GSW TILT Update
In spring 2021 just before GSW launched its campus-wide TILT initiative, four TILT-related questions were added to GSW’s course evaluation survey. The questions were added under the head question, “was the course transparent, well planned, and organized?” Students were asked to rate the course on the following aspects of the head question:
- Clearly explained the goals and requirements of the course.
- Clearly explained how the class activities, reading, and assignments related to each other.
- Clearly explained how to learn or study course materials and content.
- Clearly explained why the class focused on the topics presented.
For each aspect the students were able to answer strongly agree (5), agree (4), undecided (3), disagree (2), and strongly disagree (1) with answers scored 5-1 to achieve numerical mean for each aspect. The spring 2021 scores acted as a baseline for comparison with post-TILT development scores. In general, the scores have increased steadily each academic year.
The results are largely consistent when disaggregated by college.
One notable finding from these data is that the explanation of how to study lags behind the other the other aspects of TILT as measured by these questions. Therefore, GSW will continue to provide faculty development opportunities aimed at ways of guiding students on how to study. A survey will also be administered to faculty during spring 2024 to gather data on what faculty have used TILT principles to revise course materials, in what courses, and what types of course material have been revised. These data will be used to examine grade distributions for evidence that specific interventions have had positive effects.
Overall, the TILT initiative has had a positive impact on teaching and learning across GSW’s campus, including helping faculty understand the importance of transparency when communicating with students. Still there is much room for growth by ensuring that more faculty are aware of the possibilities that TILT offers.
GSW Observations and Next Steps
GSW has put significant time and effort into its Storm Track degree pathways, but the evidence from a pilot of pressure testing and from usage by students and faculty suggest that they are less effective than they could be. This situation apparently results from a number of factors, including students entering with significant amounts of dual enrollment credits and students in the sciences who are not ready for their Core Math requirements. GSW does not plan to abandon Storm Tracks, but we will take a revised approach to their use. We will continue to use them as templates for the Student Educational Planner (SEP), and we will be updating them to include the revised USG Core curriculum before fall term 2024. During fall 2023, however, a new intervention was added to UNIV 1000 the GSW Experience. Both instructors and Storm Spotters (peer mentors) have been trained in the use of SEP so that they can teach their students how to use the tool so that each student can create an individualized graduation plan that shows what they need to do to graduate on a term by term basis.
