Strengthening the Institutional Learning Climate

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Strengthening the Institutional Learning Climate

• Title III Update
• Teaching Learning Conference March, 2004
• Quinsigamond Community College

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Quinsigamond Community CollegePresenter Contact
Information

• Anne Shull
• Instructor of English ESL
• ashull_at_qcc.mass.edu
• 508-854-7452

• Elaine Previte
• Coordinator, Math Center
• eprevite_at_qcc.mass.edu
• 508-854-4449

• Meredith Twombly
• Research Assessment Specialist
• mtwombly_at_qcc.mass.edu
• 508-854-7455

• Colleen Doherty
• Director of Career Development
• cdoherty_at_qcc.mass.edu
• 508-854-4309

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First Two Years of Title III Grant

• Revise Curricula Intermediate Reading, Writing,
  and Algebra
• Create a College Orientation Course
• Establish a Title III Database
• Grades
• Persistence
• Learner Demographics

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Year 3 of Title III Grant

• Improving the Learning and Retention
• of Developmental Students
• STRENGTHEN THE LEARNING CLIMATE
• FACULTY STUDENTS

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5 Focus Areas

• Reflective Practice
• Universal Design
• Research and Assessment
• Technology Applications
• Professional Development Initiative

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• Projects
• Successes
• Challenges

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REFLECTIVE PRACTICE
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Reflective Practice

• A cognitive process and open perspective that
  involves a deliberate pause to examine beliefs,
  goals or practices in order to gain new or deeper
  understanding that leads to actions and improving
  the learning of students.
• In other words
•  
• Making time to talk with each other openly about
  what we do, how it works and why we do it . . .so
  that our students are able to learn more
  effectively in our classrooms.
•  

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Reflective Practice Methods

• Alone
• Journaling, Interactive or Partner Journals
• Analyzing case studies
• Videotape analysis of own teaching
• With Others
• Groups dialogue, study, support
• Cognitive coaching with a partner
• Reflective questioning partners
• Action research group
• Group discussion- syllabus, teaching strategy
• On-line chat groups

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RP Structure and Participants

• 2nd Semester of RP Groups
• 3-4 groups each semester from T3
• redesigned and new courses
• -English -Math -College Orientation
• Meetings less than one hour
• Meet twice a month
• Groups contain 3-10 faculty, adjunct and
  full-time

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TOPICS

• ? Making group work more effective, encouraging
  participation
• ? Assessment techniques
•   
• ? Evaluating textbooks (during book selection
  time!)
•  
• ? Classroom behavior issues
•  
• ? Analysis of what makes specific activities
  successful
•  
• ? Needs of ESL students

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RP Protocol Steps

• 1. Presenter introduces issue for discussion
• (5 minutes) 
• 2. Group members ask clarifying and probing
  questions (5-10 minutes)
• 3. Group members discuss issue. Presenter does
  not speak, but listens/takes notes
• (10 minutes)
• 4. Presenter responds to what was heard- possible
  insights, solutions, affirmations
• (5 min) 
• 5. Group dialogue/debriefing. What was learned?
  
• (5 min)

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RP Group Successes

• Enhanced morale/sense of belonging among adjunct
  faculty (I feel like a professor now!)
• Concrete suggestions for improved instruction
• (protocol communication style keeps
  discussion focused and purposeful, avoids
  problem of bouncing uncontrollably in all
  different directions) 
•  

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RP Group Successes

• Improved program continuity/awareness of what
  colleagues are doing 
• Suggestions for programmatic changes/improvements,
  as well as curriculum revisions, have emerged
  from reflective practice groups.
• Good cost/benefit ratio (in terms of time spent
  and results achieved)

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RP Challenges

• Time, time, time
• Difficult to coordinate faculty schedules to find
  suitable meeting times
• Continuity issue Some very invested adjuncts
  could not continue a second semester because they
  did not receive those course sections
• Need full-time faculty as anchors

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UNIVERSALDESIGN
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• UDL is an educational approach to teaching,
  learning, and assessment, drawing on new brain
  research and media technologies to respond to
  individual learner differences-
• Visual
• Auditory
• Memory/Recall
• Process Language
• Organize Information for Learning
•  (CAST 2003) 

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• Universal Design for Learning has its roots in
  architecture and other areas
• Examples
• Building Ramps
• Curb Cuts
• Electric Doors
• Closed Captioning on TV
•  

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Principals of UDL in Education

• Provide multiple, flexible methods of
• Presentation
• Expression
• Engagement
•  

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EXAMPLES OF UDL USING INSPIRATION.COMMath
English
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Outline

• Factor out GCF
• I. Binomials
• A. difference of squares
• 1. a2 - b2 (ab)(a-b)
• a. Example
• x2 - 16
• (x 4)(x - 4)
• (1) Remember signs are
• , -
• B. difference of cubes
• 1. a3 - b3
• (a - b)(a2 ab b2)
• (1) Example
• x3 - 27
• (x - 3)(x2 3x 9)
•  

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Successes

• Many Students are Visual Learners
• -graphic organizers helps them to see
• the process
• Using a Graphical Format Requires
• Instructor to Streamline the Concept

