LEARNING ABOUT LEARNING

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LEARNING ABOUT LEARNING

• Learning Communities in Higher Education

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A Note to presenters

• This module is intended for a 90-minute class
  session.
• The emphasis is on active audience engagement.
• Module modifications are encouraged to meet
  specific needs.
• A campus may wish to remove the Howard
  Experience slides and insert information and
  data on learning communities experiences on their
  own campus.
• Whatever changes are made, presenters are
  encouraged to keep with the following general
  structure
• Opening Activity (to emphasize differences
  between lecture and active learning formats) 30
  min
• Learning Community Concepts 15 min
• Interdisciplinary Activity (to encourage
  participants to appreciate and value other
  disciplinary perspectives) 20 min
• The Howard Experience 15 min
• Module Evaluation 10 min

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The Importance of Statistics (An Activity)

• Critical in all disciplines
• Required when it is not possible to directly
  observe or measure all values
• Health statistics ? collecting data on an entire
  population not feasible
• Business statistics ? collecting data from every
  company not feasible
• Transportation statistics ? collecting data on
  every vehicle not feasible
• Three fundamental concepts (central tendency,
  dispersion, and testing)

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Central Tendency

• Describes the data center
• Principal measure average or mean

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Dispersion

• Describe how far data spread from the center
• Principal measure variance (s2) or standard
  deviation (s)

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Testing

• Known as hypothesis testing
• Confirms statistical significance difference
• Many different types of tests
• Our focus t-test

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Applying the t-test

• Form a null hypothesis
• Determine the alternative hypothesis (one-sided
  or two-sided)
• Compute test statistic (t)
• Compare test statistic
• To reject or not to reject that is the question!
• (Distribute Homework Assignment)

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The Importance of Statistics (A REVISED Activity)

• The Graduate School at Howard is interested in
  demographic information about its students
  pursuing careers in academia.
• What is the average age of PhD students?
• Does the average age vary by disciplinary area?
• Collecting data on every PhD student will take
  too much time and money
• The Graduate School has decided to use a sample
  of students to estimate answers to the questions
  posed this requires STATISTICS!

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The Importance of Statistics REVISED

• This class is the sample!
• Write your age on a Post-it note and place in the
  appropriate area for your disciplinary group.
• Group 1 Science (Biological, Physical,
  Chemical), Engineering, and Mathematics
• Group 2 Social Science Liberal Arts

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The Importance of Statistics REVISED

• FIRST, find the overall mean (average age) for
  all students.
• SECOND, find the mean and standard deviation for
  each group.
• THEN, test the hypothesis that the means for the
  two groups are equal.

(two-sided)
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The Importance of Statistics

• Activity 1 versus Activity 2
• Activity 1 typical classroom (lecture
  out-of-class work)
• Activity 2 students actively involved in class
  (lecture interspersed in activity)

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Module Objectives

• To encourage faculty and future faculty to use
  innovative teaching methodologies and make
  students active learners and critical thinkers.
• To introduce faculty and future faculty to
  learning community concepts and benefits, both as
  participants and facilitators.
• (Complete submit the pre-test in your class
  materials.)

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LEARNING COMMUNITY CONCEPTS

• The Fundamentals

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What is a Learning Community (LC)?

• An intentional restructuring of students time,
  credit, and learning experiences to build
  community, enhance learning, and foster
  connections among students, faculty, and
  disciplines. (Smith, MacGregor, Matthews,
  Gabelnick, 2004)
• Interdisciplinary group of students, faculty, or
  staff
• Working to enhance student learning and
  achievement
• Incorporated in any LC are diversity, culture,
  communication, teamwork, structure and local
  community connection

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The Need for Learning Communities

• Lecturing is predominant form of teaching is it
  effective?
• Key to learning is activity, time on task, and
  social interaction wit others, the active use and
  testing of information and ideas, and the active
  practicing of skills in a meaningful context.
• Major challenges in higher education
• maximize learning
• account for what is learned
• Regional accreditation agencies require
  institutional assessment strategies with student
  learning focus

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The Need for Learning Communities Cont

