Category V – Course Reassignment: Technologically Innovative Courses
Forms
Eligibility:
- Individuals seeking course reassignment time for the purpose of creating or revising one or more technologically innovative courses or developing new curricular pathways or programs. Please see Article 7, Section 4A2d of the CBA for further information.
- Individuals with current reassignment time for other purposes (e.g., program coordinators, university committee work, etc.) are eligible for Category V course reassignment.
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Faculty may alternate between Cat IV and Cat V awards in consecutive years, as long as there are enough course releases available. In the case of more applicants than releases, applicants who did not receive an award in the other category in a previous year will be given priority. Applicants are not eligible to receive consecutive awards in a single category.
Award Limits:
- Five (5) course releases for the purpose of creating or revising one or more technologically innovative courses or developing new curricular pathways or programs.
- Note: In awarding the Category V Course Reassignments, the Faculty Development Committee will strive to distribute the awards in an equitable and diverse manner across colleges, divisions, academic programs, faculty rank, and academic terms.
Reports:
Due to the specific nature regarding the purpose of these course releases, the committee requests two brief reports from awardees so that information can be gathered related not only to the use of the course reassignment time, but also to the effectiveness of the technological innovation. Details on the two reports:
1. The first report must be submitted within 3 months after the end of the term following the completion of the reassigned time within the contract year, and should discuss the planning aspect that occurred during the development of the course and how the course is coming about, especially with the inclusion of the technological innovation.
2. The second report must be submitted within 3 months of the implementation of the technologically innovative course within the contract year, and should address:
a) Evaluation of results after implementation of course,
b) Dissemination of student data from the technologically innovative course and instructional experience, and
c) Next steps for when the course is taught again (e.g., what changes might be made to better meet the needs of students and more effectively use the technological innovation in the course).
Guidelines and Further Information:
To enable ongoing faculty development towards excellence in teaching, Western Oregon University is offering five (5) annual course releases for faculty to develop and implement technologically innovative strategies into the classroom.
INNOVATIVE COURSE RELEASE DEFINITIONS AND INSTRUCTIONS:
The following information is provided to help define what technological innovation is and how it can be used to enhance student learning. The components and models listed below are not exhaustive and should not preclude the submission of applications that contain additional or different model systems. They are intended as a guide to provide faculty with tools and resources that they can utilize in their course design.
What is Technological Innovation?
Definition: Technological innovations comprise new products and processes and significant technological changes of products and processes. (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2013). For the purposes of using technology in innovative ways, the focus is less on the technology or tools and more on how these are used to facilitate and enhance learning.
Components may include:
- Using technology in non-standard ways
- Enhancing the student learning experience
- Transforming learning instead of simply replacing existing materials
- Enabling the acquisition of a transferable skill or activity (that is useful across courses)
Models may include:
The models below are examples that can be used as a guide regarding how technology can be used as a tool and implemented into teaching and learning. Other models may also be used.
- SAMR Model - Explained by Kathy Schrock: “SAMR is a model designed to help educators infuse technology into teaching and learning. Popularized by Dr. Ruben Puentedura, the model supports and enables teachers to design, develop, and infuse digital learning experiences that utilize technology. The goal is to transform learning experiences so they result in higher levels of achievement for students.”
- Substitution-enhance
- Augmentation-enhance
- Modification-transform
- Redefinition-transform
- Bloom’s Digital Taxonomy-about using technology and digital tools to facilitate and enhance learning.
