Open Learning Initiative

ANNOUNCEMENT AND REQUEST FOR APPLICATIONS

Opportunity for Faculty in Multiple Disciplines to Participate in an Innovative Course Transformation Initiative

Higher education leaders from nine Texas higher education institutions and system offices and the Carnegie Mellon University Open Learning Initiative (OLI) and Community College Open Learning Initiative (CC-OLI) invite interested faculty to apply to participate in a unique collaborative research and demonstration initiative with the interrelated aims of 1) improving educational outcomes for students and 2) providing faculty with advanced technology-based course materials and real-time student learning data to help inform their teaching strategies.

This initiative includes two complementary projects:

• Development of a New Course: The first project is the development of a new advanced web-based Open Learning Initiative learning environment to enhance teaching and learning for a transfer level introductory Psychology course.

  The new OLI learning environment created for this project will be developed by teams of faculty subject matter experts from multiple Texas four-year and two-year colleges, working with learning scientists, human-computer interaction experts, and software engineers in order to make best use of multidisciplinary knowledge for designing effective instruction. The introductory psychology course was selected because it is a high enrollment, transfer-level course that is taught at each of the institutions participating in this initiative that can be important for establishing foundational skills in social sciences and humanities. When completed, this new course will complement the existing OLI course materials.

• Structured Pilot of Existing Courses: The second project is a structured pilot of existing Open Learning Initiative course materials in Biology, Economics, Engineering Statics, French, Introductory Programming with Media, Logic and Proofs, and Statistics. The OLI system provides targeted feedback and support to students and instructors, and rich data to help evaluate and improve course materials.

  The pilot of existing OLI course materials will be conducted in partnership with faculty and instructional support staff from the participating institutions and with support from the Carnegie Mellon University Open Learning Initiative. This project will include a short planning period during Summer 2011, the collection of baseline data and faculty workshops in Fall 2011, and the coordinated use and evaluation of OLI materials in Spring 2012. The hypothesis in this project is that students from a variety of backgrounds and across a variety of institutions may achieve similar learning outcomes with proper levels of academic support. Findings will be used to inform other course transformation and OLI development projects.

About this Initiative

This initiative is a rare opportunity for faculty to work with colleagues from other colleges and universities and with national leaders in instructional design, learning science, and instructional technology.  Participants will learn about educational innovations that are proving to have significant positive impacts on learning outcomes in a growing number of disciplines and colleges and universities, and will play a leading role in developing new applications of these approaches. By participating in this initiative, selected faculty will not only help shape the future of learning for students who will use these new instructional materials and technologies but also will have the opportunity to collaborate with peers in the context of a learning community that is focused on helping more students succeed.

This project has been organized by The University of Texas at Austin and the Carnegie Mellon University Open Learning Initiative and is funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates, Lumina, and Hewlett foundations and the participating institutions. Participating institutions and systems include Alamo Community College, El Paso Community College, Prairie View A&M University, the Texas State University System, Texas Tech University, the University of Texas at Brownsville, the University of Texas at El Paso, and the University of Texas System. Applications from interested faculty must be received not later than:

To apply, please use the links at the bottom of this page.

The Open Learning Initiative

The Open Learning Initiative (OLI) and the Community College Open Learning Initiative (CC-OLI) are funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates, Hewlett, Johnson Kresge, Lumina and Spencer foundations to support the collaborative development, use and evaluation of web-based open learning environments for transfer level introductory college courses. The goal is to increase successful course completion rates by 25 percent over the next three years in redesigned classes that make use of the OLI learning environments, and to improve student success in subsequent courses.

The OLI learning environments include clearly articulated student-centered measurable learning outcomes, intelligent tutoring systems, virtual laboratories, simulations, and frequent opportunities for assessment and feedback. These learning environments replace traditional textbooks and homework to support face-to-face or online instructor-led classes.

In addition to teaching disciplinary content, the OLI learning environments support students to practice accepted strategies that will help them to be more successful learners in other college courses (e.g., take responsibility for outcomes; search the environment for information; and use feedback to refine behavior). As students work through the OLI learning environment, the system collects real-time interaction level data about what students are doing and learning and uses that data to give immediate feedback and support to learners as they work outside of class. Instructors using OLI courses are able to access real-time detailed reports on what their students are learning and where they are struggling so that they can use that information in planning their class time and supporting their students.