• Focus on learning requires shift for teaching and
  learning
• Learning can be improved by
• Use of technology
• Removal of interdisciplinary barriers
• Linking communication with coursework
• Cultivating a sense of community with shared
  knowledge and shared knowing

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The Need for Learning Communities Cont

• Retention in LC is high because students are
  active participants in their education
• Assessment of LC concluded that community was the
  key variable in determining successful learning
  (FIPSE)

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Types of Learning Communities

• Learning Organizations - institutions designed to
  create a unique learning environment
• Faculty LC - faculty groups committed to
  improving teaching and learning
• Student LC cohort of students enrolled in
  common classes, actively engaged in their learning

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How is a LC Started?

• Linked Activities
• Linked Courses
• Seamless Courses
• Common Cohort
• Common Interest

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Linked Activities

• Cross-class dialogues planned by instructors
  teaching separate courses
• Fairly easy to plan and execute
• Require no changes in instruction or
  administration
• Collaboration needed for co-planning of lecture
  and for co-learning
• Accomplish faculty camaraderie and integration of
  curricula

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Linked Courses

• Semester-long coordination of collaboration
• Courses may be taught separately, but co-planned
  to emphasize parallels and reinforce joint skills
  and concepts
• Co-enrollment required
• Co-teaching beneficial
• Joint courses focus on co-learning where students
  learn connectedness, team work, other skills

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Seamless Courses

• Two or more courses joined in a single program of
  instruction
• Collaboration efforts include
• Co-enrollment
• Co-learning
• Co-planning
• Co-teaching
• Co-assessment
• This effort reflects a broader philosophy geared
  education, rather than a single discipline

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Common Cohort Common Interest

• Faculty can be grouped in a LC by cohort
• Junior Faculty
• Engineering Faculty
• Faculty Teaching Undergraduate Students
• Faculty with Research Labs
• Faculty can also be grouped in a LC by interest
• Using peer teaching in the classroom
• Applying brain research in graduate classes

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LC Benefits (Student)

• Increased learning
• Improved academic performance (higher GPA)
• Enhanced academic skills
• Enhanced involvement and social connectedness
• Increased retention

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LC Benefits (Faculty)

• Increased retention
• Strengthened faculty interaction
• Integration and continuity of curriculum
• Faculty development
• Broadened knowledge and application of various
  pedagogies

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LC Challenges

• Faculty and administrative buy in
• May require greater administrative, faculty and
  student commitment
• Possible scheduling conflicts
• May result in loss of individual disciplines
• Potential forming of cliques
• Group participation may not be equal
• More time in class may be required

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Do LC Really Work?

• Wagner College
• Miami University of Ohio

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How Inter Is the Disciplinary? (An Activity)

• Review Case Study
• Identify disciplines you believe might be
  involved in developing a solution
• Explain what role those disciplines might play
• Consider the role someone in your discipline
  might play

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The Howard experience
Learning Community Concepts

• Learning Communities for STEM Academic
  Achievement (LCSAA)

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Goals and Activities
Project Planning
Teaching experiments
Shared Reading
Linked Courses
Interdisciplinary Seminars
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Teaching Experiments
Pedagogy Course Teacher
Cooperative Learning Molecular Biology Leon Dickson, Ph.D.
Problem Based Learning Comparative Anatomy William Eckberg, Ph.D.
Peer Teaching Intro to Civil Engineering Tori Rhoulac, Ph.D.
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Cooperative Learning Exercise

• Setup
• Molecular Biology class, Dr. Dickson
• 5 groups, 5 students each
• 3 hour lab period
• 15 minute summarizing presentations to the whole
  class on a topic that was previously presented by
  Dr. Dickson
• Presentations had to make the topic clear and
  understandable for the other students in the
  class
• QA, Student assessment survey

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Cooperative Learning Exercise

• Evaluation
• Student Assessment Survey questions included
• Did preparing and participating in this exercise
  improve your understanding of your topic?
• Did listening to other presentations improve your
  understanding of the topic presented?
• Which topic do you now understand best?
• Which topic do you understand least?

