CENTER FOR TEACHING & LEARNING EXCELLENCE

“Faculty Excellence Equals Student Success”

TL3020 – Learning Communities in Community College

Developed and Facilitated by Mary Puccini, MS, RD

Slide Presentation

CTLE is an organizational unit of the Department of Teaching and Learning Resources

hccs.edu/tlr

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CENTER FOR TEACHING AND LEARNING EXCELLENCE

Achieving the Dream Student Success Program

CENTER FOR TEACHING AND LEARNING EXCELLENCE

TL3020 Learning Communities in Community College

Author and Instructor, Mary Puccini, MS, RD

2011

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About the HCC Learning Communities Workshop

Mary Puccini, MS, RD and an HCC Professor, created this Learning Communities workshop for the Center for TLE to offer strategies for faculty to prepare students for rigorous study at 2-yr and 4-year institutions.

Ms. Puccini was awarded $100,000 by the Chancellor's Innovation Fund Award to create a Learning Community for those pursuing allied health professions, with a focus on nursing. Fall 2010, Ms. Puccini recruited faculty and developed syllabi, project creation and advertising.

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Four learning community courses were launched in the Spring 2011 semester, and five started in Fall 2011. Disciplines included: Biology, Nutrition, Psychology, English, Philosophy, Chemistry and Math.

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If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go farther, go together.

– African proverb

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http://www.womensfund.org/blog-and-news/2011/march/if-you-want-to-go-quickly-go-alone-if-you-want-to-go-farther-go-together

How do you define a Learning Community?

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Learning Community Definition:

A group of students who are co-enrolled in two or more courses.

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We know that learning communities are connecting course material, but what are other benefits to creating Learning Communities?

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Benefits/Attributes of a Learning Community

•   Increase retention - fewer withdrawals within the semester and more students registering for following semester

•   Increase success/learning - more As, Bs, Cs

•   Increase collaborative learning - more group work – “class continues even after class”- (Vincent Tinto*)

•   Relate learning to real-world issues

•   Connect concepts from different disciplines

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From Taking Student Retention Seriously, Vincent Tinto http://www.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/fsd/c2006/docs/takingretentionseriously.pdf

Types of LCs

Level One: Students are co-enrolled Level Two: Courses taught back-to-back, common content is

stressed Level Three: Instructors collaborate on integrative assignments that

pull from both disciplines Level Four: Common syllabi aligning content, joint projects cover an

overarching theme

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Multiple Approaches to Start

•   What’s been done before, either at your institution or in the literature?

•   What courses do students historically take together?

•   What are you personally interested in and/or have found a partner to pair with?

•   What are the “curricular trouble spots”* that you want to address?

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*Malnarich, Gillies, et al (2003). Pedagogy of Possibilities: Developmental Education, College-level Studies, and Learning Communities. National Learning Communities Project Monograph Series. Olympia, WA: Evergreen State College, Washington Center for Improving the Quality of Undergraduate Education, in cooperation with the American Association for Higher Education. (Especially pages 44-45).

What’s Been Done Before (at HCC)?

•   Two developmental courses: GUST 0341 (Guided Studies)/ENG 0300 (Developmental English), MATH 0306 (Developmental Math/ ENGL 0300

•   One developmental and one college level course: ENGL 0310/LBRA 1191 (library research), GUST 0339/POFI 1104 (computer applications)

•   One college level student success course and one developmental: GUST 1270/MATH 0306

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Historical Pairings: Gateway Pairings

What do students historically take together?

HIST 1301/GOVT 2301 HIST1301/GOVT 2302 HIST 1302/GOVT 2301 PSYC 2301/SOCI 1301 ENGL 1301/MATH 1314

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What You Are Personally Interested In?

ENGL 1301 and just about any course—fashion, food, art, history, etc. One caution: “Boutique” courses have value, but resources should first be devoted to courses with curricular trouble spots.

