Transcript Student Success Conference ppt

Developmental Education
Learning Communities:
What Works? What Doesn’t?
What’s Next?
Evan Weissman, MDRC
Alexander Mayer, MDRC
Audrey Yamagata-Noji, Mt. San Antonio College
Mary Beth Love, SF State/CCSF Metro Academies
Strengthening Student Success: October 3, 2012
Overview
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Introductions
Research Findings: What works (and what doesn’t)?
What’s Next?
Program descriptions and responses to the research
from Mt. SAC and the Metro Academies
What’s Next?
Ideas, questions, and answers from the audience
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What Are “Learning Communities”?
1) Co-Enrollment: Groups of about 25 students are
co-enrolled in two or more courses.
2) Instructor Collaboration: Instructors collaborate
on curriculum and helping students.
3) Curricular Integration: Courses are thematically
linked and include joint syllabi and assignments.
4) Additional Supports: Students get enhanced
academic support and/or counseling.
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Theory of Change
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Students form stronger relationships with each other
and instructors
Students become more engaged through interdisciplinary learning
Students benefit from extra support
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Evaluations of Six Programs
Queensborough
Community College:
Linked developmental
math with a collegelevel course
Merced College:
Linked developmental
English and a variety of
courses
Kingsborough
Community College:
Linked English with a
college-level course and a
student success course
Community College of
Baltimore County:
Linked developmental
English, a college-level
course, and seminar
Houston Community College:
Linked developmental math with a
student success course
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Hillsborough
Community College:
Linked developmental
reading with a student
success course
Implementation Findings
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Program components were implemented with reasonable
fidelity, but with considerable variation in how tightly
courses were integrated.
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Programs operated at a fairly large scale:
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Variation within colleges more than variation between colleges
Over 170 learning communities in the study
Nearly 7,000 students participated in the study
Average cost of learning communities about $500
per program group member, above base costs.
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Dev-Ed Students – Average Impacts Across the
Six Colleges: Credits Earned in Targeted Subject
Increased Credits Earned
in the Targeted Subject
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Cumulative Credits Earned
14
12
10
8
Program Group
6
4
2
0.4**
0.5***
0.5***
4.0
2.7 2.2
4.7
3.5
4.2
0
Semester 1
Semester 2
7
Semester 3
Control Group
Dev-Ed Students – Average Impacts Across the
Six Colleges: Total Credits Earned (cumulative)
Initially Increased Total
Credits Earned 0.5
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Cumulative Credits Earned
16
15.6
14
0.6*
15.1
12
11.9
10
8
6
11.4
Program Group
0.5***
6.9
Control Group
6.4
4
2
0
Semester 1
Semester 2
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Semester 3
Dev-Ed Students – Enrollment in Program and
Post-Program Semesters (Persistence)
Did Not Impact Persistence
Enrollment Rate (%)
100
90
1.2
80
84.1 82.9
70
1.3
60
63.8 62.5
50
-0.3
49.9 50.2
40
30
20
10
0
Semester 1
Semester 2
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Semester 3
Program Group
Control Group
Long-Term Effects
Kingsborough Program
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Kingsborough had large short-term estimated impacts
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1.6 credits in the targeted sequence for dev-ed students
2.8 total credits after 2 years (including college-level students
and credits earned at other colleges)
Six years after entering the study, compared to the
control group, students in learning communities:
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Earned 4.0 more credits; and
Were more likely to earn a degree (4.6 percentage points)
The program was cost-effective
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Kingsborough:
Earned a Degree at Any College
100
90
Earned a degree (%)
80
70
60
50
40
2.8
30
3.3
20
10
0
20.2
0.8
0.0
6.1 5.4
Year 1
Year 2
26.5
23.7
3.7
31.8
4.6*
35.9
28.1
31.3
16.9
Year 3
Program group
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Year 4
Control group
Year 5
Year 6
The Kingsborough Difference
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Linked 3-courses
Recruited students intending to enroll full-time
Included students in college-level as well as
developmental English
Built in strong academic and counseling support
Gave out book vouchers
Received strong support of college leaders
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Evaluation Conclusions
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On average, learning communities for
developmental education students produce only a
modest impact on credits earned
However, one-semester learning communities can
have a long-term impact and even boost
graduation.
Implementing learning communities at scale is
challenging but possible. Establishing high levels of
curricular integration is particularly difficult.
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Mt. San Antonio College
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Partnership between Student Services and Instruction
Focus on first time freshmen, low income, first generation college
students assessing at the basic skills level
Link basic skills class with a counseling class; links are formed into
cohorts enrolled in a community class
Began Summer Bridge Learning Community in 1997; current Summer
Bridge Program 2012 “graduated” over 350 students with over
1,000 applicants
Academic year program continues with the English Academy and
Math Academy serving almost 1,000 students
Have expanded to offering transfer level courses in English and
Math at students’ request and with faculty interest
Successful pass rates show that students in learning communities basic
skills classes consistently outperform students in other classes by as
much as a 27% difference in successful pass rates
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Core Components
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Faculty integrate curriculum including class projects, study
group assignments and teaching styles
Faculty trained in “On Course” pedagogical strategies for
more engaged learner-centered teaching
All students complete educational plans with counselors
Academic support provided by Tutors in the Classroom and
Supplemental Instruction, Tutoring, Study Groups, Peer
Mentoring, Computer Lab and “Study Hall” location
Community building is the core: student:student,
faculty:student, faculty:faculty through the Community Class,
program activities (workshops, field trips), and internal
classroom assignments and activities
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Ah-ha Moments
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Students pass core, sequential classes on first attempt – savings to
the college, confidence-building for the student
Students need to feel a connectedness to the college – a continued
sense of community and belonging Students can transition from a
basic-skills focused learning community to the honors program
Program uniqueness: Intentional effort to create a community for
students to which they “belong” – a family support system. Students
feel “less lost”
Student exiting without another community – “Everything else is not
enough.”
Successful students exit the program with transferrable skills to use in
other classes and confidence due to having a sense of direction
(educational plan)
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Metro Academies Program Design
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7 Essential Elements of Metro
1. Targeted outreach
2. General education course pathway
3. Long-duration student learning community
4. Curriculum design
5. Student support tied to courses
6. Tracking student success and program
performance
7. Faculty development
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All MDRC reports
available free of charge at
www.mdrc.org
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