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Results
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Results

• R2 for Best Understood v. Best Lecture by
  Instructor 0.117
• R2 for Best Understood v. Best Presentation by
  Students 0.761
• Students ranking of their own understanding of a
  topic corresponded more with how well student
  groups presented than with how well the teacher
  presented.

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Interdisciplinary seminars
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LCSAA Interdisciplinary Seminar Series

• Monday, October 17, 2005- How Much Money Will I
  Make?
• Dr. Walter Lowe, Facilitator
• Monday, October 31, 2005- Problem-Based Learning
  in Pharmacology
• Mr. Wayne D. Johnson, II, Facilitator
• Monday, November 14, 2005- Critical Thinking
  Problem Solving
• Ms. Monique Peters, Facilitator
• Monday, November 28, 2005- Applications of
  Genetics, Genomics, Bioinformatics
• Ms. Andrea R. Allen Dr. Karen Nelson,
  Facilitators

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Results

• Q1) The seminar was informative.
• Q2) I now understand better how the topic can be
  applied specifically to me and my major.
• Q3) The seminar allowed me to see how science is
  applied in the real world.
• Q4) By participating in this seminar, I feel a
  part of a learning community of STEM students and
  faculty.

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Challenges

• Decline in student attendance and participation
  (Reflection require attendance as course
  requirement)
• Seminars aim to not cause additional work for
  students participating (Reflection link topics
  to in-class subjects so connections can be
  emphasized beyond 90-minute seminar)

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Linked courses
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Precalculus-Biology-Chemistry Link

• Addition of introductory statistics to
  precalculus as used in Biology 101
• Emphasis on Biology/Chemistry in applied problems
• Encouragement to form study groups
• Use of two semester projects on the interface of
  precalculus and biology or chemistry (in
  precalculus)
• Class visits by chemistry instructor
• Classroom teamwork

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Some end-of-semester survey questions

• Do you see any problems with having linked
  classes? If so, what are the problems?
• Would you recommend linked classes to friends who
  may enroll in Howard University next fall?
• Would you recommend that the university continue
  this effort?

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Results
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• Helping Students through the Perry Scheme of
  Intellectual Development

Shared Reading
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Shared Reading

• Focus Perry's Scheme of Intellectual Development
• Student learning moves through series of fairly
  well-defined phases (delineated by ways they view
  themselves in relation to what they believe
  knowledge to be)
• Dualism
• Multiplicity
• Relativism
• Commitment in relativism

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The phases

• Dualism knowledge is received truth (facts,
  correct theories, and right answers)
• Multiplicity knowledge is simply a matter of
  opinion
• Relativism weigh evidence distinguish between
  weak and strong support
• Commitment in relativism integrate the
  relatively objective, removed, and rational
  procedures of academia with more empathic,
  experimental approaches to all other aspects of
  their lives.

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Faculty Development

• Discussed article and implications for STEM
  HBCU in bi-weekly meetings over one semester
• Also included
• Teaching experiment reflection
• Linked course and interdisciplinary seminar
  planning and reflection
• Teaching module development

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Evaluation

• Core Faculty Development Questions 
• Q11. Technical Skill as a Teacher
• Q12. Total Effectiveness as a Teacher
• Q13. Interest in the Teaching Process
• Q14. Research and Scholarly Interest with Respect
  to Your Discipline
• Q15. View of Teaching as an Intellectual Pursuit
• Q16. Understanding of and Interest in the
  Scholarship of Teaching
• Q17. Understanding Ways to Integrate Teaching
  Research Experience
• Q18. Perspective of Teaching, Learning, Other
  Aspects of Higher Education Beyond the
  Perspective of Your Discipline

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Evaluation
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Module Objectives

• To encourage faculty and future faculty to use
  innovative teaching methodologies and make
  students active learners and critical thinkers.
• Have the presentation activities and results
  from Howard helped make the case?
• To introduce faculty and future faculty to
  learning community concepts and benefits, both as
  participants and facilitators.
• What is a learning community?
• What are benefits of participation?

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Course Module Evaluation

• Complete and submit post-test.
• Please also complete an evaluation form.
• Thank you for participating!