The need for knowledge never disappears, whether you count yourself as a student or a tenured Ivy League professor. These days, higher education continually fosters a powerful crop of educators and administrators who have to make sense of scores and learning behaviors.
Being an educator means observing, analyzing and furiously debating new industry trends every day. At the center of it all, though, lies one consistent ingredient—data. Higher education institutions across the world are reimagining learning environments and improving how they teach after taking a good hard look at data. From creating new technology to turning classrooms completely upside down, schools in the following four successful case studies implemented major changes, all thanks to the wonders of data.
MOVING LECTURES OUT OF THE CLASSROOM
Where: Minnesota State University
The Data: Assessment results and learning behavior
The Decision: Replacing traditional teaching with a flipped classroom approach
Dr. Danae Quirk Dorr has completely flipped. The associate professor and chemical education researcher at Minnesota State University has turned her classroom inside out, and the results couldn't be more positive.
Science is all about collecting data and experimenting, so why shouldn't science instruction follow the same rules? Dr. Quirk Dorr was fascinated by individual student learning styles and correlations with grades in the large organic chemistry course she teaches. Close examination of standardized assessment exam data led her to try the flipped classroom approach.
"The results I have observed from implementing the flipped classroom approach have far exceeded my expectations," said Dr. Quirk Dorr. "Students recognize that they are able to learn the way that best meets their needs and that they are responsible for their learning. Many have told me they think this is more efficient for them and note that our class time is used to help them with what they really need help with."
The flipped classroom model takes advantage of today's technology mixed with traditional teaching methods. Students receive lecture-specific learning on their own time outside of the classroom. Each student can study at his or her own pace and digest information according to individual learning styles. The switch leaves more classroom time available for interactive experiences, including various group activities.
Dr. Quirk Dorr saw instant results with just her first unit quiz, and hasn't had a second thought about flipping her classroom. "Research data has been extremely influential in motivating me to flip my classroom," she said. "Knowing now that this approach can be so powerful and effective at reaching a broader group of students, I can't go back to my traditional approach."
REPLACING THE CORE CURRICULUM
Where: University of Nevada, Reno
The Data: 3,000+ surveys of faculty and students, gathering opinions on core curriculum
The Decision: Voting still underway, but two suggested alternative plans narrowed down to one
At the University of Nevada, Reno, students have been following the same core curriculum for roughly 20 years. But after some serious analysis, debate and discussion, that's all about to change.
After comparing its own core curriculum to that of other programs nationwide, the university conducted a survey of faculty and students. More than 3,000 student responses helped lead to the creation of its General Education Task Force (GETF), which would evaluate the current core curriculum and suggest two alternatives. That initial data, and future follow-up surveys with the faculty, proved crucial to the entire process.
"As a member of the Task Force last year, it was my impression that the survey data were instrumental to the group's development of the competencies,” said Dr. Kate A. Berry, a professor in the Department of Geography and director of the university core curriculum. “[That includes] development of what might be viewed as 'additions' to the competencies that were implied by the existing core curriculum, but not yet explicitly articulated, or were 'new' emphases that the faculty and students surveyed thought needed attention in our general education program."
Following discussion, debate and voting, a “Silver Plan” won the GETF over. Basically a course load created with distributive qualities that are tied to specific student goals, the Silver Plan now faces more discussion, research and data collecting. Ultimately, a final vote will accept the Silver Plan or a slightly modified version of the current core curriculum. Whichever one wins out, the end goal remains the same: Update and modernize the core curriculum's learning goals.
ADDING NEW CONCENTRATIONS
Where: Kendall College
The Data: Key market data, industry leaders’ opinions and 2010 Deloitte survey of business travelers
The Decision: Creating a new Sustainable Management in Hospitality and Tourism concentration
Deciding on a major can be one of the toughest decisions made in college. Narrowing it down to a specific concentration can be even more daunting, especially when students only see the bigger picture.
At Kendall College in Chicago, keeping its finger on the career pulse of each industry has gone a long way towards helping students find their perfect niche. Someone excited about a career in meeting and event planning will find plenty of far reaching specialties in the field ranging from global tourism to a beverage focus. After analyzing key market data and suggestions from leaders in the industry, Kendall recently created the new concentration “Sustainable Management in Hospitality and Tourism.”
"The growing number of programs and initiatives by stakeholders in the hospitality industry demonstrated a pent-up demand for students who were literate about sustainability issues," said Dr. Susan Tinnish, dean of the School of Hospitality Management at Kendall College. "In addition, we saw consumer demand helping propel the industry. A 2010 survey of business travelers by Deloitte reported that 95 percent of respondents believe the hotel industry should be undertaking 'green' initiatives."
Besides looking to survey results, Kendall took a hard look at what many companies were doing in the hospitality industry. From Hyatt to Wyndham to Marriott, many major brands are running internal green initiatives. Ultimately, it all comes down to sifting through the data and coming to an educated conclusion.
"Kendall College leadership analyzes various sources of data in making decisions," added Dr. Tinnish. "This includes information generated from students, employees, and other stakeholders."
GOING APP-FIRST INSTEAD OF WEB-FIRST
Where: New York University
The Data: Web traffic stats, stakeholder feedback and current mobile trends
The Decision: Release an NYU app before the mobile site, and add a number of robust personalization features
Many higher education schools have embraced the technology of today, going so far as to create a basic mobile campus app. But only the truly cutting-edge institutions are digesting and analyzing data to push its technology to the next level—namely, a personal level.
NYU is heavily testing out personalization on its mobile website as well as its cellphone app. In fact, the Manhattan university with a total enrollment of 50,000 students pushed out its native app version before they even finalized the mobile website. It's all because web traffic data revealed more than 97 percent of mobile web traffic was coming from iOS or Android devices.
Data didn't just play a key role in deciding which project to tackle first, it also plays a crucial, never-ending role in the complex app itself. Different users will see different "views" of the app based on a variety of information such as authentication, geo-location and even personalization.
"At NYU," said Jim Roberts, the executive director of the Digital Communications Group, Public Affairs, and ITS at New York University. "We are looking at three dimensions to drive our strategic decisions around our mobile offerings. The first is input and feedback from our stakeholders: what's important to them, what their reactions are, how they view mobile. The second is market research: what are the larger trends in mobile strategies and adoption in and out of higher ed. And the third is analytics: how our community of mobile users is actually using our offerings, how they are 'voting with thumbs,' so to speak."
No matter how you slice it, data just speaks volumes. With massive technological advances over the years, as well as the large reach available due to social media and mobile devices, researchers would be hard pressed not to collect whatever data they're looking for today. As long as man continues questioning every bump in the night, data will always light the way.