Designing and Delivering a University CourseâA Process - INFORMS ...

SILVER Designing and Delivering a University Course – A Process (or Operations) Management Perspective

Designing and Delivering a University Course – A Process (or Operations) Management Perspective

research-oriented institutions providing little guidance with respect to teaching). Where a significant portion of my teaching in recent years has been in a multi-section introductory required course (which I have coordinated) in Operations Management with very much of a Process Management focus, I felt that it would be useful to use a Process Management framework to present my thoughts.

Edward A. Silver Faculty of Management University of Calgary 2500 University Dr. N.W., Calgary, Alberta, CANADA, T2N 1N4

It should be emphasized that this paper does not specifically address many aspects of teaching. There is excellent reference material on this subject including the books of Eble (1988) and McKeachie (1999), as well as numerous short articles in the Teaching Professor newsletter (e-mail: [email protected]). Illustrative examples of the latter include Clearly (1990) and Brinko (1991). In addition, this paper does not explicitly deal with radically new paradigms for teaching (see Campbell and Smith, 1997).

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Abstract With over 30 years of academic experience in both engineering and management faculties, involving trial and error experimentation in teaching as well as reading relevant literature and observing other instructors in action, the author has accumulated a number of ideas, regarding the preparation and delivery of a university course, that should be of interest to other instructors. This should be particularly the case for those individuals who have had little or no teaching experience (e.g. those whose graduate education was recently completed at research-oriented institutions providing little guidance with respect to teaching). A particular perspective is used to convey the ideas, namely one of viewing the preparation and delivery of a course as two major processes that should provide outputs or outcomes that are of value to a number of customers, in particular, students.

In Section 2 a brief review of the meaning of Process Management is provided. A digression in Section 3 deals with the critically important issue of how a typical academic, engrossed in many different teaching/research/consulting/administrative activities, can keep track of ideas related to the design and delivery of a specific course. Section 4 lists a wide range of factors that should affect the design and delivery of the course. Next, in Section 5, a useful hierarchy of strategic, tactical and operational decisions is reviewed. Details, related to these decisions, are then presented in several subsequent sections. Specifically, Section 6 is concerned with some strategic choices in the design and delivery of a course. Subsequently, tactical (or process design) decisions are the topic of Section 7. Next, Section 8 presents issues related to the detailed development and scheduling of a course. This is followed in Section 9 by a discussion of the short range, operational decisions in the actual execution of the course. Section 10 is concerned with the importance of properly evaluating a course both during and after its delivery. The paper concludes with some summary comments in Section 11. A number of details are provided in the form of html files.

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1. Introduction With over 30 years of academic experience in both engineering and management faculties, involving trial and error experimentation in teaching as well as reading relevant literature and observing other instructors in action, I believe that I have accumulated a number of ideas, regarding the preparation and delivery of a university course, that should be of interest to other instructors. This should be particularly the case for those individuals who have had little or no teaching experience (e.g. those whose graduate education was recently completed at

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2. What is Process Management?

tory texts present a diagram of this type (see, for example, Evans, 1993, Melnyk and Denzler, 1996, Krajewski and Ritzman, 1999, or Shafer and Meredith, 1997). The management feedback control loop indicates that key characteristics of the outputs are monitored and, as appropriate, adjustments are made to the process and/or the inputs.

a. Conversion/Transformation Processes Any organization should be concerned with appropriately meeting the needs of its customers. Typically, this is accomplished by the conversion/ transformation of various inputs into outcomes or outputs (services/goods) that are of value to the customers. The conversion/ transformation involves a set of activities, i.e. a process. Consistent with the above emphasis on value, the conversion/transformation is sometimes called the value-delivery process. Figure 1 is a generic schematic of a conversion/transformation process. Many introduc-

In view of the above discussion, the following is one possible definition of Process Management: Process Management is concerned with the design, control, improvement and redesign of conversion/transformation processes in any organization.

Figure 1: A Conversion/Transformation Process 28 INFORMS Transcations on Education 2:1 (27-49)

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General references on Process Management include Armistead and Rowland (1996), Harrington (1991), Shearer (1994) and Hammer (1996).

information can come from a number of sources such as individual instructors, student (feedback), employers, surveys of graduates and their perceived needs in the workplace, Faculty and University policies, etc. A particularly important type of information is feedback (evaluation) from any previous offerings of the course. In Figure 3 the technology can encompass computers, VCR’s, video display units, and so on. An example of the modified documents output would be changes made in course notes based upon student feedback and errors uncovered during the course delivery.

A useful dichotomy is that of one-off versus highly repetitive processes. Examples of the latter include high volume manufacturing of standard products or the processing of thousands of insurance claims. A one-off process is also known as a project. In my opinion the design and delivery of a course is best considered as a major project although there are aspects that are very repetitive e.g. the grading of assignments in a high enrolment class. As a result, a project focus is used in this write-up.

b). Customers of a Process

In addition, it probably makes sense to think of two separate phases (or interlinked subprojects), specifically

A key element of process management is to identify the customers of the conversion/transformation process, i.e. for whom do the outputs or outcomes have value and what specifically is of value to them? An initial reaction with respect to the design and delivery of a course is that the customers are the students taking the course. As pointed out by Bailey (2000), perhaps it is more appropriate to think of students as clients for whom professional services are provided rather than customers who simply buy goods or services. In addition, there are other relevant customers. Employers benefit, at least

i). the design of the course and ii). the delivery (or execution) of the course. One can then treat the design process and the delivery (execution) process separately (as is typically done in the management of a major project). Of course, the design must take account of the delivery capabilities. Figures 2 and 3 provide a rather coarse view of the two processes. In Figure 2 the input

Figure 2: Process View of the Design of a Course 29 INFORMS Transcations on Education 2:1 (27-49)

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indirectly, from the outcomes of a course. Society, in general, could be viewed as benefiting from a more informed citizenry. The faculty in follow-on courses should be concerned about the outputs of a prerequisite course. The area head or dean should be interested in the outcomes for annual evaluation purposes. Finally, the instructors themselves can be viewed as customers, e.g., in terms of deriving satisfaction from carrying out the course preparation and delivery or by using the notes as a framework for the preparation of a textbook.

and Denzler (1996, Chapter 2) value can be defined as the customer’s subjective evaluation, adjusted for cost, of how well a service or good meets or exceeds expectations. Value combines four major characteristics (or dimensions): cost, quality, speed (of delivery) and flexibility. Specifically, we can express

where performance encompasses the last three of the dimensions.

