finding common ground in interdisciplinary learning communities
TRANSCRIPT
![Page 1: Finding Common Ground In Interdisciplinary Learning Communities](https://reader035.vdocuments.site/reader035/viewer/2022070523/58ed82471a28ab45068b46b3/html5/thumbnails/1.jpg)
Systems, Society, Sustainability & the Geosciences WorkshopJuly 24th – 26th, 2012 Carleton College MN
Ben Fackler-Adams, Ph.D.Instructor of Interdisciplinary Science
Co-Chair – SVC Sustainability Standing Committee
Developing Learning Communities & Fostering
Interdisciplinary Learning at Skagit Valley College
![Page 2: Finding Common Ground In Interdisciplinary Learning Communities](https://reader035.vdocuments.site/reader035/viewer/2022070523/58ed82471a28ab45068b46b3/html5/thumbnails/2.jpg)
Outline• What is a Learning Community?• SVC General Education Learning Values
– Why we do learning communities?
• What shape do learning communities take at SVC? – How do we foster interdiscipinary learning?
• Mechanisms for developing learning communities• How effective are learning communities?• Examples of learning communities integrating
sustainability• Conclusions, Summary & Acknowledgements
![Page 3: Finding Common Ground In Interdisciplinary Learning Communities](https://reader035.vdocuments.site/reader035/viewer/2022070523/58ed82471a28ab45068b46b3/html5/thumbnails/3.jpg)
What is a Learning Community?• A learning community refers to linked classes that enroll a
common cohort of students for a given term and engage them in exploration of an interdisciplinary theme or themes.
• Their goal is to foster more explicit intellectual connections among students, between students and their faculty, and between disciplines.
• Skagit Valley College requires all transfer students to take two learning communities integrating two or more courses from different disciplines that explore a theme from different disciplinary perspectives and then engages them in applying their learning in new ways.
![Page 4: Finding Common Ground In Interdisciplinary Learning Communities](https://reader035.vdocuments.site/reader035/viewer/2022070523/58ed82471a28ab45068b46b3/html5/thumbnails/4.jpg)
SVC General Education Learning Values
![Page 5: Finding Common Ground In Interdisciplinary Learning Communities](https://reader035.vdocuments.site/reader035/viewer/2022070523/58ed82471a28ab45068b46b3/html5/thumbnails/5.jpg)
What shape do Learning Communities take at SVC?
• Type I: Fully coordinated curriculum: A Learning Community that is fully-coordinated:– enrolls a single cohort of students into two or more integrated
courses and is team-taught.
– is organized around a theme or area of inquiry and has a single integrated syllabus.
– has at least three integrated assignments that are assessed by both instructors and that are designed to support the development of integrative thinking and skills throughout the course.
![Page 6: Finding Common Ground In Interdisciplinary Learning Communities](https://reader035.vdocuments.site/reader035/viewer/2022070523/58ed82471a28ab45068b46b3/html5/thumbnails/6.jpg)
What shape do Learning Communities take at SVC?
• Type II: Linked curriculum: A Learning Community that is linked:– enrolls a single cohort of students into two courses that are related
thematically or in terms of content but that are not team-taught.
– may have separate syllabi.
– the instructors collaborate to provide at least one major integrative assignment that is evaluated by both instructors.
![Page 7: Finding Common Ground In Interdisciplinary Learning Communities](https://reader035.vdocuments.site/reader035/viewer/2022070523/58ed82471a28ab45068b46b3/html5/thumbnails/7.jpg)
What shape do Learning Communities take at SVC?
• Type III: Federated curriculum: A Learning Community that is federated:– co-enrolls a single cohort of students into a “Core” course and one
of several “Federated” courses from related disciplines.
– provides a focused, thematic exploration in the “Core” course of a theme or area of inquiry related to the Federated courses.
– Instructors collaborate to define the relationships to be explored in the curriculum. Assignments in the Core course provide at least several opportunities for students to integrate concepts.