Faculty Roles

The initiative can only succeed with robust faculty participation in the development and adaptation of the learning environments.  The initiative will have three different levels at which faculty can participate: Core Development, Contribute and Review, and Use and Evaluation.  The Core Development and Contribute and Review levels of participation are only relevant to the first project, which includes the development of a new OLI course. The Use and Evaluation role is available in both projects.

• Development of a New Course

  • Core Development: Faculty subject matter experts from different colleges will be core team members on the course development/adaptation team, which consists of learning scientists, assessment specialists, technical experts and a course design manager. This team will work to define the learning outcomes and develop the course content (expository text, learning activities, and assessments).

    Faculty selected to participate on the core development team for Psychology course materials will need to participate in initial planning meetings in Summer 2011, and will work with learning scientists, assessment specialists, technical experts and a course design manager to define learning outcomes and develop learning activities and assessments during the 2011-12 academic year. These faculty will also use and evaluate course materials with their students beginning in Fall 2012 and will participate in revisions of course materials during the 2012-13 academic year.

  • Contribute and Review: Faculty will review and approve learning outcomes, contribute some learning activities and/or assessment items, review and give input to the course design prior to implementation and use and evaluate the course with their students.

    Faculty who participate in the contribute and review team for Psychology will participate in an initial planning workshop in Summer 2011 and will review and approve learning outcomes, contribute some learning activities and/or assessment items, and review and give input to the course design during the 2011-12 academic year. These faculty will also use and evaluate course materials with their students beginning in Fall 2012.

  • Use and Evaluation: Faculty will use OLI course materials to support their teaching and participate in evaluation through in-person and/or web-based workshops and communities of practice with faculty from institutions across the state that are using and evaluating the courses. Feedback and evaluations will be used to guide course development and adaptation teams.

    Faculty who participate in the use and evaluation team for Psychology will participate in an initial planning workshop and collect baseline data in Fall or Spring 2012, will use and evaluate course materials with their students beginning Fall 2012, and will participate in a web-based community of practice in Fall 2012 with faculty from across the state who are using the new OLI course materials.

• Structured Pilot of Existing Courses
  

  • Use and Evaluation: Faculty will use OLI course materials to support their teaching and participate in evaluation through in-person and/or web-based workshops and communities of practice with faculty from institutions across the state that are using and evaluating the courses. Feedback and evaluations will be used to guide course development and adaptation teams.

    The time commitment for faculty who participate in the pilot of existing OLI course materials will include some initial planning time in Summer 2011, participation in a workshop for faculty and instructional support staff and collection of baseline data in Fall 2011. Faculty participating in this project will use and evaluate OLI course materials with their students in Spring 2012. These faculty will also participate in a web-based community of practice during the 2011-12 academic year with faculty from across the state who are using the OLI course materials.

Who Should Apply

We are seeking faculty who are subject matter experts in their field who are interested in innovative approaches to teaching and leading research on how students learn. In addition to having an awareness of common student pitfalls, faculty should be able to recognize common domain-specific misconceptions and have given thought to how these misconceptions develop. Participating faculty should be able to creatively think through learning activities that can be integrated into the new learning environment. Most importantly, faculty members interested in participating in this initiative should be able to commit the time necessary to be fully engaged in this work.

Faculty should indicate on the application the levels of involvement in which they would be interested in participating. Release time for community college faculty for the initiative will be supported by grant funds through the Community College Open Learning Initiative. Release time for university faculty will be supported by their home institutions. The timeline outlined above for the new course development project is approximate and will depend on the particular course selected.

For More Information

Contact Ross Strader, Associate Director, Carnegie Mellon University Open Learning Initiative at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , or Harrison Keller, Vice Provost for Higher Education Policy, The University of Texas at Austin at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , or Gretchen Ritter, Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education and Faculty Governance, The University of Texas at Austin at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Apply for the Development of a New Course in Psychology

Apply for the Structured Pilot of Existing Courses