Returning to considering the students as primary customers or clients of a course, a key question that an instructor should ask him or herself early on in the development of the course is “What do I want the students to possess when they leave relative to their status when they enter the course?” The answer helps spell out the objectives of the course.

It is helpful to expound on the four dimensions, particularly as they relate to university courses. i). Cost (i.e. low price) – This depends upon high efficiency or productivity both in terms of the student’s efforts required as well as the resources used for the course. This is probably most relevant for a stand alone course, such as an executive development short course that is not part of a program. However, administrators often indirectly emphasize this dimension by providing relatively low budgets for regular courses involving large

c. Competitive Dimensions As mentioned previously, a key question is “What’s of value to the customers of a process?” As first suggested by Artzt (1992) and elaborated by Melnyk

Figure 3: Process View of the Delivery of a Course 30 INFORMS Transcations on Education 2:1 (27-49)

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3. Keeping Track of Ideas

numbers of students. In addition, this dimension is very important from the perspective of the individual instructor, specifically the amount of effort required by that person.

An academic typically has a number of on-going major projects, including the preparation and delivery of courses, research projects, student supervision, consulting studies, seminars, preparation of proposals, writing of articles, administrative activities, vacation plans, acquisition of major items, etc. Ideas related to any of these, can occur at any time, especially when one is relaxed. Thompson (1991) provides the results of a survey of the times people are most likely to come up with new ideas which supports the preceding statement.

ii). Quality – It is useful to think of two subdimensions, specifically product quality (i.e. a design issue) versus process quality (i.e. delivering the actual service or good without any glitches). With respect to a course, product quality includes course content, conceptual level, course structure, etc. whereas process quality relates to voice projection/ tone, legibility of transparencies, timeliness of grading assignments, and so on. To bring out the difficulty of defining quality I give the students the following interactive exercise in class.

The following joke, which I usually tell as an icebreaker in my classes, brings out the need for writing down and properly filing these ideas:

Exercise:

A professor, as she or he gets older, tends to lose four things.

A fellow student asked you what you thought about a particular course in your undergraduate program. Suppose that your answer was “It was a high quality course.” What did you mean by this statement, i.e. what constitutes quality in a course?

The first is their hair as you can see! The second is their memory….(long pause)…. and I can’t remember the other two!”

Typically a wide variety of valid answers, some directly conflicting in nature (e.g. easy versus challenging nature of material), are provided.

Incidentally, I firmly believe that humour is an important ingredient in the classroom, but I do emphasize that, despite the humour, I consider the course and the contents to be very serious matters. Eble (1988, p. 60) advocates this perspective.

iii). Speed of delivery or so-called time-based competition – Time is not wasted in a course. Graded assignments are returned quickly. Questions are answered promptly (e.g. through the use of e-mail).

One should have a set of folders (physical or computerized), one for each major project. As ideas are generated they are recorded and deposited into the appropriate folders. In fact, Shearer (1994) refers to the folders as idea banks. The following is a related quote:

iv). Flexibility – One can think of two subdimensions here. The first is having several different options within the course (e.g. a term paper or a final examination) or dynamically changing the emphasis on different topics based on student input. The second aspect is the ability to respond rapidly to changes in the volume of demand. Can the instructor cope with a last minute, large increase in enrolment?

“There are two important reasons for writing down your ideas. First, joining mental and physical effort and externalizing ideas often helps clarify them. Second, as any composition teacher will verify, the very act of writing an idea has a way of triggering other ideas.” Ruggiero (1995)

Before considering a broad range of factors that should affect the design and delivery of a course a digression will now be made on a point that I believe is very important.

Related to a course, ideas occur before starting work on the course, during preparation, during delivery 31

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relevant work experience, what is of value to them (as discussed earlier), and finally, their learning styles. With regard to the latter point not all students are comfortable learning in the same way, a point of which many faculty are unaware early in their careers, particular faculty trained in a technical discipline. Figure 4 (adopted from Sharp et al, 1997, but see also Smith and Kolb, 1986, McCarthy, 1986 and Svinicki and Dixon, 1987) shows a two dimensional representation of Kolb learning styles.

and after completion. In particular, ideas for assignments and examination questions, as well as improvements in the material, are often triggered during the preparation for and delivery of the material of the class sessions. Prior to commencing preparation (or revision) of the course I have found it useful to begin numbering the ideas and to split them into two categories, namely administrative versus academic (the latter being ideas related to topics, delivery mechanisms, etc.). Next, we turn to a discussion of a broad range of factors to consider when designing and/or delivering a course. Later, we will discuss the use of the above lists.

c). Assigned Human Resources (Instructors, etc.). How many instructors are to be used and what are their experiences, skills and knowledge of the subject matter? In particular, have they taught this or a similar course before? With respect to supporting staff, how much secretarial assistance will be made available for typing, photocopying, distributing information to students, etc.? How many teaching assistants and graders will be assigned? What are their capabilities? Could they conduct tutorials? When will they be chosen and when will they be available to start preparation? In some institutions the choice is made only a few days before the course begins! Finally, are appropriate guest speakers available? They can’t easily be utilized in a multiple section course except through a special session in a large auditorium or via videotaping.

