Date Started: Sep 30, 2004
Status:Completed

Project Description

The seventh iteration of CDI took place in 2004.  Three grants were awarded.  A description of each project is detailed below.

ePortfolio
The ePortfolio project is an opportunity to affect change at multiple levels throughout the institution. Because of the extensive potential of the ePortfolio system, it has been determined that four separate branches of the ePortfolio CDI project were necessary to examine specific methods for planning, development and implementation.

1.  College of Education and Human Services - The College of Education and Human Services is spearheading the pilot implementation of the ePortfolio system as a method of providing artifacts to demonstrate the achievement of stated educational standards determined by an external accrediting agency, NCATE. Through implementing the ePortfolio system in the courses offered in the Elementary Education, Secondary Education and Professional Development programs, this project will translate faculty and student needs for an outcomes-based assessment system into a finished product. In addition to this, this pilot project will assist in the planning and implantation of the ePortfolio system on an institutional level.
   
   
2. Department of English - The Department of English is implementing the ePortfolio system as a means of promoting the development of Faculty Teaching Portfolios. The ePortfolio system provides a means for the English department to provide staff development for the large and diverse faculty, to ensure the coherence of the composition program, to encourage instructors to develop a self-reflective practice that will be reflected in their teaching and in the English Department as a whole, to share teaching strategies, resources and techniques and to provide a record of teaching practices. The participation of the English Department in the CDI 7 ePortfolio Project will also demonstrate the potential of the ePortfolio system for Faculty Development and recognition.
   
   
3. Outcomes Assessment Team (OAT) - Jeff Levy from the Department of Psychology is leading the Outcomes Assessment team in an effort to determine how the ePortfolio system will best be implemented by individual academic departments in support of identified educational goals for students and the process used to assess the extent to which these have been achieved. The ePortfolio system provides a means for effectively and efficiently assessing the knowledge skills and attitudes that students acquire and demonstrate through their participation and exposure to the SHU curricula. In addition, this CDI 7 branch will also be able to assess data in an effort to make critical recommendations regarding the strengthening of teaching and learning in the University community.
   
   
4.  Honors - Led by Peter Ahr, the Honors Program is developing a program that  integrates educational strategies for the use of the ePortfolio system at the programmatic level. Fundamentally, this project is a means of allowing Honors students to demonstrate their increasing proficiency in critical reading and writing. The use of the ePortfolio system within the Honors Program also provides insight into the integration of the ePortfolio system into programs without the influence of accrediting agencies, and with the capability of demonstrating specific program goals and objectives.
   

 
Large Course Redesign: Communication
This project is designed to provide extensive IT training for adjunct faculty so that they have technological options for both delivering course content and developing student skills. The goal is to maximize use of computers and multimedia applications among both faculty and students. Student access to course information and supplemental materials will become more interactive and faculty use of instructional technology will expand and will become more consistent across all sections.
 
Business Writing
The Business Writing CDI 7 project is a response to both the great success of the CDI 5 Writing Across the Curriculum project, and the identification of the need to address Business Writing through courses offered by Stillman School of Business. Using the model of CDI 5 Writing Across the Curriculum, Business Writing will bring together Faculty members of the Stillman School of Business and the English Department to develop techniques for improving writing skill for business students to be used in the Business classes. This will result in Business Faculty being able to work together to build upon the skills identified and implemented, establishing a continued reflection process, and establishing Business Writing as an integral element in the Business School curricula.
 

Related Projects & Initiatives:

Curriculum Development Initiative (CDI)
CDI is a granting program geared at academic departments that undertake technology-enabled curriculum development.