An Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Institution

M E M O R A N D U M

To:
From:
Date: / June 9, 2014
Subject: / Performance Improvement Plan

An affirmative action/equal opportunity institution

An affirmative action/equal opportunity institution

The following Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) has been initiated as a result of identified instructional deficits in the Fall 2013 offering of as noted in your most recent Annual Performance Review. Scores on the faculty evaluation were considerably below the college mean and qualitative feedback from students was negative.

Feedback from student evaluations in the 2013-2014 academic yearfrom the program indicate improvement is needed in the area of instruction. Specifically, student feedback clusters around 4 main areas:

1)A large volume of material is covered in the course and students have difficulty identifying what to focus on for learning and assessments.

2)PowerPoint slides contain mostly graphics and thus are challenging to follow and study from at a later date.

3)Class periods are all lecture based and students would like to be engaged more to stimulate their learning.

4)Interactions with the professor during class and office hours can be intimidating and does not facilitate learning.

Listed below are strategies to be utilized for developing in each of these areas and addressing the areas for improvement.

1)Courses that address large volumes of material benefit from student learning outcomes (SLO) identified for each lecture. This assists the students in differentiating main concepts from information that is important for understanding but perhaps not for long-term retention. SLOs are also intended to help focus the assessments and identify at what level of Bloom’s taxonomy the information will be taught and assessed (e.g. define vs. explain vs. analyze).

2)The use of headings, subheadings and bulleted text can provide organization and help students frame the concepts they are intended to learn from the graphics. The use of summary slides at the end of each concept should continue to be used to assist with highlighting the takeaway points. When using a course packet, be sure graphics on the slides are visible. At times, it may be necessary to provide a half or whole page graphic in order for students to see the details of the image.

3)Active learning strategies incorporated into lectures increase student learning, retention of information, and allow the instructor to identify which concepts students do not understand. Active learning examples that foster student engagement include use of a personal response system (e.g. clickers), muddiest point papers, and think-pair-share. Also, use of quality videos can assist with the explanation of concepts, understanding of processes, and allows the students to learn the material with visual assistance.

4)Students are more likely to ask questions that facilitate their learning when they perceive the instructor is interested in their learning. Accepting questions in class without judgmental comments is recommended to help facilitate student learning. Time during office hours should be spent exploring material with students, helping identify where the breakdown is in understanding, and clarifying material. A chair should be available for a student to sit and work with material over a desk or table with the instructor.

Expected outcomes

Implementation of these strategies in the course in Fall 2014 should result in an increase in student evaluation scores on the faculty evaluation. Ideally, these scores will meet or exceed the mean of the faculty evaluations for the courses. Additionally, there should be fewer negative, qualitative comments, particularly surrounding the four areas identified above.

Resources

UC’s Center for the Enhancement of Teaching & Learning provides workshops on active learning as well as handouts and faculty development resources on the subject. They also host an Active Learning Blackboard site for faculty interested in developing their teaching with active learning strategies.

The Faculty Technology Resource Center at UC provides support and training on the use of Turning Point (i.e. ‘clickers’).

Assessment of instructional changes

Instead of waiting until the end of the semester to gather feedback on progress made in the area of instruction, early term feedback will be utilized. The Dean will provide a classroom assessment in the first third of the semester. CET&L provides support for early-term course feedback and can conduct a SGID (small group instructional diagnosis). This is a focus group of students conducted mid-semester (i.e. 5th or 6th week of semester) and serves as a mid-stream evaluation. A SGID helps evaluate if the students are learning and if there might be better ways to help them learn during the remainder of the semester. Melinda Rhodes, Interim Director of CET&L, should be contacted to arrange this consultation (). Consistent with the college evaluation policy, students will be asked to complete a course and faculty evaluation at the end of the semester.

The undersigned agree that this is a mutually agreeable performance improvement plan and understand that it is necessary at this time to focus on the indicated area(s) for performance improvement.

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Employee Signature/DateUnit Head Signature/Date

An affirmative action/equal opportunity institution