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Identify Curricular Trouble Spots

Curricular “trouble spots” are stumbling blocks to student success. Developmental Math is a stumbling block to graduation at many community colleges. The four year graduation rate for those students starting in the lowest level of developmental math courses is 9% to 12% at HCC. The four year graduation rate for those students starting in developmental Reading or English is about 12% to 13% at HCC.

What are the curricular trouble spots in your institution?

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‘Curricular trouble spots” is referenced from: Malnarich, Gillies, Pedagogy of Possibilities, chapter 3, discussion on pp.44 and 45, (see website at: http://www.evergreen.edu/washcenter)

Stumbling Blocks

What are stumbling blocks… in your discipline?

An example—Anatomy and Physiology I is the stumbling block for those in biology or health science field

and in your course? The concept of homeostasis—how the body tries to maintain equilibrium—is the stumbling block for those within biology courses

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What Courses Will You Pair?

At this point, consider which course you would like to partner with or perhaps which instructor you would partner well with. (Learning Communities require communication between instructors.)

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Once you have established which courses to pair, what will be your approach?

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Consider Your Approach

1.  Do you choose the teachers for the classes and then manipulate schedules to make courses back-to-back?

2.  Do you take the established schedules and use the teachers already assigned to those courses?

What works for you?

Think about your courses as candidates for Learning Communities.

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Prep Time

Prep time involved: Ideally, take at least a semester for a new Learning Community pairing, or a year for an institutional program so you can work on:

•   Faculty development •   Common content •   Integrative assignments

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Developing the Learning Communities

Exchange SLOs Place textbooks side-by-side and go through the content to identify areas for integration and for areas that address curricular trouble spots. Place syllabi side-by-side and see where material can be shifted to match what is taught in paired courses. Develop ideas for common assignments using the following slide as a model.

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Chapter 3: Digestion: From Meals to Molecules

Chapter 5: Learning Classical conditioning and digestive function

Your textbook describes the process through which the pancreas becomes classically conditioned to respond to sweet tastes. Use the internet to find other digestive functions that are influenced by classical conditioning. In what ways might classical conditioning contribute to both good and poor dietary habits?

Chapter 4: Carbohydrates: Sugars, Starches, and Fibers

Chapter 13: Personality Theory and Assessment

Big Five personality traits and health outcomes

Your textbook notes a connection between conscientiousness and obesity. Use the internet to find other correlations between Big Five traits and health outcomes. Propose an explanation for each correlation you find.

Chapter 5: Lipids: Fats, Phospholipids, and Sterols

Chapter 14: Psychological Disorders

Nutritional hypotheses that involve dietary fats

Many books and websites tout omega-3 supplements as effective for the treatment of depression. Use the internet to research this claim. If you had depression, would you take omega-3 supplements? Why or why not?

Chapter 6: Proteins and Amino Acids

Chapter 2: Biology and Behavior

Proteins and neurotransmitter function

People with eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia often have deficiencies of the protein tryptophan. Use the internet to find out about the emotional consequences of this deficiency and how it complicates the treatment of eating disorders. Because of the complex physiology of eating disorders, many experts recommend tube feeding or parenteral nutrition to restore patients to normal physiological functioning so that they will be emotionally capable of responding to psychotherapy. Take a position for or against forced feeding of people with eating disorders and explain your reasons.

Nutrition Text/Psychology Text/ Topic/Areas of Blended Content*

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*Denise Boyd, Ed.D, Houston Community College

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Choose Your Learning Community Theme

After you have identified common content and have developed some small assignments, it’s time to choose your LC theme.

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Themes and Curricular Trouble Spots

A good place to start to find your theme is by identifying curricular trouble spots for both courses. (Overlaps?) Ask yourself this question: What do students need to know deeply and be able to do in order to handle unscripted situations in their profession?

–Emily Lardner*

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*From the article: A New Era in Learning-Community Work: Why the Pedagogy of Intentional Integration Matters http://www.changemag.org/Archives/Back%20Issues/July-August%202008/full-new-era.html

Activity – Worksheet #1

An example of a curricular trouble spot in biology is homeostasis - how the body returns to equilibrium after an injury or event. You may want to use the curricular trouble spot for the theme. For example: Homeostasis may be presented as “The Great Balancing Act.” If possible, it’s nice to have a catchy title to pique student interest in this new way of learning.