4. Factors That (Should) Affect the Design and/ or Delivery of a Course In designing a process it is worthwhile to identify the key factors (most of which can be viewed as constraints) that preexist. With respect to a course the factors have been arranged into eight categories: the general nature of the course, the students involved, the assigned human resources (instructors, etc.), the facilities, the materials, the available time, the budget, and institutional constraints. a). General Nature of the Course The design of a course should be influenced by the program in which it appears (undergraduate versus graduate), whether it is a required core course versus an elective, how many sections are involved (with the associated coordination issues if multiple sections are planned), and whether the course is new or already exists. Related to the latter point, the life cycles of courses, like almost everything else in society, are decreasing rapidly.

d). Facilities Will the students be located on campus or will remote instruction be used? What technology (Internet linkages, computer terminals, video display unit, etc.) is or can be installed in the classroom(s)? What types and sizes of classrooms are available? Are the seating arrangements fixed or variable? What size laboratories are available and what types and quantities of equipment do they include?

b). The Students Involved The first factor here is the likely number of students involved and the accuracy of the forecast of that number (for space and material needs). In addition, the following characteristics of the individual students should be considered: academic knowledge, skills (e.g. ability to create spreadsheet models),

e). Materials What textbooks are available on the course’s subject material? If the course has been taught before, is there now a new edition of the text that


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Figure 4: Kolb Learning Styles Copyright: Experienced-Based Learning Systems, Inc., 1981, revised 1985, 1993, 1999. Developed by David A. Kolb. Reproduced with permission from Hay/McBer, 116 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02116. Types 1-4 terminology from The 4MAT System by Bernice McCarthy, copyright 1986 by Excel, Inc. Used by special permission of About Learning Inc., 1251 N. Old Rand Road, Wauconda, IL 60084. Also used by permission of the American Society for Engineering Education, 1818 N Street N.W., Suite 600, Washington, D.C. 20036.

was last used? Is there an instructor’s manual for the chosen textbook? What sample problems and examinations exist? What other readings (such as journal articles and newspaper clippings) are obtainable? Are there appropriate case studies and associated teaching notes? What are the lead times required for obtaining these and other kinds of materials?

able for the delivery? What holidays and other blocked out periods (e.g. a week dedicated to midterm examinations) exist? How much time is available for preparation and when relative to the starting date of the course? Related to the last point I personally have preferred to prepare well ahead of time to avoid last minute panic situations. However, there is a risk in preparing too far ahead as it removes some of the flexibility to deal with the uncertainties (e.g. the exact number of students enrolled and their capabilities) and the ability to incorporate newly discovered material. The preparation time is typically considerably longer for large, multi-section core courses. Usually more flexibility is permitted in elective courses, thus preparation for those can be carried out closer to the actual delivery time.

Are there web sites that are relevant to the course? These could include sites for the textbook, companies, and professional organizations. f). Available Time There are some issues related to the time available for both the preparation and delivery of the course. First, what are the total class contact hours avail-


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When we discuss these categories in more detail in subsequent sections it will be seen that the boundaries are gray. Some of the decisions can be classified in more than one category. Nevertheless, I believe it is useful to think in this fashion.

g). Budget Obviously of importance are the financial resources made available for supplies, photocopying, and payment of teaching assistants and graders. From a broader perspective the number and type (tenure track or sessional) of instructors made available (mentioned in an earlier category) are also constrained by budget considerations.

6. Strategic Choices There are a number of strategic issues to be considered very early on in the design of a course. The structure and content should be driven by the course objectives (in particular, what one desires the students to gain from the course), which, in turn, should be linked to the strategy of the area and/or Faculty. In particular, is the emphasis to be primarily on teaching content or developing learning processes (Eimers, 1999)? Also, what emphasis is to be placed on qualitative (typically more strategic) as opposed to quantitative treatment of the material? In addition, what are we trying to accomplish from a quality perspective? This latter question ties back to what’s of value to students and others interested in the outputs (outcomes) of the course. Moreover, how do we assure high quality? Options include appropriate tests, assignments, feedback from students, and monitoring by colleagues (i.e. peer evaluation).

h). Institutional Constraints This last category is a large one. The details are available in Appendix A. Included are enrolment limits, accreditation requirements, coordination of material and workloads with other courses, and so on. Incidentally, one should challenge many of these constraints, at least over the longer run.

5. Hierarchy of Operation Management Decisions Anthony (1988) suggested a useful hierarchy of management decisions, specifically strategic, tactical and operational. Each is now briefly discussed with examples from the preparation and delivery of a course. Strategic choices have major implications and are longer term in nature, typically looking a year or more into the future. They often constrain what can be done in the shorter term. Examples are the general nature of the material to be covered and the pedagogy to be used in a course. (Of course, issues of an even more strategic nature in a university setting are what programs and associated courses to offer.)

Another major choice involves the scope of the material to be covered, including which topics to cover. This involves a tradeoff between breadth and depth and certainly interacts with the choice of pedagogies as we will see. Most academics, early in their career, tend to emphasize breadth, i.e. covering a wide range of topics. My personal thinking has shifted on this issue. In my experience in-depth coverage of a more limited set of topics permits more active learning in the course and the students typically appreciate and retain an understanding of more of the material.

Tactical (design) decisions are medium term (a few weeks to several months) and more detailed than strategic choices. Examples would be the detailed design of a course and the preparation of the course outline and notes package.

7. Tactical (Process Design) Decisions

Operational decisions are highly detailed and concerned with the short run (week to week or even day to day). Illustrations include last minute adjustments of the course material, even during its delivery.

There are many issues and decisions at the tactical level. We begin with some preliminary general points.


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many small tutorial groups, ii). multiple sections and one or more tutorials, or iii). seminar/discussion format. The choice depends upon a number of factors including the resources available, whether the course is required or elective, the overall class size, etc.

a). General Points In project management a particularly useful concept for planning, scheduling and control is the so-called work breakdown structure (WBS) (see, for example, Gido and Clements, 1999). Specifically, the WBS divides a project into finer and finer detail so as to define the work to be done. We illustrate with respect to the preparation of a course:

In multiple section courses should each instructor deliver the whole course versus each instructor doing the same modules (from the WBS) in all sections? This can be viewed from a job design perspective as enlargement versus specialization. Also, should team teaching be used? If so, an appropriate reward structure must be in place as team teaching typically involves considerably more effort than working on one’s own.

project : entire course tasks : topic areas, examinations, major assignments, etc. subtasks : individual questions on an examination, sections of a topic area, etc. (In complex projects more than three levels can be used.) At this stage (tactical decisions) we operate at the task level with a broad-brush treatment (socalled aggregate planning). The details will be fleshed out in Section 8.

