Project Investigator(s): Christoph Sielmann, Assistant Professor of Teaching & Casey Keulen, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Applied Sciences
Project Description
As additional multi-campus courses (i.e. one course instructor with cohorts at multiple locations) are offered at UBC and other institutions, there is a growing need to quickly evaluate and contrast the student experience at each location to promote learning equity and pedagogical excellence. The Community of Inquiry (CoI) survey is an effective tool for assessing student experience, but it has not been available for quick deployment to contrast experience in a multi-campus setting. We have recently constructed an online application to facilitate rapid, ongoing surveying and analysis of student experience within a multi-campus course. The tool is intended for use by any institution engaging in multi-campus teaching. We are seeking support in
validating the efficacy and accuracy of the tool.
Research Questions
1. Is the newly developed CoI online survey tool (COST) effective at assessing ongoing student experience within a multi-campus course?
2. What student sample sizes are necessary to produce statistically significant results where a need for pedagogical change in the classroom is indicated?
3. Can COST produce useful pedagogical recommendations sufficient to correct perceived inequities in multi-campus classrooms?
Impact on teaching and learning at UBC
Multi-campus synchronous instruction is a tantalizing model as it offers students greater access to a variety of courses, expertise, and lab environments. However, it is a challenging model to deploy successfully, and requires careful, intentional course design and instruction to be successful. There is a mandate within Applied Sciences at UBC to engage in multi-campus synchronous instruction as part of programs that span campuses, and having a rapid, validated, online survey tool with integrated analytics for free faculty use will help UBC and other institutions worldwide maintain an excellent standard of teaching while facilitating further research on pedagogical best practices.