Title: Learning Communities at the Communty College of Baltimore County
1 Learning Communities atthe Communty
College of Baltimore County
- March, 2009
- The League for Innovation at Community College
- Donna McKusick, Ed.D
- Dean , Developmental Education and Special
Academic Programs
2CCBC is
- One college, three campuses, two extension
centers - Largest provider of higher education and
workforce development in the Baltimore
metropolitan area - 28,251 credit students
- 33,653 continuing education students
- 15,567 FTE
3CCBCs Learners
4CCBCs Learners
- 62 work 20 hours or more weekly
- 37 receive financial aid
- 69 of credit students (80 of students who take
placement tests) place in developmental courses
5Purpose at CCBC is to offer developmental
students
- a more integrated, contextualized learning
experience through greater curricular coherence
and increased collaboration of students and
faculty in the pursuit of learning. - an enriched and supportive learning experience
- an opportunity to accelerate into credit courses
6Contextualization
- The most logical goal for college reading and
learning programs would be to teach students a
repertoire of strategies and tactics that will
prepare them for the tasks and texts they
encounter in college. - Stahl, N. A., Simpson, M. L., Hayes C. G.,
(1992), Ten recommendations for teaching
high-risk college students, Journal of
Developmental Education, 16 (1).
7Contextualization
- If transfer to other academic coursework and
future learning tasks does not occur, these
programs are of little value to students or to
the institution - Weinstein, C. E., Husman, J., Dierking, D.
(200). Self-regulation interventions with a focus
on learning strategies. In M. Boekaerts, P.
Pintrich, M. Zeidner (Eds.), Handbook of
self-regulation (pp. 727-747). San Diego
Academic Press.
8Supportive Learning Experience
- the successful developmental education teacher
must develop the whole student rather than solely
deal with cognitive skill deficits - Smittle, P. (2003). Principles for effective
teaching. Journal of Developmental Education, 26
(3). -
9Acceleration
- The issue is not so much about ability but
sustainabilitythe gap between students ability
to perform and the performance they can actually
sustain over the semester. - Inside Higher Education, Rethinking
Remedial Education January 29, 2008
10 Goals
- Improve success as measured by student pass
rates, retention, graduation and transfer - Increase student learning and achievement
- Assist students with connecting their learning
across courses and disciplines
11CCBCs Learning Communities Quick Facts
- 40 learning communities a year, including general
education, developmental education, ESOL, and
Honors communities. - Many developmental learning communities pair RDNG
052 or ENGL 052 with an introductory or general
education course. - Some communities pair developmental reading with
developmental English.
12Developmental Learning Communities
- Pair a developmental course with a gen ed credit
course - Courses frequently paired include PSYC 101, SOCL
101, SPCM 101, HLTH 101, HIST 116, - Content for the developmental course is based on
the curriculum of the credit course - Have Master Learners, faculty who attend the
credit course and conduct a one hour a week
seminar on learning-to-learn.
13Integrating Aspects of the Learning Community
- Use of authentic reading tasks
- Use of authentic writing tasks
- Use of an integrative assignment
- Strategy and skill transfer
14The Master Learner
- Attends the credit class
- Models good student behavior
- Meets with students once a week in the Master
Learner Seminar. - Shares techniques with students about
- achieving academic success
- Meets with the instructors in the credit course
- and developmental course to discuss student
concerns and align topics
15In the Master Learner Seminar
- Students.through an SI type of experience
- Learn a variety of study strategies
- Practice note-taking techniques
- Discuss time-management strategies
- Learn test-taking skills
- Review course material
- Receive support and encouragement
- Share educational experiences
- Reflect to develop metacogition
16Benefits of Developmental Learning Communities
- Provide content validity
- Transfers skills
- Stops the cycle of deficit background knowledge
- Uses student power to foster retention
- Accelerates entry into credit courses
- Provides meaningful professional development to
faculty
17Benefits of Developmental Learning Communities
- Provide content validity
- Transfers skills
- Stops the cycle of deficit background knowledge
- Uses student power to foster retention
- Accelerates entry into credit courses
- Provides meaningful professional development to
faculty
18Challenges to Instituting a Learning Communities
Program
- Partnering among college departments
- Getting students to register
- Helping faculty understand the integrative nature
of learning communities - Behavioral Issues-- hyperbonding
19Participating faculty say that, as a result of
the program, they have
- Developed self-awareness of teaching
- Placed more attention on delivery systems
- Used more collaborative learning techniques
- Developed more compassion for students
- Become better listeners
- Become more flexible teachers
- Given students more responsibility for learning
20Learning Communities Outcomes 2002 to
2007
21Learning Community Expenses
- 1,000 stipend for revision of course materials
syllabus, lesson plans, integrative assignments,
and resources. - 500 stipend for partial revision of materials
or for teaching in an existing LC - One-credit stipend or course release time during
the semester the faculty teach the LC - Three-credit stipend or course release time for
Master Learners
22Future at CCBC
- Cost efficiency
- Taking it out of the realm of boutique programs
- Incorporating the Student Success course
- A platform for advising
- Bundling with other accelerated programs
- Part of a menu of high impact experiences
23Questions?