Should collaborative (or cooperative) learning be used? This is a form of group assignment where an individual’s grade depends to some extent on the performance of the whole group. References on the topic include Smith and Waller (1997) and Goodsell et al (1992). What about active versus passive (lecture) learning? I began my teaching career in a strictly lecture mode and have gradually shifted to the use of much more active learning. The following quote supports the need for active learning.

Approximate time allocations should be made for each topic area. I prefer to do this rather than just starting detailed development of notes for each area, hoping that the resulting total time will be feasible. This is the moment to alter, add or subtract one or more topic areas if the total of the estimated times doesn’t come close to the available contact hours. In this regard, it makes sense to leave some slack time to avoid feeling continually rushed in the delivery process.

“Efficiency isn’t the goal; student understanding is.And that requires active, not passive, learning.”

Returning to the idea bank, discussed in Section 3, now is the time to categorize the earlier lists of ideas by topic area. Some ideas may fit into more than one area. If so, put them in each, perhaps using a cross-referencing mechanism. I usually also have a general category.

Taylor – Nicodemus (1992) See also Meyers and Jones (1993). Obviously this and the previous point link back to the different learning styles of the students. Moreover, they are related to the nature of the assignments to be used. See also Sharp et al (1997) for a linkage between learning styles and the nature of written assignments.

b). Pedagogical Options

I would like to next comment on two rather unusual types of student assignments. The first is a particularly effective method that I have adopted (from some unremembered literature source!). It involves the use of short readings and for each asking all or a subset of the students to submit a short write-up that briefly addresses: i). the key issues in the reading, ii). the strongest point, iii) the weakest point, and

There are a number of questions related to what kinds of pedagogical approaches to use. To begin with how many sections should be used (which implies the approximate size of each section)? This is a so-called capacity decision which requires forecasts of student enrolment and knowledge of available resources including facilities. There is the associated choice between i). one very large lecture and 35 INFORMS Transcations on Education 2:1 (27-49)

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system (so-called courseware). An example is Cecil developed at the University of Auckland (Gunn, 2000). There are also commercially available packages such as Blackboard. (http://www.blackboard.com)

iv). a question provoked by the reading. Then, in class I do a random draw from the submissions and ask that student to make a short oral presentation on the above points. The second we call short preparation assignments. As with the previous item, this is a mechanism to ensure that students are better prepared for class discussions. We have used it successfully, even in very large classes. These assignments typically relate to text or short case readings. For each assignment each student receives a sheet of paper with a few questions listed and with designated space for a short answer to each. The sheets are collected in class, then for each question one of the sheets is selected at random and the student is asked to orally discuss the answer (This mechanism helps prevent copying answers or asking a colleague to submit one’s sheet!). To facilitate rapid grading of the written responses, the options are simply pass or fail with perhaps a few being designated as outstanding. Each assignment is worth only 0.5% or so of the final grade.

d). Supporting Materials As a final category under tactical decisions there are a number of considerations related to supporting materials. First, there is the choice of a textbook (by word of mouth, reviews, having personally skimmed or read it, having already used it or a previous edition). There is also the possibility of customization, either portions of a single book or an amalgamation of material from several sources. Another major issue is whether or not to provide a course notes package including the level of detail. I typically provide such a package with material basically in point form with plenty of space for the students to add notes. In class I show transparencies or PowerPoint pages of the same material. By and large the students really like this arrangement.

An important issue with respect to examinations is the choice of an open versus closed book format. An interesting concept (Janick, 1990) in connection with a closed book examination is permitting the students to bring in an index card (e.g. 5” x 8”) with anything they want written on it. In my experience, this serves two purposes. First, it alleviates anxieties. Second, its preparation serves as a review and distillation mechanism (which is consistent with the Ruggiero quotation in Section 3). Also, in my opinion it is essential to provide a sample examination (with answers) early in the term as uncertainty about the nature of examinations is a major stress factor for most students.

Should a complete handouts package be provided at the start of the course versus periodic (Just-inTime) handouts of readings, assignments, etc.? The tradeoff here is between administrative convenience (particularly in a large class) versus loss of flexibility when the complete package is done ahead of time. Having handouts available on line is another option. Finally, which materials should be placed on reserve in a library? Also, what type of sign out period should be permitted?

8. Detailed Development and Scheduling of the Course

There are a number of other points related to pedagogy which can be found in Appendix B. These include additional issues related to student assignments and examinations.

The first step I do here is to firm up the sequence of topics and the time allocation to each. The sequence can be influenced by a desire early on to capture and hold student interest, the nature of the material, the need for some topics as prerequisites for others, and so on. If possible, I try to have topics cover integer numbers of class sessions. This makes scheduling and monitoring the actual pace easier. In

c). Uses of Technology A number of possible technological options to consider using are listed in Appendix C. (Also see Brown, 2000). Of growing importance is the possibility of using an on-line course management 36 INFORMS Transcations on Education 2:1 (27-49)

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is developed the time estimates from the previous step should be rechecked.

addition, students prefer to know exactly what will be covered in each session.

As one goes through the above steps it is useful to keep track of the readings and assignments associated with each topic, as these will be needed for the preparation of the course outline. For some suggestions regarding the course outline see Appendix D.

a). Developing a Segment (i.e. Topic Area) of the Course Here is a suggested sequence of steps: i). Read the relevant portion of the text and any other readings to be assigned. I actually prefer reading all of the text ahead of time, highlighting portions and making notes so as to get an overall perspective. Then at this stage I just review the highlighted material and my notes.

b). Preparation of Assignments and Examinations First and foremost, the nature of assignments and examinations should be consistent with the course objectives. In this regard, where there are multiple instructors they must all agree on the suitability of the material, e.g. for an examination which draft questions are appropriate. This can be a lengthy and emotionally charged experience. It makes sense to have extra questions prepared as this tends to lessen the resistance to dropping material.

ii). Divide the topic into sections (recall the idea of a work breakdown structure) and work on one section at a time. In some cases it may even be useful to go to one further level of detail, i.e. subsections. iii). Prepare an outline of the topic area including the sections as above.