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After you have your theme, design your integrated assignments to

support your theme and critical thinking.

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Integrate Content and Real Life Experiences

Integrate course content across disciplines. Integrate real-life experiences into course content.

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Use Real-Life Experiences

Using real-life experiences in the classroom is often called problem-based learning or inquiry-based learning. Whatever you call it, you simply want to make learning relevant and interesting to the student.

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Activity: Worksheet #2

Use real life experiences in your integrated assignments and grading rubrics that you design for your paired courses. Think outside the usual report, for example, a play, portfolio, tri-fold, or case study. Remember that student presentations require students to internalize content in order to teach it to their classmates* Use Worksheet #2 “Developing the Integrative Assignment” to develop projects, papers, posters and more. (See the next slide.)

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* The Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE) data shows successful students talk to the class—they teach. They internalize and learn content. http://www.ccsse.org/center/

Activity: Worksheet #2, continued

Using Worksheet #2, consider the following: 1. What type of project will you assign?

2. Will you have one project or a series?

3. Will the project pass the “scissor test”

The “scissor test” affirms that paired course content is combined in such a way that they are blended – you could not separate out distinct course material. It means that both instructors will have to read and grade the same assignment.

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Model Critical Thinking & Use Real-Life Experience

Include examples from newspapers, articles, advertisements, food labels or products…issues that require critical thinking that can be used for classroom discussion. Build on the critical thinking skills you have modeled in the classroom to have students do group projects that require research and analysis that is beyond the scope of what can be done during a class period.

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Examples of Real Life Experiences

National Center for Case studies teaching in science http://sciencecases.lib.buffalo.edu/cs

Math problems related to a construction project Chemistry problems related to household cleaners Grammar mistakes which change the meaning of sentences. These can be found especially in online newspaper or magazine articles. Health claims on food labels.

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Group Projects

Group projects are a great way to force student collaboration and socialization. CCSSE data shows that students who work together inside and outside of class or more successful. Develop some group projects that force students to collaborate. Devote class time for students to work on them. Provide for a communication vehicle within the course - web-enhanced courses have built-in email and discussion tools.

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To cement the learning that took place in doing the LC assignments and projects, have students give a presentation or take a survey of the issue with friends and neighbors. In this way, they will have to explain the project and its findings to others.

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Create Opportunities to Use What Is Learned

CCSSE* data shows that the more students work with classroom material outside of the classroom, the better their understanding. •   Service Learning component - contact Service Learning Coordinator

at your college to see what opportunities already exist.

•   At HCC, 15 hours of time plus a final essay earns recognition on student transcript and invitation to end-of-year ceremony.

•   Perhaps offer extra credit for students who investigate new possibilities for partner agencies.

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The Community College Survey of Student Engagement is found at: http://www.ccsse.org/

Activity: Worksheet #3

Let’s finish the development of learning communities with a teaching team exercise, “Getting on the Same Page.”

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Activity: Worksheet #3

Housekeeping - agree on: •   Policies for late assignments

•   Policies for absence/tardies

•   Teaching styles

•   How often instructors meet throughout semester and when (lunch)?

•   How best to communicate - email, phone?

•   Amount of reading/writing/workload involved in each course?

•   Who is the more flexible?

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Involve Support Services

Utilize Administration - President, Deans, Department Chairs: Ask what level of support they are willing to give: •   Administrative support

Help “rally the troops” (Support Staff) •   Financial support:

Stipends for prep and teaching a Learning Community course, faculty development stipend

Ask what number is needed to have the Learning Community courses “make.”

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Counseling and Advisors

Counselors and advisors can help fill your classes.

•   Give them the information and materials they need to explain Learning Communities to students.

•   Have them work with testing services to direct students to advisors for degree plans/registration.

