Pedagogical Implications, Possibilities, and Pitfalls of Offering a Semester 3 Credit Course in Nine Consecutive Days

Abstract

As colleges and universities consider the purpose, curriculum, delivery, and design of undergraduate degrees in the twenty-first century, part of that discussion must involve pedagogical implications of courses that are both content rich and time-condensed. A review of the literature on construction courses under these constraints indicates that there is a gap in the literature and educators could benefit from a principled approach that can serve as a template for designing such courses. To help fill that gap and generate continued discussion, we present pedagogical implications and pitfalls of offering a 3 credit, full semester applied statistics course for nursing majors in just nine consecutive days. Although a great deal of thought goes into course construction no matter the length of the course or the delivery format, running a full semester, three credit course in just nine days required special consideration. Attention to higher order thinking, cognitive load, and time management become critical. As schools consider ways to save students money, allow them to graduate sooner in order to enter the workplace sooner, and to give students incentive to matriculate at institutions which allow students a fast-track, our nine consecutive day course may serve as a model for entire degree programs based on that model.