Background Teaching an introductory course is very challenging because the type of students enrolled in that course, freshmen, lack preparedness for college life and also not aware of their learning style. It is therefore challenging to determine approprite class activities that contribute to an effective student's learning associated with learning style. The Introduction to Agribusiness course is one of the four core courses in School of Agriculture at UWP. Within the Agribusiness program, this course serves as a prerequisite for most upper classes. Therefore, it is important to continuously assess student learning in this class. The problem The organization of the class is lecture and lab discussion. Lab session is mainly the application of concepts explained during lecture session. Students have: * complained about the difficulty to apply theoretical concepts explained during lecture to solve problems during lab sessions. This difficulty may be due to the fact that some theories were still confusing after lecture session. * complained that poor test performance is due to the fact that concepts learned in class are difficult thus, making problems and assignments very challenging. My concern Despite students' complaints to relate concepts to lab activities, I believe students do not spend enough time reading their lecture notes before lab activities. To account for students' needs, most of lab activities are now based on constructive comments from students' evaluations. Because students express similar complaints every semester, I decided to be more proactive by incorporting students' inputs in different lab activities. My goal is to gradually design or create some lab activities around concepts that students identify being challenging. I make sure to explain them throughly during lab session in ways that facilitate their learning experience within the semester using minute paper. Chizmar and Ostrosky (1998) show that the use of minute paper in Introductory Economics course increases economic knowledge in that course regardless of student's ability level and instructor's characteristics. As mentionned in the National Teaching & Learning Forum, the use of minute paper helps students to monitor their own learning and provides concrete evidence that the instructor cares about learning.

Hypotheses 1.Pre-test score will be statistically different from the post-test score within a semester. 2.Student's performance on tests before the use of minute paper will be statistically different from student's performance after the use of minute papers.

Objective of the Study The primary goal of this study is to investigate the impact of the use of minute paper on student's learning experience. Specifically, this study incorporates student's inputs, to assess the change in their learning that occurs within the semester with and without the use of minute paper. Also, the change in student's performance will be correlated with student's learning style.

Methodology and Type of Evidence of Student Learning Gathered 1. Assess student's learning styles using VARK questionnaire. Students assess their learning styles during the first week of class. An individual’s gender, learning style, and college level are relevant data. 2. Assess student base knowledge in Agribusiness through a pre-test. During the first week of class, students will take a pre-test to evaluate their base knowledge in Agribusiness. See attached file for an example of questions. 3. Use of minute paper in Spring 2008 after the approval of IRB proposal and compare average score in Fall 2007 and Spring 2008 semester. The minute paper technique is used in Spring 2008. See appendix 2 for the format of the minute paper. With the minute paper, students are asked to identify two main concepts they have learned and two concepts that still remain uppermost in their mind. During Lab session, the instructor selects two or three commonly identified as difficult concepts by students and explains them thoroughly. 4. To assess student's learning, specific questions related to those difficult concepts are included on the tests. 5. Also, in the end of the semester, the instructor will assess student learning in Introduction to Agribusiness class through a post-test similar to the pre-test with additional questions related to difficult concepts identified through minute paper. 6. Qualitative data, reflecting student’s perception of the use of minute paper will be gathered by means of a survey in the end of the semester. Pre test Sample of minute paper

Project Summary This research seeks to answer the following questions: 1. Can the use of minute paper improve students' performance and learning in Introduction to Agribusiness course? 2. Is there any difference in student's performance based on student learning style? 3. What next?

Helpful Resources & References Thomas Angelo and Patricia Cross: Classroom Assessment Techniques, 2nd Edition, 1993 VARK: A Guide to Learning Style http://www.vark-learn.com/english Davis, B.G. (1993). Tools for Teaching. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. John F. Chizmar and Anthony L. Ostrosky (1998): "The One-Minute Paper: Some Empirical Findings" Journal of Economics Education, Vol 29 (1), 3-10. David R. Stead (2005): "A Review of One-Minute Paper" Active Learning in Higher Education, Vol. 6, No. 2, 118-131.

Preliminary Findings, Results, Conclusions, & Implications Briefly describe some of your findings or conclusions. Briefly describe the implications of these findings for others relevant to your project. What can they learn from your work? Spring 2008

Career Relevance & Impact As you work through the WTF or WTS Program, note any observations about the relevance and impact of the Program on your career (conducting your SoTL project, participating in specific WTF/WTS activities, working with UWS colleagues, etc.). This section is part of OPID's collection of testimonials about its signature faculty development Programs. Ongoing