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Challenges

• It takes Time
• -Learning new software
• It takes Patience
• -Not all faculty are VISUAL thinkers
• It takes Persuasion
• -Some resistance to changing presentation
  modality
•  

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RESEARCH ASSESSMENT
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Assessing Title III Effectiveness

• Student Performance in Developmental Courses
• Persistence of Students in Developmental Courses
• Impact of ORT 110 on Developmental Students
  (persistence, performance)

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Title III Progress through Fall 2003

• Student Performance Three courses completely
  revised and implemented
• Math 099 ( Intermediate Algebra) Increased
  successful completion rate by 5 over baseline
• ENG 091 (Intermediate Reading Skills) Increased
  successful completion by 7 over baseline
• ENG 096 (Intermediate Writing Skills) Unclear
  results. Presently developing a common course
  exit essay as a more direct measure of student
  learning.

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Student PersistenceFall 02 Fall 03

• ENG 091 Up 2 over baseline
• ENG 096 Up 11 over baseline
• MAT 099 Up 4 over baseline
• ORT 110 Up 33 over baseline!

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ORT 110 (Strategies for College and Career)

•  
• How have ORT students compared to non-ORT
• students in terms of persistence?

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ORT 110 AND DEVELOPMENTAL STUDENT
PERSISTENCEFall 2002 Developmental Cohort
Persistence to Spring 2004
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Summary of Findings

• Curriculum revisions for two of three
  developmental courses have demonstrated a
  positive impact on student success in those
  courses
• Curriculum revisions in three of three
  developmental courses have demonstrated a
  positive impact on student persistence
• ORT 110 has demonstrated a strong positive impact
  on performance and persistence of students
  enrolled in developmental courses

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Challenges

• Establishing Reliable Baseline Data
• Establishing formal definitions of success
  and persistence
• Controlling for Institutional Policies and
  Procedures beyond the scope of the project team
  (ex. Course Registration/Withdrawal policies,
  student placement in ORT 110, non- academic
  factors that impact persistence such as tuition
  increases or program waitlists, etc.)

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Future Outlook (Fall 2004-Spring 2005)

• Continue measuring performance and persistence of
  developmental students
• Analyzing student success with Common Exit
  Assessments in Developmental Courses- Comparing
  Exit Assessment Scores to Course Grades (seek 90
  agreement in terms of Passing/Failure)
• Compare Developmental Student GPAs and
  Persistence Rates to No-Need students (seek
  less than 10 difference in terms of persistence
  and achieving GPA over 2.00)

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TECHNOLOGYto Support Faculty and Student
Learning
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T3 Web siteALL course information and T3
resources. http//www.qcc.mass.edu/t3
IntraLearn 3 modules, set up as an on-line
course for T3 faculty. Contains history,
philosophy, goals and objectives of T3 learning
needs of developmental students and effective
instructional methodologies. http//www.qcc.mass.e
du/t3
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CAPS Survey Demographic, student learning and
career information. Pre- and post survey
results. Beginning to identify retention
interventions from data.http//www2.qcc.mass.edu/
title3/Reports/ReportMenu.asp  CAPS Plan
Part of College Orientation course. Web-based
student portfolio http//www2.qcc.mass.edu/title3
.
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Career LinkCurrently being tested as part of
the College Orientation course. Provides links
from QCC programs to actual careers using the DOL
web site. http//www.qcc.mass.edu/t3/ort/careerli
nk.html
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Challenges

• Time to increase faculty and advisor comfort
  level with web-based learning tools
• Multiple formats
• Integration of web-based instruments with larger
  Student Information System

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PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
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QCC Professional Development

• Purposeful
• Focused
• Connected
• Introspective and data driven

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Goals and Challenges

• Secure additional institutional support for
  professional development for adjuncts, full time
  faculty and support personnel
• Further develop Coaching and Reflective
  Practice as a means to promote leadership and
  encourage faculty participation towards course
  improvement
• Create an institution wide culture of Assessment

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RESOURCES

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Sources Used for Presentation

• -Equity and Excellence in Higher Education
  http//iod.unh.edu/EE/index.html
• (Reflective Practice and Universal Design)
• -CAST Center for Applied Special Technology
  http//www.cast.org/ (Universal Design)
• Resources
• -National School Reform Faculty
  http//www.nsrfharmony.org/
• (Reflective Practice)
• -Universal Design Project at Springfield
  Technical Community College http//depts.stcc.edu
  /ud/projteam.htm
• -Universal Design Center at UCONN
• http//www.facultyware.uconn.edu/office.htm
•  

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• Resources
• -Reflective Practice in Higher Education,
  University of Indiana of Pennsylvania
  http//www.iup.edu/teachingexcellence/reflectivepr
  actice/index.shtm
• -Practical Assessment, Research, and Evaluation
• http//pareonline.net/
• -"A Handbook on Outcomes Assessment for Two-Year
  Colleges written by Edward Morante, College of
  the Desert
• obtain a copy by contacting emorante_at_collegeofth
  edesert.edu
• -Kirkwood Community College Assessment Program
• http//www.kirkwood.cc.ia.us/vanguard/solutions/as
  sessment/assessment_report.htm