Departmental Self Review - UCLA Academic Senate

Current Status:There have been numerous anecdotal reports that students are “voting with their feet” in largelecture classes, many of which have experienced a marked decrease in attendance. There was aconsensus from the committee that current teaching methods are dependent on a “talking heads”approach, PowerPoint presentations, and lack of consistent integration of newer technologies(i.e., web-based approaches) into teaching methods across the curriculum. Further, faculty mayneed assistance with improving lecturing techniques now in use to adopt engaging strategies thatincrease student learning and interest.Critical Indicators:1) Greater engagement of students in the learning process as evidenced by class attendance orparticipation, passage rate on comprehensive exams, and/or qualitative data obtained fromstudent/faculty interviews;2) Increased student, faculty, and staff satisfaction as evidenced by survey data obtained by theEvaluations Subcommittee of the FEC.3) Continued success on certification examination.Resources:Implementation of the strategies to achieve this objective will involve:1) Allocation of financial resources by DAC to support identified strategies2) Allocation of time by faculty to participate in data collection, and developmental andorientation strategies; this would mean increased commitment of many faculty to SchoolserviceTimeline:Information gathering:Instructional redesignImplementationEvaluation9 months18 months1 year1 yearObjective #2Develop Human Resources To Support Ongoing Excellence In PedagogyRationale:Excellent pedagogy requires ongoing support. If we spend considerable energy to design new,innovative and challenging instructional formats for students as described in Objective #1, wewill create a dynamic environment that requires continued intellectual and scholarly nourishmentto thrive.272