Mirzaie Redesigns Undergraduate Course to Enhance Student Experience
Senior Lecturer Ida Mirzaie has redesigned Principles of Economics (Econ 2001.01), an undergraduate-level course that normally enrolls 600 or more students, to allow students more control over their educational experience by offering a superior distance education model.
Mirzaie and her project team, Ana Ramirez (undergraduate program coordinator), John-David Slaughter (systems manager) and graduate teaching assistants Joe Duggan and Apoorva Rama, received support for their project from Ohio State’s Office of Distance Education and eLearning (ODEE) with a Departmental Impact Grant facilitated by Henry Griffy, ODEE grants coordinator and underwritten by the Wide Open West OSU Affinity program.
Mirzaie and her project team introduced the Hybrid-Flexible (HyFlex) instructional model in the Principles of Economics course to increase their engagement in a large classroom; students in the lecture and recitation sections are given the option to attend either in-person or via CarmenConnect. Additional opportunities to interact with the instructor are provided through a student response system.
CarmenConnect is an Adobe software package specifically designed for Ohio State classroom use. The software allows an instructor to present a lecture simultaneously to students in the lecture hall and students online in remote locations. PollEverywhere is a web-based survey service that allows students to respond to instructor questions using their cell phones. Additionally, lectures are recorded for later student access providing review material for homework assignments and exams.
The course has been redesigned along the lines of the quality assurance processes of the Quality Matters Program (QM), a nationally recognized, faculty-centered, peer review process designed to certify the quality of online course design and online components.
