A New CIS Curriculum

A positive outcome at one institution has been a new CIS curriculum designed around a technical core for different concentrations. The department has added new courses directed at helping students understand their role in the business context. "This is a significant change," said the Dean, who also noted that this change did not occur without growing pains.

During the preliminary stages of the project, there was a high level of faculty involvement. Several faculty members worked on the planning grant. They attended a weekend retreat and worked with CITE and the Chamber of Commerce to prepare the grant proposal. When the faculty began working under the grant, they attended informational sessions during in-service. "We asked for volunteers to incorporate CSS projects in their classes," the Dean related. "There was not as much enthusiasm as we had hoped." Faculty members were required to attend a 3-day workshop designed to get faculty involved. All who were asked to use CSS projects cooperated, but they didn't take the initiative that was expected.

In retrospect, the Dean believes that faculty should have been better informed and more involved. After the planning workshop, they were enthusiastic. It was more a curriculum development focus; they were told what to do. But they never caught the vision for what could really happen and how the program could really turn around.

The hardest thing for the instructors, according to the Dean, was how to make adjustments when a business situation was brought to them. "They know how to use hypothetical business situations in their classes, but we did not spend enough time helping them to know how to frame the problems for their classes," he said. "We didn't build on their prior knowledge. This has been an important lesson learned."

The impact of the CSS experience has been positive for this program, though, in the Dean's words, "not what it could have been." On the whole, faculty members know that the curriculum is out of date. They realize that the business environment is changing, that business and industry today want employees who are not just well-grounded in the technical concepts and have a background to learn new programs, but are also well-equipped to put that knowledge to work. The instructors have spent time in the business world, so using project-based teaching was not new to them. "They did not have to start at zero," the Dean pointed out. "No one took it far enough, but we have made progress." Faculty has moved toward more student involvement, bringing more active learning strategies into the classes. Especially in the introductory classes, instructors have embraced many of the concepts that were presented.

In regard to plans for the program, the Dean stated that while some of the instructors in standard courses still do not recognize the importance of the Learning Cycle, the good news is that as they develop new courses, they are building problem-based case learning into the classes. New classes have been designed around the National Skills Standards. A business focus group helped adapt the standards to local needs.


Baby Steps - A Good Start

The Dean at another of the pilot institutions described their progress by saying, "We have taken baby steps, but it's a good start."

The Dean initiated the process after serving on an oversight committee. He went to his Computer Science and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) faculty and asked for volunteers. One faculty member from each area volunteered to work with CSS projects. Other faculty members attended training sessions, which the Dean thought were very useful, but to date only two instructors have used CSS in their classes.

The classes that used CSS were very successful. The CSS projects were most applicable, the Dean believed, in "second-level" classes where students had the basic skills. The introductory classes did not work as well, he believed, but overall the experience was positive and has been good for the program - because active learning is a proven concept.

The instructors that tried CSS projects are still using problem-based case learning in their classes. They have shared their successes internally, and other faculty members are interested.

"This is a painfully slow process," said the Dean. He expects other faculty to take the leap. "There is the element of fear - they don't have as much control," he says. He has been working with the business faculty, sharing some of the ideas from problem-based cases, and some of those instructors are looking for a business situation to use in their classes.

The Dean thinks CITE was very valuable in offering instructor training. He would like to see continued sharing of success stories. "Nothing is better than sharing with each other," he said. The fact that instructors were offered release time to work on CSS helped because it takes a tremendous amount of time to redesign a course to incorporate problem-based cases.

A lesson learned from the experience was that goals must be realistic. The Dean admits that he likes things to happen quickly, but it just takes time for faculty to be comfortable with change.


A Move Toward "Real World" Experiences

At another institution, the initial motivation for CSS came from the President who was serving on the National Visiting Committee. The type of technical education promoted by CSS was in line with the institution's vision statement that articulated the kind of education they wanted to see at their institution. The President encouraged the faculty to become involved in CSS projects. The faculty attended workshops and the Synergy Conference and were interested, but the Department Chair was the only one who actually followed through.

According to the Department Chair, there has been some movement toward more "real world" experiences. The whole idea of the CSS projects fits into the Department Chair's philosophy of teaching, and he is not discouraged by the fact that he is the only one who has embraced problem-based case learning in his classes. He doesn't believe that other instructors are really opposed to the idea. It just takes time for faculty to change, and there is a fear of change. Instructors need to see that something new is working well. They know that in order to implement problem-based case learning in their classes, they will have to make time within the course and they have to take time to plan for it. They have their courses designed and they don't want to give up something unless they believe they will get something from it.

Another positive outcome has been that the CSS projects have given business and industry in the area a sense of what is happening in their program. It has strengthened their connection with business. Out of this connection have come several internships - their students placed in businesses.

The CSS objectives fit well with the university's vision statement that calls for learning to be integrative and collaborative, to prepare students with the knowledge, skills, and habits of mind to live productively in a global society. The Department Chair has used three CSS projects, and he is hopeful that other faculty will become involved so that CSS will become a part of their program, helping them to reach their institutional goals. He'd like to see his institution commit to a greater degree to this type of teaching, or to create its own version based on the approach. He will call upon CITE when they know where they are going with this.


CSS Supports Initiatives

For another pilot institution, the initiatives adopted as a result of a Tennessee Board of Regents Academic Audit included a call for projects that link the college with business and industry. CSS projects provided opportunities for faculty members to interact with area business and industry representatives with whom they would not have engaged otherwise. Professional development opportunities enabled faculty associated with CSS to meet and learn with faculty from other pilot institutions.


Common Themes

The interviews with administrators in the pilot institutions produced a number of common themes related to the impact of problem-based case learning on their programs. They recognized that some classes were more successful than others in the use of problem-based cases. Following are indicators or “ingredients” for success that were present in classes where the most positive impact was noted:

• Faculty "bought in" to CSS; they chose to be part of the pilot program
• Faculty members felt they were well prepared and therefore secure in letting go of more traditional roles and structures of teaching and learning.
• Faculty "got it" in terms of framing the problem and using it as a vehicle for learning; the case was not viewed as an "add-on."
• There was a recognizable intersection between the knowledge and skills found in the business context and the anticipated course outcomes.
• The business partner's expectations and the instructor's expectations were "in sync," due to a shared vision of education ad the 21st century IT professional
• In all four pilot colleges and institutions, problem-based case methods will be included in future plans for their IT programs.