![Page 8: Finding Common Ground In Interdisciplinary Learning Communities](https://reader035.vdocuments.site/reader035/viewer/2022070523/58ed82471a28ab45068b46b3/html5/thumbnails/8.jpg)
Mechanisms for developing learning communities
• There are three main mechanisms for identifying pedagogically promising themes and rich areas of inquiry for Learning Communities:
– Informal discussions (e.g. carpools, lunch room, friends)
– Workshops & Retreats (SVC sponsors these for planning LC’s)
– On the basis of need (e.g. learning communities between developmental classes are designed for specific cohorts of at risk students – ESL students, 1st generation at college students, etc.)
![Page 9: Finding Common Ground In Interdisciplinary Learning Communities](https://reader035.vdocuments.site/reader035/viewer/2022070523/58ed82471a28ab45068b46b3/html5/thumbnails/9.jpg)
Are Learning Communities effective?
* Have Taken N = 174; Have not taken, nor plan to N = 232
*
Community College Survey of Student Engagement
![Page 10: Finding Common Ground In Interdisciplinary Learning Communities](https://reader035.vdocuments.site/reader035/viewer/2022070523/58ed82471a28ab45068b46b3/html5/thumbnails/10.jpg)
Are Learning Communities effective?
![Page 11: Finding Common Ground In Interdisciplinary Learning Communities](https://reader035.vdocuments.site/reader035/viewer/2022070523/58ed82471a28ab45068b46b3/html5/thumbnails/11.jpg)
Are Learning Communities effective?
![Page 12: Finding Common Ground In Interdisciplinary Learning Communities](https://reader035.vdocuments.site/reader035/viewer/2022070523/58ed82471a28ab45068b46b3/html5/thumbnails/12.jpg)
Learning Community Example I• Pathways To Sustainability
– A 10-Credit Fully-Collaborative Integration of CHEM100 - Chemistry Concepts & SOCIAL SCIENCE 101 - Global Issues
– A cohort of 54 students & two instructors meet 10 hours a week
– Explores the scientific, social, economic and political aspects of problems associated with- & solutions to our cultures reliance on energy and food (e.g. air pollution, global climate change, ecosystem degradation, nuclear waste) at local, regional, and global scales.
– The students engage in major group projects analyzing current and emerging sustainable practices in:• Transportation (written report & summary table entry)• Electricity generation & distribution (digital slide presentation)• Food (digital poster & poster session)
![Page 13: Finding Common Ground In Interdisciplinary Learning Communities](https://reader035.vdocuments.site/reader035/viewer/2022070523/58ed82471a28ab45068b46b3/html5/thumbnails/13.jpg)
Learning Community Example I• Earth Exposition
– A Linked Learning Community between GEOL110 – Environmental Geology & ENGL 101 & 103 – English Composition
– A cohort of up to 27 students meet separately with visits from the other instructor at specific times of high need.
– Strives to place geologic hazards and Earth resources in the context of human choices that are or are not sustainable from risk, resource use, and Earth System perspectives. Approximately a third of the class explores the relationships among energy resources, mineral resources, waste management, and global climate change. Activities include:
• reading & analyzing Elizabeth Kolbert’s book “Field Notes From A Catastrophe”,
• writing a term paper on human response to climate change,
• developing a group presentation (e.g. poster, slide show or web site) that synthesizes the findings of all group member’s essays.
![Page 14: Finding Common Ground In Interdisciplinary Learning Communities](https://reader035.vdocuments.site/reader035/viewer/2022070523/58ed82471a28ab45068b46b3/html5/thumbnails/14.jpg)
Summary & Conclusions
Acknowledgements
• Learning communities provide an excellent means of fostering interdisciplinary learning.
• Research shows that learning communities measurably improve student engagement (w/curriculum & campus community), critical thinking and depth of analysis.
• Learning communities of all types are a key means of making the strongly interdsciplinary nature of sustainability accessible.
• Dr. Maureen Petit, SVC Office of Institutional Research.
• Jennifer Hanley and the General Education Implementation Committee
• Community College Survey of Student Satisfaction, CCSSE