Forbes Magazine (6/23/03)

• Forbes reported that– Ford and General Motors are teaming up to develop a

six speed automatic transmission.• This is a technological

breakthrough and is designed to keep the two companies on the forefront of the industry.

• Who would have thought it – the two automobile giants working together!

Do Universities Work Together?

• Yes……in research– Funding agencies favor joint research

proposals.

• But, do we work together in teaching?– Now, more than ever, there is a need for

collaboration in teaching. Why?

Are any of these statements true at your place?

• University budgets are constant or declining.• Staffing levels are constant or frozen or are

declining.• Student enrollment is increasing!• There are increasing institutional demands on the

faculty.• There are increasing demands from students for

distance education courses.• Other universities have similar courses to what you

teach.

One possible solution!

• Work with other universities to develop on-line courses and then share them.

Collaboration in Teaching -- Shared and Jointly Taught On-line Courses

in Agricultural and Extension Education

Background Information

• In December of 1999 three universities decided to cooperate in the teaching of an on-line graduate course in agricultural and extension education

• The Course:– Adult Education in Agriculture

• The Universities– North Carolina State University– Mississippi State University– Utah State University

The Plan

• 45 hours of content was identified for the course

• Each university was responsible for developing 1/3 of the classes

• The course was entirely web based.

• The course was field-tested with 16 NCSU graduate students in the spring of 2000.

Implementation

• The course is taught every spring• Students from all 3 universities sign up for the

course at their own university.– AEE 523 – NC State– ASTE 6240 – Utah State– AGED 5308 – Texas Tech (replaced MSU)

• One Instructor teaches the course (via the Internet), grades papers, administer exams, etc.

• Students interact with each other via course chat rooms

Benefits

• The course is offered every year, but you have to provide teaching staff only once every 3 years. Basically, you get a “free” teacher most years.

• Your students are exposed to and interact with “outside” professors and students.

• Course is better than if only one university taught it.

What Next?

Instant Replay!!

A Big Step

• NCSU received a $99,996 grant in 2003 to cooperate with a cadre of other universities to place 5 core undergraduate agricultural education courses on the web.– AEE 206 Introduction to Ag Ed

– AEE 303 Youth Program Management (FFA)

– AEE 322 Experiential Learning (SAE)

– AEE 424 Program Planning

– AEE 426 Methods of Teaching Agriculture

The USDA Project

• Collaborators were solicited over the American Association for Agricultural Education list-serve.– Collaborators were selected based on expertise,

enthusiasm and geographic location.

• The courses use the “open courseware” concept

Arkansas State

Texas A&M

Texas Tech (2)

Washington State

Montana State

West Virginia (2)

Missouri Tennessee Tech

TAMU -Commerce

CornellPurdue

New Hampshire

Nebraska

The Collaborators

Benefits

• Any time ideas are shared, they are improved on…thus higher quality courses.

• Smaller universities have access to courses.

• Faculty time is saved.

• More students are being served.

The Next Step

• Share a degree program– A Cooperative Masters Degree in Agricultural

Education has been established by North Carolina State University and North Carolina A&T State University

The Joint Program

• 36 Semester Hours

• All courses are on-line

• Students declare a “home” institution

• 6-12 hours must be completed at the cooperating university

• Student’s committee has faculty from both universities

• Collaborative on-line teaching and degree programs are the way the cookie will crumble in the future!

• Lead, follow or get out of the way!!

collaborate

left behind