•   Use them in the classroom - intrusive counseling - on the first day and throughout the semester. Counselors could schedule a session when there may be extra time during class (end of a lab session for lab courses or after a test for a lecture courses.)

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Enrollment Services

Streamline, if possible, the registration process. Have Learning Communities placed at the beginning of the list of courses offered. Be aware of any computer/PeopleSoft glitches in the system. Get data after the semester starts on classes where students are dropping one of the Learning Community courses immediately. (This means they were desperate for only one course of the pair, but all other sections for that one course were full.)

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Tutoring/Support

Provide for a supplemental instructor (tutor) if available or provide the tutoring schedule of your department’s tutor. Require students to attend the tutoring sessions for MATH courses, especially developmental MATH, and make them part of their weekly class schedule. Librarians can help with research for integrative assignments.

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Advertising

Create a web site using a “vanity” URL (example: http://hccs.edu/healthscienceLC) that is easily remembered.

•   Explain the program advantages •   Include courses linked, common themes, faculty teaching,

semester specific section numbers •   Include a video of the program, if possible

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Here is an example of a website for a Health Science Learning Community at HCC.

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Advertising, continued

Make posters and place around campus. Make student-developed (3’ X 4’) posters of integrative assignments and place in hallways. Give out brochures to counselors for High School orientation tours. Have faculty teaching give “live commercials” in the classes that feed into LC courses.

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Here is an example of a poster advertising the Health Sciences LCs at HCC.

Here is an example of a brochure of the common themes of the Health Sciences LCs at HCC.

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Advertising

Encourage Learning Community students to spread the word. “Work” registration - hang out at the areas where students are waiting to talk to counselors and financial aid. Have a video running as a continuous loop in areas where students are waiting.

What works for your institution or program?

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Activity #4: Your Action Plan

Who will get answers to the following questions and by when?

1. What Administrative support do you have?

2. What is your budget?

3. Who are the LC Team members?

4. What advertising will you use?

5. What Professional Development will occur?

6. How do you define success and what assessment tool will you use?

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During the Semester

Meet regularly with teaching pair to keep abreast of what the other is doing.

•   Did either get behind? •   Did either change the syllabus? •   Should adjustments to future assignments be made? •   Is collaboration among students taking place?

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Assessment

Do the Online Survey of Students' Experiences of Learning in Learning Communities survey by Skagit Valley (mpettitt@skagit.edu / 360-416-7919) that tracks with CCSSE data.

•  Consider integrative assignment—did it achieve objectives? •  Did students collaborate in and out of class?

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Debriefing at End of Semester

Meet with all LC faculty and allow time for sharing of what worked and didn’t work. Have pairs decide what to change - eliminate, add or tweak - for next semester. If there is no formal faculty development time allotted to this task, you could use the lunch time of general meetings of your whole college. At HCC , each college has a convocation twice yearly.

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Available Conferences

Summer Institute of the Washington Center for improving the quality of undergraduate education

www.evergreen.edu/washcenter National Learning Communities Conference at Harper College

http://goforward.harpercollege.edu (Search for Learning Community conference)

The Atlantic Center for Learning Communities

www.wagner.edu/aclc

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Reward students in LC program

If students successfully participate in three LCs, they will get a note on their transcript. Have a recognition of achievement lunch/dinner/ceremony for those who complete an LC and recognize those who have completed three. Remind students to include this accomplishment on their resumes and cover letters for application to 4-year degree or professional institutions.

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What Questions Do You Have?

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Houston Community College Credits

Dr. Mary Spangler, Chancellor Dr. Art Tyler, Deputy Chancellor Dr. Charles Cook, Vice Chancellor for Instruction Dr. Stephen Levey, Associate Vice Chancellor Academic Instruction Dr. David Diehl, Director, Teaching & Learning Resources Dr. Wendy Maboudian, TLR Instructional Designer TLE Learning Communities Workshop Author/Instructor: Mary Puccini, MS, RD Center for Teaching & Learning Excellence (CTLE): http://hccs.edu/tle Contact Information: 713/718-8TLR or email tlr.support@hccs.edu

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