Careful thought should be given to how to divide up the preparation responsibility among multiple instructors and, possibly, the teaching assistant(s). The idea bank should serve as a source of potential questions. With respect to examinations it is essential to develop realistic estimates of the times for students to answer the examination questions. In my opinion it is best to build in a cushion of extra time so that the majority of the students will not be stressed due to perceived time pressures. Independent proofing of examination material is strongly recommended. Grading keys should be developed and checked independently. This should be done prior to finalizing the assignment or examination. On several occasions I have ended up changing or eliminating a question after struggling with trying to develop an answer key! The independent proofing is an illustrative use of a key concept in process management, namely error-proofing.

iv). Use the list of ideas (earlier categorized by topic), putting them into the sections (or subsections). v). If notes from an earlier offering of the course exist, they should be reviewed at this point. (In actual fact, the earlier offering would probably also be used in step iii.). vi). Possibly use some of the material from an instructor's manual, incorporating it (in point form) into the outline. vii). Estimate the required class time for each section (or subsection) so that the total time does not exceed the budgeted allocation for the topic. How does one obtain these estimates? The best source is previous experience in teaching the material, but input from colleagues and the instructor's manual can also be helpful.

See Jacobs and Chase (1992) with respect to suggestions regarding the actual development of questions.

viii). Use the outline to prepare the actual notes for the students as well as annotations for personal use in class. I have found it particularly helpful to use a color-coding of the annotations one color (e.g. blue) for things to say, another color (e.g. red) for directions for my use (e.g. show an extra transparency, hand out something, activate a timer, etc.). Once a draft of the notes

c). Administrative Items Before and During the Course There are a large number of administrative points, particularly in a multi-section course. A listing is 37


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to answer a set of questions (see Figure 6). I suggest that they interchange cards with someone in the class they don’t previously know. (A variation is to have two people interview each other. Each student completes the form for their partner, then, time permitting, briefly introduces the partner to the entire class). I subsequently collect all the cards. I use their contents in two ways. First, at the appropriate times during the course I call on students who have indicated relevant experience. Second, I make a point of arriving several minutes early for each class and chatting informally with 2 or 3 individuals about some of their interests.

provided in Appendix E. Inappropriate attention to these can cause all sorts of problems – misunderstanding on the part of the students, necessity of spending time clarifying or correcting matters (a form of rework, something to be minimized by appropriate process management!), etc. If there are multiple instructors and/or a teaching assistant, it is very helpful to have regular (weekly) coordination meetings. Where there are so many interacting administrative activities it may make sense to use a graphical or tabular aid for scheduling and control such as a task chart (showing the activities, the deadlines and who is responsible for each activity) or even a Gantt chart (showing the tasks on a time line). A reference that includes the latter is Sadowski and Medeirus (1982). We have used a 6-page task chart at the University of Calgary in our core Operations Management course in which multiple instructors are involved. A sample page is shown in (Figure 5). The two instructors (secretaries) involved are denoted by I1 and I2 (S1 and S2). In addition, it is helpful to set up a reminder (tickler) system in a paper or electronic calendar regarding the key administrative activities throughout the term (again, a form of errorproofing).

It is important to manage the expectations of the students, particularly when the course is very different from a previous offering, such as caused by a change in instructor. The course outline can be used for this purpose, but marked changes should also be conveyed in the early class sessions. The students appreciate a table of contents at the start of each topic area to provide an overview. Moreover, each topic should be motivated early on. One way is having a vignette of a real-world application either in the text or the notes package. Another is to use a relevant, current news item. At the end of each section or topic one should deliberately leave some slack time to permit pausing for the students to express questions or concerns.

d). Some Suggestions

There should be frequent, regularly spaced, interactive activities in the class. Keep the students involved! This is particularly worthwhile in large, required courses. In addition, after each interactive activity it is important to emphasize the underlying concept or to give a real world illustration so that the activities are not just perceived as amusing distractions. A useful reference is Woodberry and Aldrich (2000). One variation, that I have found quite effective, is to provide an issue/question and have the class discuss it in impromptu groups of two or three members. Then open up overall class discussion. The conventional approach has been to just ask for an immediate answer. The small group mechanism gives everyone an opportunity to discuss the matter with colleagues, rather than just waiting (and usually not very long) for one of the more outspoken students to provide an answer.

This subsection deals with a number of suggestions regarding the preparation of course material. Many are particularly pertinent for required courses with large enrolments where, at least initially, many of the students are, at best, indifferent to the subject matter. To begin with, there is a need for coaching of teaching assistants and graders as well as new faculty members (the latter regarding both the preparation and delivery of the course material). A starting point would be to have such individuals read this paper! In my experience it is helpful to break the ice in the first session (Billson, 1986, Weimer, 1989, Meyers and Jones, 1993 (pages 51-56), Amick, 1998). I first tell the students some things about myself including where I have lived and worked, some points about my family, my favorite pastimes, etc. Then I hand out an index card to each student and ask them 38 INFORMS Transcations on Education 2:1 (27-49)

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Figure 5: Sample Page from Task Chart for a Multi-Section Core Course


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A contentious issue is whether or not to have a grade component for participation. If I include it, then in the first class session I take pictures of the students (4 or 5 at a time holding name cards), then I cut out the individual pictures and tape them beside the student names on a class list. This is inexpensive and really helps me recognize students and remember their names. (Some schools provide class lists with pictures!). Another variation is to develop a

seating chart, but a drawback is that this option constrains students to always sit in the same seats. Furthermore, if I include a participation grade, then I also permit written participation through the use of a question box (see Strauss and Fulwiler, 1987), placed inside the classroom near one of the exits. Students are encouraged to submit meaningful questions or comments based on the readings (at the start of the sessions) or on the class material (at

Figure 6: Questions for Students in First Class Session 40 INFORMS Transcations on Education 2:1 (27-49)

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should be given to properly dealing with serious problems that arise (e.g. a major error in the instructions associated with an assignment) should be promptly and effectively handled. So-called service recovery (Johnston and Hewa, 1997, Hart et al, 1990) relates to this issue. To make the weekly coordination meetings more effective it is helpful to provide an agenda the day before and brief follow-up minutes, emphasizing action items and responsibilities, within 24 hours.

the end of the sessions). I make a point of providing written responses (right on the question sheets) and returning them to the students at the start of the next class. I also orally comment on some of the better submissions.

