1. Mohamed Trabia
  2. http://www.me.unlv.edu/~mbt/
  3. Associate Dean for Research, Graduate Studies, and Computing and Professor of Mechanical Engineering
  4. Distance Learning Workshop for STEM Faculty
  5. University of Nevada Las Vegas
  1. Haroon Stephen
  2. https://hstephen.faculty.unlv.edu/about/
  3. Associate Professor
  4. Distance Learning Workshop for STEM Faculty
  5. University of Nevada Las Vegas
  1. Susan VanBeuge
  2. https://www.unlv.edu/people/susan-vanbeuge
  3. Director of Clinical and Community Partnerships, Associate Professor
  4. Distance Learning Workshop for STEM Faculty
  5. University of Nevada Las Vegas
  1. Rama Venkat
  2. https://www.unlv.edu/people/rama-venkat
  3. Dean
  4. Distance Learning Workshop for STEM Faculty
  5. University of Nevada Las Vegas
Public Discussion

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  • Icon for: Mohamed Trabia

    Mohamed Trabia

    Lead Presenter
    Associate Dean for Research, Graduate Studies, and Computing and Professor of Mechanical Engineering
    May 12, 2019 | 07:37 p.m.

    Welcome to the "Distance Learning Workshop for STEM Faculty" video presentation. Current students are not at ease with classical teaching techniques; they are more at ease with online knowledge. They also prefer to absorb material at their own pace from multiple sources. On the other hand, STEM faculty in public schools, especially those that cater to nontraditional and underrepresented students are typically overwhelmed by the daily teaching demands to explore alternative teaching techniques. 

    The goal of this workshop is to bridge this gap by introducing participating faculty to distance learning techniques. More than fifty faculty from public universities and community colleges. The workshop combined experiences of faculty who implemented distance learning techniques in their curricula, testimonials from students about their distance learning experience, along with multiple hands-on experiences. Pre, post, and 6-month surveys indicated that the perception of distance learning has improved significantly. Multiple faculty has since started switching to distance learning or hybrid formats. 

    If you have any questions or comments please use the discussion board here.

  • Icon for: Brian Drayton

    Brian Drayton

    Researcher
    May 14, 2019 | 10:14 a.m.

    Thanks for this presentation, the topic is certainly of current relevance to a lot of schools who are struggling with the problems you identify, in a time of declining enrollments.

        Although you speak of "distance learning" techniques, I infer from the video that you are actually implementing these innovations with resident/communiting students – so this sounds like what some people call "flipping" the classroom.  Am I hearing that right?  Or maybe you're doing both — reaching out to students at a distance, as well as flipping "regular" classes?

          

  • Icon for: Mohamed Trabia

    Mohamed Trabia

    Lead Presenter
    Associate Dean for Research, Graduate Studies, and Computing and Professor of Mechanical Engineering
    May 14, 2019 | 11:04 a.m.

    Dear Brian

    Because of the introductory nature of the workshop and because many participants came with a high level of skepticism, we presented participants with techniques that can help them develop either completely online or hybrid courses. 

  • Icon for: Patricia Marsteller

    Patricia Marsteller

    Facilitator
    Assoc Dean and Professor of Practice
    May 14, 2019 | 10:45 a.m.

    Does sound like Flipped classroom approach.  Have you seen the site at UW?

    https://www.washington.edu/teaching/teaching-re...

    Great tips!

    Also there's a wealth of literature on active learning and flipping?  What strategies are you using in class?

    Do you use quizzes or embedded questions in the videos?

    How do you ensure that students use the materials?

     

  • Icon for: Mohamed Trabia

    Mohamed Trabia

    Lead Presenter
    Associate Dean for Research, Graduate Studies, and Computing and Professor of Mechanical Engineering
    May 14, 2019 | 11:10 a.m.

     Dear Patricia,

    As I mentioned to Brian above, we presented both techniques in the workshop through combination of testimonials and hands-on exercises.

     

    Thanks for the link. This looks useful. In our case, we collaborated with UNLV Office of Online Education which has its own resources and staff to help our faculty. They were an essential part of this Workshop by guiding many of the exercises. Their web site is:

    https://www.unlv.edu/provost/online-education

  • Icon for: Terri Norton

    Terri Norton

    Higher Ed Administrator
    May 14, 2019 | 05:09 p.m.

    Thank you for your presentation.  Do you follow-up with the workshop participants to see if they have implemented the techniques learned in the workshop? And do you have a sense of how implementation has affected their course engagement and student performance?

  • Icon for: Mohamed Trabia

    Mohamed Trabia

    Lead Presenter
    Associate Dean for Research, Graduate Studies, and Computing and Professor of Mechanical Engineering
    May 14, 2019 | 05:15 p.m.

    Dear Terri

    Yes we asked them. Several embarked on incorporating some components of hybrid format in their courses. Few switched to a completely online format.

    Many indicated that they would like to but have limited institutional support.

     

    We feel that another in-depth workshop will help these faculty expand into the distance learning area.

