Student Learning in a Collaborative Classroom North Seattle CC 3-year Study of Coordinated Studies Program Final Report

Jim Harnish, NSCC faculty Background "Learning Communities" has become a national umbrella term which includes a variety of institutional models often associated with students' academic experience related to retention projects or freshman orientation activities. Many studies, including our own, have documented the positive impact of "learning communities" on retention and persistence. At our institution, where there is a requirement for learning communities, we were also interested in discovering whether Coordinated Studies, a learning community model which emphasizes collaborative teaching and learning, produces learning outcomes different than those achieved in other courses and also what is in the structure of this model that contributes to student achievement. Sample Coordinated Studies Syllabus "Seminar process encourages us to learn... everything there is to know about this world" (Click on Image to hear more) Institutional Impact 1. Revision of AA Degree This study helped faculty come to consensus on the essential curriculum and pedagogical elements that lead to outcomes not usually the focus of stand-alone courses and therefore justify an Integrated Studies AA degree requirement. The revised description for the Integrated Studies now reads: Integrated Studies is a collaborative teaching and learning mode which explores questions, problems, or issues too broad to be adequately studied within a single discipline, and which aims at a complex understanding of the interdisciplinary nature of knowledge. Student Learning Outcomes Discover the interdisciplinary nature of knowledge Integrate sources from multiple fields and viewpoints Work in a collaborative teaching and learning environment Synthesize and evaluate new understandings and knowledge 2. Introduction to college-wide initiative for Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Faculty SoTL orientation for 85 faculty (Dec, 2003) Seven Research Projects funded (03-04) Human Subject Review Board established Major component of college Assessment Program (04-05) 3. Campus joined Carnegie Cluster Program "Sustaining Student Voices" Faculty/student team attended Carnegie Colloquium Students engaged in research projects Representation at AAHE/Carnegie Summer Academy Revised Requirement Report on Campus SoTL Initiative Human Subjects Review Board Website NSCC SoTL Webpage

Carnegie Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Project Summary Jim Harnish Carnegie Scholar, 2003-04 My research project began as an assessment project to document whether our interdisciplinary Coordinated Studies curriculum ("Learning Communities") produced positive results not only in terms of student retention, persistence, and graduation rates but also in terms of student learning. What emerged were some insights not only into the impact of this curriculum on student progress and development but also the identification of curricular and pedagogical practices that seem to be related to these results. Methodology Analyzed more than 600 student questionnaires from 23 different courses taught by 27 faculty from 11 disciplines over three years. Reviewed insights from two student focus groups with 15 students from seven different Coordinated Studies. Gathered 5 years of institutional data related to student success indicators of retention, persistence and graduation rates. Copy of Questionnaire Totals in Order Categories/codes for responses Total/percentage by category Notes from Focus Group Institutional Data 83% course completion 87% persistence to next quarter 54% degree completion Student Satisfaction 87% glad they enrolled 92% positive learning outcomes 80% support for AA-degree requirement 8% of comments express concerns Student Satisfaction and Concerns Student Concerns (238 comments of 2930 total) Scheduling problems Not enough depth Too much work General negative (I didn't like it) Grading method Other (Particular course concerns) Roadblock to transfer Not different than stand-alone Prefer stand-alones Multiple faculty Analysis of Concerns Next Steps Future research projects Seminar Skills (video) General Education outcomes Examination of student work Impact of collaboarative team teaching on faculty Linked courses

NSCC collaborative teaching team "Faculty created a learning community... gave up Freire's banking model" (Click on image to hear more) Students Identify Differences (Between Coordinated Studies and Stand-alone classes) Focus on interdisciplinary nature of knowledge Change of faculty role with multiple teachers Emphasis on seminars Emphasis on teaching academic skills Creation of collaborative learning culture Scheduling of longer class periods Key curriculum design elements What's in a Seminar Handout "Seminar allowed me to connect with the class...to step outside my box" (Click on image to hear more) Student Perceptions of What They Learned (Number of comments related to each category) Academic Skills (201) Critical Thinking (154) Learned to interact, listen to, and understand others (124) Developed new knowledge, more depth (119) Learned how to learn from others, made friends (116) Became open-minded, accepting new ideas/others (106) Developed skills for employment/life (105) Developed more confidence as learner (105) Discovered interconnected nature of knowledge (102) Developed insights into self (94) Developed new attitudes, awareness, contemporary issues (90) Easier to learn, more effective more motivated (84) Creation of "Public Home Space" Bibliography Contact [email protected] Smith, Barbara Leigh, Jean MacGregor, Roberta Matthews, Faith Gabelnick, Learning Communities: Reforming Undergraduate Education. Jossey-Bass, 2004. MacGregor, Jean, Editor. Doing Learning Community Assessment: Five Campus Stories. National Learning Communities Project Monography Series. Olympia, WA: The Evergreen State College, Washington Center for Improving the Quality of Undergraduate Education, in coooperation with the American Association for Higher Education. Perry, William G. Forms of Ethical and Intellectual Development in the College Years. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1999. Taylor, K., B. Moore, J MacGregor, and J. Lindblad. 2003. Learning Community Research: What We know Now. National Learning Communities Project Monograph Series. Olympia, WA: The Evergreen State College, Washington Center for Improving the Quality of Undergraduate Education, in coopoeration with the American Association for Higher Education. Wilkie, Gail. "Learning Community Enrollement Study, 1986-90." North Seattle Community College Moore, Diane and S. Kerlin. "Research Report: Examining Effectivenesss of Coordinated Studies, 1990-94." North Seattle Community College.