9. Operational Decisions in the Execution of the Course There are a number of decisions to be made during the delivery of class sessions, grading of assignments, etc. These can be viewed as short-term control and adaptation. Many of these actions can be decided at the weekly coordination meetings, but others must be made on a shorter term, emergency basis. In particular, dynamic scheduling is likely a necessity, adapting due to unforeseen circumstances such as time estimates being off, instructor illness, students having unexpected difficulties with a specific topic, and so on. Also, careful consideration

I have found it useful at the end of each class session to do two things. The first is simple – clearly marking in my notes where the session ended. This avoids the embarrassment of unnecessarily repeating or skipping material. The second is to keep track of ideas for improvement, i.e. put them into the idea bank for the next offering of the course! We make use of a mini-evaluation (Billson, 1986) by the students a few weeks into the course (see Figure 7). We look at the results, provide the

Figure 7: Mini-Evaluation 41 INFORMS Transcations on Education 2:1 (27-49)

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Most academic institutions require that standard evaluation forms be administered in a relatively narrow time window towards the end of the course. Unfortunately, these are often primarily used by administrators for merit or promotion considerations and typically by just looking at average performance, relative to that of other instructors, on one or two summary questions. Moreover, students may not be in a position to properly evaluate content, hence their judgments are based primarily on the delivery mechanisms used. On occasion I have used a specially designed extra evaluation form in an attempt to obtain additional feedback for the specific course, e.g. having questions related to a major assignment. In fact, in an elective course on Business Process Improvement and Creative Problem Solving the last assignment (which counts towards the overall grade) is a critique of the course. For each of a number of aspects of the course (see Appendix F) the students are asked to comment on what they considered the most positive aspects and why, what they considered to be the aspects needing improvement and why, and recommendations for achieving improvements.

students a summary of them, and then try to adapt wherever appropriate and possible. This is a form of quality management and can be done several times during the course (so-called “fast feedback”) and with additional questions. However, one has to be concerned with a possible degradation in the value of the feedback if the students begin to feel that it is being overdone. In my experience a very important action is to encourage students to review their notes between classes. A 15-minute review of this type is probably as valuable as a full hour spent (much later) just before an examination. At the start of each session I provide a brief review of the previous class and encourage students to raise concerns. I make a point of going over my notes the day before a class. At that time I also make a list of items to be brought to class, e.g. special handouts, graded items, special supplies (e.g. markers, sheets of paper, etc. for exercises) and so on. I have found that this helps avoid arriving in class missing some key items (another illustration of error prevention).

10. Evaluation of the Course

Another type of evaluation is the use of peer reviews. Early on this can include an assessment of the course outline and the materials to be used (e.g. course notes package, case studies, and so on). In addition, the peer evaluator can sit in on one or more sessions and provide constructive feedback on what is observed. I emphasize the adjective constructive because some academics have a tendency to be primarily critical in their judgments of their colleagues.

Any evaluation should relate back to aspects discussed in Section 6 – Strategic Choices, specifically the course objectives, in particular, what one desires the students to gain and what one is trying to accomplish from a quality perspective. We have already discussed some aspects of evaluation. These include the use of mini-evaluation feedback from students early in the course, and on-going review by the instructor of the material and its delivery right after each session, the latter leading to the jotting down of ideas for improvement. The same sort of review should be done after every assignment is graded and particularly after each examination is graded. Regarding the latter, two pertinent questions are: i). what material did the students master (i.e. the pedagogy used for this material appears to have been successful)?, ii). on what material did the students do poorly (i.e. either the pedagogy needs to be changed or perhaps the questions were simply too difficult)? More generally, did the performance of the students indicate that the course objectives were met?

All too often after a course is completed instructors heave a sigh of relief and just put away the materials. However, there is something else very important to do, namely a personal overall evaluation of the course. It is suggested that the instructors and teaching assistants meet approximately one week after the course is complete (including grade submissions). Several days ahead each person should receive an outline showing a number of subjects to which they should give some thought before the meeting. A listing of possible subjects is shown in Appendix F. Afterwards a written summary of the discussion should be provided to each participant. I 42


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Acknowledgements:

have found such a document to be extremely useful when it’s time to prepare for the next offering of the course!

The work leading to this manuscript was partially supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada under Grant No. A1485, by the Carma Chair at the University of Calgary, and by the University of Auckland Foundation (the latter while the author was on sabbatical leave as a Visiting Professor in the Department of Management Science and Information Systems). I wish to thank the many instructors and teaching assistants with whom I have interacted over the years. I am sure that some of you will find perspectives in this paper for which you were advocates. In 1997 I placed a questionnaire, related to an undergraduate required course in Operations Management, on the e-mail distribution list of the Production and Operations Management Society. Helpful input was received from a number of individuals including Sal Agnihothri, David Christy, James Fitzsimmons, D.M. Gesler, James Gross, Jean Harvey, Lee Krajewski, Larry Ritzman, Manus Rungtusanatham, Bob Schmidt, Nara Simhan, Sam Taylor, Constantin Vaitsos, Kevin Watson, Greg White, and Gene Woolsey. A special note of thanks is in order to David Robb who first introduced me to the idea of using the task chart and who also made a number of other suggestions that have been incorporated into the paper. Finally, I wish to thank four anonymous referees for making several very useful suggestions that improved the manuscript.

11. Summary In this paper I have conveyed my thoughts on a number of aspects of course preparation and delivery. A framework of Process Management has been used to organize the thoughts. Some might think that such a structured approach will stifle creativity in the design and delivery of a course. In actual fact, the opposite can be true. A disorganized approach can lead to frequent fire fighting, thus preventing valuable time and effort from being devoted to creative initiatives. I hope that the reader has picked up a few ideas that will contribute to improved teaching performance and/or student learning.


