effectiveness of the asynchrnous delivery format.
By the 1998-99 school year, we hope to have one section taught by a faculty member at St. Mary of the Woods, and at least one new adjunct faculty employed by Marian. These faculty members, who will use traditional instructional delivery will also be part of the evaluation team. Their input as first time instructors will be an important addition to the group of faculty and staff who designed the course. All materials and evaluations will also be shared with the University of Norte Dame for input and feedback.
Project Timeline
Summer '98
-development of online materials: This process will involve several tasks. After consultation with current course faculty, the course material will be divided into small modules, each with individual learning objectives. Current course content, primarily lecture material and assigned readings, will then be converted to digital format and assembled into the necessary modules, along with graphics and images to illuminate the concepts. Appropriate assignments to generate student feedback to the instructor will also be included into each module, as well as links to on-line discussion topics. Finally, a home page will constructed which will make it easy to navigate among the available on-line resources for the course.-faculty pre-course preparation: One of the current faculty members will be selected to offer the first on-line section in Fall '98. This faculty member with work with course designer during the summer, to provide feedback on course design elements, to discuss on-line pedagogical issues, and to train in the efficient utilization of the on-line environment for instruction.
Fall '98
-first on-line session: We plan to offer one section of the on-line course during the fall term, along with four regular sessions. The instructor offering the on-line section will also be in charge of one of the regular sessions. The on-line section will last five weeks. This is comparable to the length of the current sessions, and will give us time to evaluate and revise the on-line course before the next offerings in Spring '99.-evaluation and further development: The on-line section will be given the same course evaluation as the regular sessions, to facilitate comparison between delivery formats, and will also be given a supplemental course evaluation covering course aspects unique to the on-line environment. Based on these course evaluations, student performances and instructor feedback, the on-line materials will be revised and developed further, in advance of the next offering.
-training of additional faculty: A second instructor will be included at this point, to increase our capacity for on-line course offerings.
Spring '99
-second on-line session: We plan to scale up our number of course offerings at this point, by bringing a second instructor on-line, and perhaps by offering multiple sessions in sequence, since each session lasts less than a regular academic term.-continued evaluation and refinement of on-line course content/format.
Summer '99
-additional on-line sessions.
Fall '99
-conference presentation: Our experiences in developing and offering this course should prove valuable to others who are considering an involvement in asynchchronous distance education. We plan to report on our progress (and mistakes) at an appropriate national conference on instructional technology and/or distance education, and at a conference on Catholic education.
Key Course Development Personnel
Keith Landa: Keith is assistant professor of Biology and also Director of Academic Computing at Marian College. He has three years experience in developing and delivering on-line materials for his Biology courses, and has primary responsibility for development of the web resources for this course. In addition, he will consult with current course staff in instructional design issues that pertain to asynchchronous Internet course delivery. As Director of Academic Computing, he also has several years experience in mentoring faculty in the appropriate use of instructional technology, and will be responsible for training the adjunct faculty who will deliver the courses.
Participating Faculty Member: This person will be selected at the December, 1997, course evaluation meeting from among the four adjunct faculty, all principals in Catholic schools, currently teaching the course. All have web-based capacity at their school sites, and the decision will be made primarily on availability to work with Keith Landa over the summer.
Joyce Johnstone: Joyce serves as chair of the Education Department at Marian College and has primary responsibility for course development, scheduling, and evaluation. Joyce worked closely with members of the Archdiocesan Office of Catholic Education and the current adjunct faculty to develop the syllabus for EDU 400 and to ensure that all is running smoothly during this pilot year. She formerly worked to establish the Indiana Catholic Principals Institute and served as its first director.
IPSE Course Development Grant Program
Proposal Budget Page
Project Title: ÒThe Mission and History of Catholic SchoolsÓ - reaching non-traditional
students with asynchronous web-based course delivery, compared with flexible
synchronous course develivery formats
Institution: Marian College
Project Director: Joyce Johnstone
Contracts Contact Person: Dr. C. Edward Balog
Telephone: 317-955-6010
Project Start Date: 1 May 1998
Project End Date: 31 December 1999
*Office of Catholic Education, Indianapolis Archdiocese
The major budget item in this proposal are salaries and fringe benefits, which total $11,710. These include: a summer stipend in 1988 to Keith Landa to support the main development effort putting the course content on-line and setting up the interactive features of the course ($5000); the salaries of the adjunct faculty to cover the first three offerings of the course, one in Fall '98 and two in Spring '99 ($1710); professional development funds to the adjunct faculty to support the extra time and effort involved in their training to use on-line instruction ($1500); refinement of the course materials and ongoing support of the instructors during the school year by Keith Landa ($1000); and a 0.05 fraction of Joyce Johnstone's appointment for management of the course offerings. 7% of these items were allocated as fringe benefits, with the rest remaining as salaries, except for the initial summer stipend to Keith Landa, which was allocated as 14% fringe benefits. The course salaries of the adjunct faculty and the partial appointment for Joyce Johnstone are covered by the matching funds from Marian; the summer stipend and professional development monies are requested from IHETS/IPSE.
The second major category is the Other Direct Costs line item. This includes a computer that Marian and OCE will purchase for the development and maintenance of the course materials, and which will be dedicated for use by the adjunct faculty in managing on-line course offerings. This proposal requests funds from IHETS/IPSE for a flatbed scanner and software (optical character recognition, image processing, web authoring, web server) to support the development and maintenance of the on-line course materials. Travel funds are requested to support the attendance by Keith Landa and one of the instructors at a national meeting on instructional technology and/or distance education and at a national conference on Catholic education, to present of the results of this project.
Appendices
Faculty Experience
This project is a team effort, with separate personnel responsible for the development and delivery of the course content. In this appendix we summarize the relevant experiences of the faculty members involved in each of these aspects of the project. Keith Landa (instructional design, development of course materials): Keith received his Ph.D. in Biological Sciences from the University of Michigan. Before coming to Marian College, he had a five year teaching post-doctoral fellowship at Indiana University, Bloomington. He has been an assistant professor in Biology at Marian since August 1993, and was appointed Director of Academic Computing in August 1996.
Keith has been involved in the use of various forms of instructional technology for the past 12 years. His activities in this area began with the development of simulations modeling programs for population biology classes while a graduate student at the University of Michigan. He has also been active in the use of data acquisition and analysis tools in instruction, and in developing multimedia courseware. He has taught Multimedia Authoring for the Communications program at Marian, in association with a colleague from the English department. Most germane to this proposal is that Keith has been developing web materials for the past three years, and has been incorporating these resources into instruction. He maintains the Biology department web site at Marian College, and provides on-line resources for each of his courses. He also maintains the on-line discussion forums for all of the classes which use them at Marian, and oversees the development of MarianÕs Academic Web.
Participating Faculty Members (course delivery):
As described above, two of the four current adjunct faculty will selected to deliver the initial sections of the course on-line. These adjunct faculty are all Catholic principles, have all participated in the Indiana Catholic Principals Institute, and were involved in the development and delivery of EDU 400 during this pilot year. As such, all are very familiar with the course content. All of the current adjunct faculty have access to the Internet, and are interested in becoming involved in the asynchchronous delivery of the course.
