Fierce Education is recognizing those administrators, faculty, instructors, professors, and other higher education influencers who are boldly embracing innovative ways of teaching, technologies and methods to engage and reach students during these challenging times. They are the “Fierce Educators” who are rethinking higher education in this new blended learning world and we will be highlighting their successes and accomplishments.
FIERCE EDUCATOR:
Dr. Joanna Bauer
AFFILIATION:
Vice President of Academic Affairs and Chief Academic Officer, Claremont Lincoln University, Claremont, CA
BEING FIERCE:
Claremont Lincoln University (CLU) offers master’s degree programs that are 100% online-by-design, so education technology is baked into the instructional design systematically. Dr. Bauer fiercely protects the quality of curriculum, student and faculty experience, as well as the resources of the institution. While some institutions are able to implement all the bells and whistles with new technology, the majority have to be astute about examining and tracking ROI, capacity, faculty and student training, and cost. As the overseer of all the university curriculum, Dr. Bauer’s main concentration is on a methodology that integrates ed tech intentionally, embraces the student and faculty experience, uplifts the curricula, and provides for assessment that is clear, rapid and useful.
To ensure these outcomes, the emphasis is on human centered design (HCD), user interface (UI) design and user experience (UX) that mindfully incorporates software that integrates seamlessly with the LMS. Dr. Bauer recently implemented technology improvements to ensure that CLU’s programs remain accessible, affordable and engaging for a larger population of students. The first was collaborative annotation software that increases student engagement, expands reading comprehension, and builds critical-thinking and peer-to-peer learning. Specific assignments were also added, such as analyzing and discussing perceptions of others to uncover implicit bias. This software creates the space for students to provide their own ideas and learn from others, resulting in more dynamic content.
The university also integrated video software that develops specific skills in presentation and analysis. This software has been successful in supporting faculty prep, student presentation and demonstration of content mastery. With this software, faculty can give feedback, encourage positives and correct negatives immediately for increased student learning and connection. These ed tech advancements also improve dynamic assessment and real-time data collection.
Even with human-centered designs and agile business practices, Dr. Bauer is concerned about the cultural momentum of traditional methods, how to make the shift to new and effective ed tech, and ensuring it is student centered. CLU addresses these concerns by developing bespoke, customized content to augment the technology. For example, in CLU courses, Quizlets have been added for content specific gamification. Self-reflection quizzes have also been built in throughout the courses and enable students to interact with faculty, ask questions and understand progress towards outcome achievement.
These intentional additions result in curricula with integrated ed tech that demonstrates ROI in effectively using resources. It is created, delivered and assessed for optimal student and faculty experience, and it fosters a community for dynamic peer-to-peer learning, faculty connection, easy access and increased assessment with immediate feedback for mastery of content.