Flora McMartin

Methods to improve the validity and sensitivity of a self/peer assessment instrument

A process employing both quantitative and qualitative methods was developed to improve the validity and sensitivity of self/peer ratings in assessing teamwork skills. Preliminary results indicate a dramatic improvement in the sensitivity of scales in measuring differences between student skill levels. The data also indicate that the process improves the validity of the ratings in measuring what the developers intended.

Factors affecting the adoption of faculty-developed academic software: A study of five iCampus projects

Instruction in higher education must adapt more rapidly to: changes in workforce needs, global issues, advances in disciplines, and resource constraints. The pace of such improvement depends on the speed with which new ideas and materials are adopted across institutions. In 1999 Microsoft pledged

Digital library services for authors of learning materials

25 million and staff support for iCampus, a seven-year MIT project to develop pioneering uses of educational technology. The TLT Group studied five iCampus projects in order to identify factors affecting institutionalization and widespread dissemination. Among the factors impeding adoption: lack of rewards and support for faculty to adopt innovations; faculty isolation; and a lack of attention to adoption issues among projects selected for funding. The study made recommendations for universities, foundations, government agencies and corporations: 1) continue making education more authentic, active, collaborative, and feedback-rich; 2) create demand to adopt ideas and materials from other sources by encouraging all faculty members to improve and document learning in their programs, year after year; 3) nurture coalitions for instructional improvement, across and within institutions; 4) create more effective higher education - corporate alliances; and 5) improve institutional services to support faculty in educational design, software development, assessment methods, formative evaluation, and/or in sharing ideas with others who teach comparable courses.

The national SMETE digital library program (panel session)

Digital libraries, particularly those designed to meet the needs of educators and students, focus their primary services on the needs of their end users [1]. In this paper, we introduce and discuss the types of services authors of the materials cataloged within this type of digital library expect, or may find useful. Results from a study of authors cataloged in NEEDS - a national engineering education digital library guide this discussion.

Involving industry in the assessment process: preliminary findings

“To catalyze and support continual improvements in the quality of scien ce, mathematics, engineering, and technology (SMET) education, the National Science Foundation (NSF) has established the National Science, Mathematics, Engineering, and Technology Education Digital Library (NSDL) program. The resulting digital library, a network of learning environments and resources for SMET education, will ultimately meet the needs of students and teachers at all levels-K-12, undergraduate, graduate, and lifelong learning-in both individual and collaborative settings, as well as formal and informal modes.” -National Science Foundation, 2001 The national in the NSDL program is quickly becoming a reality with the broad reach of the currently funded projects. This panel session will provide bring together the leaders developing the National SMETE Digital Library to provide a brief background and broad overview of the NSDL program. Panelists will discuss the overall vision and broad steps underway to develop the National SMETE Digital Library. Building the National SMETE Digital Library presents many challenges: Developing a shared vision for the form and function of the NSDL; Meeting the needs of diverse learners and of the many disciplines encompassed by the NSDL; Acquiring input from the community of users to ensure that the NSDL is both used and useable; Evaluating progress and impacts; Integrating technologies that already exist, and the development of new technologies; and Providing mechanisms for sharing and cooperation of knowledge and resources among NSDL collaborators.

Towards a digital learning community for engineering education

Industry is an important partner and stakeholder in engineering education. Input and feedback from various stakeholders, such as industry, has become an important ingredient for effective assessment and continuous improvement programs. Universities are challenged to find ways to solicit and integrate industrial input throughout the assessment process, from planning to the evaluation of results. The NSF sponsored Coalitions for Engineering Education (Academy, Ecsel, Foundation, Gateway, Greenfield, SUCCEED, and Synthesis) have engaged industry both at the coalition and institutional level. This paper describes the preliminary results from 15 of the coalition schools, which is part of a larger study of the levels of industry and faculty involvement in planning and implementing assessment in coalition schools.

Creating online faculty collaboration to develop engineering education computer learning materials

The paper presents lessons learned from the decade of experience NEEDS (National Engineering Education Delivery System) has in developing and running a digital library for engineering education. It demonstrates and discusses current features and services. NEEDS has developed a scalable infrastructure that allows engineering educators to locate and discuss digital learning resources and participate as part of a community of practice. NEEDS is now in the process of expanding to include a broader community of learners and educators in Science, Mathematics, Engineering and Technology Education (SMETE).

Innovative uses of engineering courseware available through NEEDS-the National Engineering Education Delivery System

The expansion of the Internet has introduced new options for developing science, math and engineering classes. Digital libraries such as NEEDS.org provide attractive options for courseware authors to widely distribute their work. NEEDS (National Engineering Education Delivery System) has implemented mechanisms to link multidisciplinary experts in an online community focused on improving the quality of engineering courseware. These collaborative mechanisms are based on interview results from the winners of the annual Premier Award for Excellence in Engineering Education Courseware, presented annually. This project focuses on identifying and describing the needs of courseware authors and evaluating how the NEEDS developments in the faculty community support collaboration.

Scenario assignments as assessment tools for undergraduate engineering education

This presentation addresses two questions: what kinds of teaching innovations are available on NEEDS; and how do faculty adapt or adopt courseware developed by others for their own use in the classroom? The first question is addressed by a short demonstration of how NEEDS works and precedes the discussion of how the innovations have been used in the classroom. The response to the second question is based on the results of a case study of faculty use of the Premier Courseware of 1997.