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Goodsell, A., M. Maher, V. Tinto, B.L. Smith, J.T. MacGregor (1992), Collaborative Learning: A Sourcebook for Higher Education, National Center on Postsecondary Education, Learning and Assessment, University Park, PA.

References: Altman, H.B. (1989), Syllabus Shares “What the Teacher Wants,” The Teaching Professor, Vol. 3, No. 5, pp. 1-2. Amick, H.L. (1998), “Personalizing Mathematics,” The Teaching Professor, Vol. 12, No. 10, pp. 4-5.

Gunn, C. (2000), A Guide to Flexible Learning Principles and Practices, Centre for Professional Development, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.

Anthony, R.N. (1988), The Management Control Function, Harvard Business School Press, Boston, MA.

Hammer, M. (1996), Beyond Reengineering: How the Process-Centered Organization is Changing Our Work and Our Lives, HarperBusiness, New York, NY.

Armistead, C. and P. Rowland (1996), Managing Business Processes: BPR and Beyond, Wiley, Chichester, England. Artzt, E.L. (1992), Quality Forum VIII, October 1.

Harrington, H.J. (1991), Business Process Improvement, McGraw-Hill, New York, NY.

Bailey, J.J. (2000), “Students as Clients in a Professional/Client Relationship,” Journal of Management Education, Vol. 24, No. 3, pp. 353365.

Hart, C.W.L., J.L. Heskett and W.E. Sasser (1990), “The Profitable Art of Service Recovery,” Harvard Business Review, Vol. 68, No. 4, pp. 148-156.

Billson, J.M. (1986), “The College Classroom as a Small Group: Some Implications for Teaching and Learning,” Teaching Sociology, Vol. 14, pp.143-151.

Jacobs, L.C. and C.I. Chase (1992), Developing and Using Tests Effectively, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, CA.

Brinko, K. (1991), “Visioning Your Course: Questions to Ask as You Design Your Course,” The Teaching Professor, Vol. 5, No. 2, pp. 3-4.

Janick, J. (1990), “Crib Sheets,” The Teaching Professor, Vol. 4, No. 6, pp. 2.

Brown, D.G. (editor) (2000), Interactive Learning, Anker, Boston, MA.

Johnston, T.C. and M.A. Hewa (1997), “Fixing Service Failures,” Industrial Marketing Management, Vol. 26, No. 5, pp. 467-477.

Campbell, W.E. and K.A. Smith (editors) (1997), New Paradigms for College Teaching, Interaction Book Company, Edina, MN.

Kauffman, J. (1999), “Pop Quizzes: Theme and Variations,” The Teaching Professor, Vol. 13, No. 3, pp. 4.

Clearly, T. (1990), “Getting Ready: Checklist of Questions for the Teacher,” The Teaching Professor, Vol. 4, No. 7, pp. 3-4.

Krajewski, L.J. and L.P. Ritzman (1999), Operations Management: Strategy and Analysis, Fifth Edition, Addison Wesley, Reading, MA.

Eble, K.E. (1988), The Craft of Teaching, JosseyBass, San Francisco, CA.

McCarthy, B. (1986), The 4MAT System: Teaching to Learning Styles with Right-Left Mode Techniques, EXCEL Inc., Barrington, IL.

Eimers, M.T. (1999), “Working with Faculty from Different Disciplines,” About Campus, Vol. 4, No. 1, pp. 18-24.

McKeachie, W.J. (1999), McKeachie’s Teaching Tips: Strategies, Research and Theory for College and University Teachers, 10th Edition, HoughtonMifflin, Boston, MA.

Evans, J.R. (1993), Applied Production and Operations Management, Fourth Edition, West Publishing, Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN.

Melnyk, S.A. and D.R. Denzler (1996), Operations Management: A Value-Driven Approach, Irwin, Chicago, IL.

Gido, J. and J.P. Clements (1999), Successful Project Management, South-Western College Publishing, Cincinnati, Ohio. 44 INFORMS Transcations on Education 2:1 (27-49)

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Woodberry, R.D. and H.W. Aldrich. (2000), “Planning and Running Effective Classroom–Based Exercises,” Teaching Sociology, Vol. 28, No. 3, pp. 241-248.

Meyers, C. and T.B. Jones. (1993), Promoting Active Learning, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, CA. Ruggiero, V. (1995), The Art of Thinking, Fourth Edition, Harper Collins, New York, NY, 125. Sadowski, R.P. and D. Medeiros (1982), Planning and Control for Manufacturing Systems and Projects., Chapter 11.2 in Handbook of Industrial Engineering (editor: G. Salvendy). John Wiley, New York, NY. Shafer, S.M. and J.R. Meredith (1997), Operations Management: A Process Approach with Spreadsheets, Wiley, New York, NY. Sharp, J.E., J.N. Harb and R.E. Terry (1997) “Combining Kolb Learning Styles and Writing to Learn in Engineering Classes,” Journal of Engineering Education, Vol. 86, No. 2, pp. 93-101. Shearer, C. (1994), Practical Continuous Improvement for Professional Services. ASQC Quality Press, Milwaukee, WI. Smith, D.M. and D.A. Kolb (1986), User’s Guide for the Learning Style Inventory: A Manual for Teachers and Trainers, McBer and Co., Boston, MA. Smith, K.A. and A.A. Waller (1997), “Cooperative Learning for New College Teachers,” Chapter 9 in New Paradigms for College Teaching (editors: W.E. Campbell and K.A. Smith). Interaction Book Company, Edina, MN. Strauss, M. and T. Fulwiler (1987), “Interactive Writing and Learning Chemistry,” Journal of College Science Teaching, Vol. 16, No. 4, pp. 256262. Svinicki, M.D. and N.M. Dixon (1987), “The Kolb Model Modified for Classroom Activities,” College Teaching, Vol. 35, No. 4, pp. 141-146. Taylor-Nicodemus, N. (1992), “Confessions of a Teaching Workshop Skeptic,” The Teaching Professor, Vol. 6, No. 4, pp. 5-6. Thompson, C. (1991), How to Unleash Your Creativity, Videotape, Darden School, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA. Weimer, M. (1989), “The First Day of Class : Advice and Ideas,” The Teaching Professor, Vol. 3, No. 7, pp. 1-2. 45 INFORMS Transcations on Education 2:1 (27-49)

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Appendix A - Institutional Constraints

•

is a common examination required for all students in a multiple section course?