  • Icon for: Alex Rudolph

    Alex Rudolph

    Facilitator
    Professor
    May 15, 2019 | 10:39 a.m.

    Very interesting approach to broadly disseminating learning about on-line courses. I would like to know more about the details of how the workshop was run. Was it on-line or face-to-face? Either way, what logistical or technical challenges did you have to overcome? I am also interested whether you are tracking outcomes in the actual classes being transformed by your workshop. The one example in the video mentioned increased number of questions in the face-to-face class. How about changes in mastering of concepts and learning outcomes? Have those been measured and compared?

  • Icon for: Mohamed Trabia

    Mohamed Trabia

    Lead Presenter
    Associate Dean for Research, Graduate Studies, and Computing and Professor of Mechanical Engineering
    May 15, 2019 | 12:19 p.m.

    Hi Alex

    The workshop was face-to-face. Technical challenges included:

    1. Dealing with the usual bureaucratic complications of reimbursing participants.
    2. Recruiting suitable speakers.
    3. Identifying topics that would be general enough to match the wide interests of the participants.

    Our six-month survey indicated that portion of the participants are incorporating distance learning techniques in their courses. Within the College of Engineering at UNLV, the number of distance/learning hybrid courses is steadily increasing. Our aim is to reach 10% across the college.

     

    It is still too early to assess topics such as changes in mastering of concepts and learning outcomes. I plan to do so in 2-3 years.

     
    1
    Discussion is closed. Upvoting is no longer available

    Alexander Rudolph
  • Icon for: Deanna Privette

    Deanna Privette

    i3 STEM Grant Coordinator
    May 15, 2019 | 11:45 a.m.

    Interesting approach to learning.  Since STEM is such a hands-on approach to learning, how have you integrated hands-on to on-line learning?

  • Icon for: Mohamed Trabia

    Mohamed Trabia

    Lead Presenter
    Associate Dean for Research, Graduate Studies, and Computing and Professor of Mechanical Engineering
    May 15, 2019 | 12:19 p.m.

    Hi Deanna

    Do you mean lab components of the courses?

  • Icon for: Deanna Privette

    Deanna Privette

    i3 STEM Grant Coordinator
    May 15, 2019 | 12:43 p.m.

    Yes!

     
    1
    Discussion is closed. Upvoting is no longer available

    Mohamed Trabia
  • Icon for: Mohamed Trabia

    Mohamed Trabia

    Lead Presenter
    Associate Dean for Research, Graduate Studies, and Computing and Professor of Mechanical Engineering
    May 16, 2019 | 12:36 p.m.

    Hi Deanna

    Because of the variety within STEM, the focus was mostly on the lecture section of the courses. 

     

    We however had experts discussion possible ideas for labs within distance learning environment including virtual labs, and kits. 

  • Icon for: Stephen Alkins

    Stephen Alkins

    Facilitator
    Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer
    May 16, 2019 | 11:25 a.m.

    Great approach to incorporating and improving online learning.  This is often an overlooked population in academic and professional settings.  Along the lines of the assessment, when you have data for both online and in-person programs, I'd be interested to know student perceptions of the learning supports that are offered for the online courses.  It seems that the physical disconnect in online learning would be compensated for through extra support, but this is not always the case.

    Also, with the emphasis on teaching offsite individuals, how did your instructors maneuver complications in team project-based learning?

  • Icon for: Patricia Marsteller

    Patricia Marsteller

    Facilitator
    Assoc Dean and Professor of Practice
    May 16, 2019 | 12:38 p.m.

    I'm also really interested in engaging groups in this arena.  One of the future trends is for more team based science and team based approaches to many jobs.  Can you tell us how workshop participants can be engaged in team work.

  • Icon for: Mohamed Trabia

    Mohamed Trabia

    Lead Presenter
    Associate Dean for Research, Graduate Studies, and Computing and Professor of Mechanical Engineering
    May 16, 2019 | 02:58 p.m.

    Hi Patricia

    You are correct. There is an increasing emphasis on team-based courses. We have not however emphasized this aspect in the workshop. As I mentioned in my reply to Stephen Alkins, we had experts from ASU discuss ways to help off-campus students working in groups by using various communication and project management software. 

  • Icon for: Mohamed Trabia

    Mohamed Trabia

    Lead Presenter
    Associate Dean for Research, Graduate Studies, and Computing and Professor of Mechanical Engineering
    May 16, 2019 | 12:43 p.m.

    Hi Stephen

    Great questions. Here are some thoughts:

    1. Perception of the students in distance learning settings is very important. I experienced this last semester when I changed my course to a hybrid format. While grades of the students and their self-assessment of their learning went up, they were unhappy about the format. However, in focus groups, they could not exactly express the reason of their discomfort. I am working on making the course more structured when I teach it next semester to help alleviate some of these issues.
    2. We had experts from ASU discuss ways to help off-campus students working in groups by using various communication and project management software. They sated that the inter-group tension is about the same as those experienced in classical settings.  
  • Further posting is closed as the showcase has ended.