Peer Review

CSUN, eLearning Projects, AY 2016-2017

Material Detail page

Reviewed:: Dec 14, 2018 by Psychology

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Ratings

Overall Rating:

Content Quality:

Effectiveness:

Ease of Use:

Overview:

Shu-Sha Angie Guan (Assistant Professor, Child and Adolescent Development. CSUN Northridge) and a team of course designers examined the effects of (1) condensing a traditional face-to-face (F2F), year-long series in research methods (for Child and Adolescent Development majors) into a semester-long hybrid course (Instructor-Driven Projects), and (2) a film project in which the students were the producers rather than consumers of electronic content (Student-Driven Projects).

The material--including an example course syllabus and student film project--is presented in MERLOT's content builder. The results suggest an equivalency of the F2F and accelerated hybrid formats.

Faculty who are teaching and designing courses in multiple delivery formats will appreciate the opportunity to review this eLearning project's activities and results.

Type of Material:

ePortfolio

Recommended Uses:

Faculty transitioning a class from face to face to a hybrid or online design can use the structure presented to organize their course changes. In addition, this project provides input into faculty development and will be of particular interest to faculty who are seeking contemporary, technology-informed solutions for teaching research methods in psychology.

Technical Requirements:

The content is easily accessed and displayed via multiple browsers. Website ran well on Firefox and Chrome. There is a Google translate option at the bottom of the page.

Identify Major Learning Goals:

The ePortfolio presents lessons learned in developing a traditional research methods course into a condensed, hybrid course. This project is geared toward faculty and aims to examine the impact of multiple course delivery formats on student performance and student engagement. The impact of instructor-driven and student-driven learning activities also is addressed.

Target Student Population:

The reflection is most beneficial to university-level faculty beginning to teach online to those with moderate experience, though even those proficient in online teaching may find the plan as well and the lessons learned to be helpful.

Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:

None, though some experience teaching would be beneficial to use this information.

Content Quality

Rating:

Strengths:

This project offers a systematic, empirical comparison of F2F vs. hybrid course delivery formats and shows that a year-long face-to-face (F2F) research methods course sequence can be effectively offered in a more accelerated hybrid delivery format. This will be of interest to psychology faculty who teach and design research methods courses and whose institutions require variety or modifications in delivery mode.

The project reports both student performance and student engagement data. The ePortfolio format (via MERLOT's content builder) includes specific examples of course tools (e.g., Syllabus) and student projects (e.g., PowToon film to review a research study). The overall plan would be helpful to anyone planning a hybrid or online course.

Concerns:

It would be beneficial to add a section (to the ePortfolio) that clearly lists each of the research questions associated with this project. The Evidence of Impact section references a series of questions; however, the comparison of F2F and hybrid delivery formats (arguably the most important project objective) is buried under smaller, activity-related questions and is not easily viewed.

Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool

Rating:
Strengths:: The ePortfolio can be used by individual faculty as an idea-generation tool for course development and teaching. It can serve as a guide for faculty members who would like to conduct a similar process of examining the impact of course delivery format, instructor-driven vs. student-driven course activities, and technology tools. Applying the lessons learned and following this level of organization will help with the big picture/overall plan for developing eLearning courses and projects.
Concerns:: It would be beneficial to include more detailed information about the relationships among course acceleration, course delivery format, course activities, and technology tools. For example, where should faculty place their course design and pedagogical emphases if they wish to significantly accelerate aggressive course material (such as research methods)?

Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty

Rating:
Strengths:: Site is easy to use with information presented in a clear and logical format. The section headings and subtitles are clearly labeled and show the visitor exactly what the portfolio covers (e.g., Instructional Need for eLearning, Technology Tools). MERLOT's content builder provides a single-page ePortfolio that is easily surfed and reviewed.
Concerns:: None.

Other Issues and Comments:: Submitter is a Merlot member: Shu-Sha Angie Guan, California State University, Northridge. Assistant Professor in the Department of Child and Adolescent Develoment. angie.guan@csun.edu
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