The constraints include

• legislation regarding privacy matters - This places restrictions on how grades can be posted, how graded assignments may be returned, etc.

•

enrolment limits, both minimum (otherwise the course is not offered or the instructor does not receive credit for the course) and maximum (i.e. a cap on the enrolment because of classroom capacity or for other pedagogical reasons).

• special needs students, e.g. an attention deficit individual may require extra time, hence a separate room, for taking an examination.

•

accreditation requirements, both in terms of course content and pedagogy.

•

policies/regulations regarding photocopying, specifically what can be copied and where (local photocopier versus print center with associated different turnaround times as a function of volume).

• subject matter of other courses in the program and elsewhere in the university. This involves a tradeoff between academic freedom and duplication of effort.

• lead times for submission of reserve lists for the library.

•

needs of other courses, not only prerequisite material for follow-on courses, but also specific items that must be covered in time to be used in a course being concurrently offered.

• institutional constraints on student workload, e.g. an individual course cannot require more than x hours of assignments in any single week. • workload patterns in concurrent courses This relates to the previous point. There may be an overall restriction such as a cohort of students never having more than two major assignments due in the same week. • exactly what must be specified in the course outline and what can be changed once the course starts? • possible constraints on the weights to be used for various components of the overall grade, e.g. no more than 15% can be based on classroom participation or a final examination must be worth at least 30% of the overall grade. • constraints on the timing of examinations In some institutions in the week immediately preceding the final examination period one cannot have any assignment or quiz worth more than a small percentage of the overall grade. This type of constraint has typically been imposed because some faculty members have tried to move the equivalent of a final examination to prior to the examination period. 46 INFORMS Transcations on Education 2:1 (27-49)

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Appendix B - Additional Pedagogical Options

Appendix C - Uses of Technology

Other choices with respect to assignments include

Possible technological options to consider include

• individual versus group assignmentsBeside pedagogical concerns the size of the class and the funds/time available for grading influence this decision

•

course web site

•

Internet materials including a textassociated web site

•

homework problems (graded or not?)

•

possible CD-ROM provided with the text

•

case assignments

•

•

projects

use of computer for demonstrations or student exercises in the classroom and/or lab facilities

•

•

spot quizzes --- This is a possible mechanism for helping ensure that students are prepared (Kauffman, 1999). These are not easy to administer in multiple section courses where different questions may have to be used in the different sections (with associated possibility of bias) in order to avoid the effects of “leakage” of information between sections.

video clips (in lieu of site visits or to bring out specific points)

Other points related to the nature of examinations (see Jacobs and Chase, 1992) include

•

essay versus short answer versus multiple choice questions - Which to use depends upon the course objectives, the class size and the grading resources/time available.

•

•

what course materials and administrative information to distribute electronically?

•

electronic class lists and spreadsheet grades programs

•

electronic submission assignments

•

on-line self-assessment facilities

•

use of e-mail communication with students or discussion forums

of

student

Courseware provides the use of the last five points.

qualitative versus quantitative mix

The following are additional pedagogical considerations

• are one or more site visits (field trips) appropriate and feasible? •

is there a need for lab sessions (including computer activities)?

• what is to be the exact role of teaching assistants? leading tutorials? some grading? office hours?


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Appendix D - Preparation of the Course Outline

Appendix E - Administrative Items Points here include

The details will depend upon Faculty regulations and the nature of the course. Typical sections that I include (in a multiple section course) are:

• use the list of administrative points from the idea bank (see Section 3) •

•

order the text book, including worrying about a significant associated lead time

•

• arrange possible teaching assistant(s) and grader(s)

•

•

course objectives and philosophy of the course section and tutorial information (times, rooms, instructors) instructor information (office number, phone number, e-mail address, office hours)

•

listing of course materials (text, course notes, handouts package) any authorized fees for photocopying of handouts assignments (including timing, group sizes and formation mechanism)

•

class participation (if it will form part of the overall grade) and an outline of how it will be evaluated

•

grading (breakdown by component)

obtaining permission to use

m

photocopying (and fee payment)

• keep track of costs of royalty fees and photocopying for budgeting purposes and, if permissible, possible recovery through a student fee

•

examinations (timing, general nature)

m

• photocopying of notes package and assignments

•

•

cases and articles

• preparation of transparencies of course notes •

specify signup mechanisms to form teams for group assignments

• determine times and locations of examinations. Often this is done by a centralized group.

•

tabular representation of the schedule of topics, readings, assignment deadlines, etc. Also see Altman (1989).

•

set tutorial times

•

set office hours

•

prepare, proof and photocopy course outline

• how many copies of each handout and by when to place the copying request? If items must be available at the start of the course, there is usually considerable uncertainty at that time about the total number of registrants. Electronic availability helps alleviate this concern. •

how many copies of items to put on reserve? Again, one also has to take account of the lead time for this service.

• reserve overhead projectors, VCR equipment, computers, etc. 48 INFORMS Transcations on Education 2:1 (27-49)

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Appendix F - Some Aspects of a Course on Which Students and Instructors Could be Asked to Provide a Critique

•

have a well-defined mechanism for handling requests for deferred examinations

•

institute an appropriate mechanism for return of graded assignments to students, recognizing privacy concerns. Prompt feedback on performance is a critical element of the learning process.

All of the following are not necessarily relevant for any specific course. 1. Course content a.

Number of topics (too many? too few?)

b.

Set of topics (deletions? additions?)

2.

Textbook

3.

Course Notes Package

4.

Readings articles

5.

In-class exercises

6.

Preparation assignments

7.

Case studies

8.

Other assignments

9.

Videos

10. Group formation and dynamics 11. Class participation (including grading mechanism) 12. Examinations 13. Tutorials 14. Grading 15. Other


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Designing and Delivering a University CourseâA Process - INFORMS ...

Designing and Delivering a University CourseâA Process - INFORMS ...

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