Transcript Creating Learning Communities at Utah Valley University

Greg Smith
Kari Fernholz
University of Wisconsin-Madison
www.figs.wisc.edu
Agenda
 Issues Facing Students of Color on a Majority
White Campus
 Essential Learning Outcomes and FIGs
 Assessment Results: Student Achievement
 What Students Have to Say
 Questions/Discussion
The Experience of Minority Students on a
Majority White Campus
 Social Estrangement and Alienation
 Inadequate Academic Integration
 Sense of Powerlessness, Lack of Self-Efficacy
One Solution: Learning Communities
 A learning community
 Is a curricular structure that provides students with
opportunities to integrate learning through intense
intellectual and social coherence and engagement
 Provides curricular and environmental experiences that
enhance students’ ability to connect socially and
academically with the university
 Creates intentional and substantive interaction with
peers and faculty
First-Year Interest Groups Outcomes
Results of National Research
 Higher retention rates
 Higher grade point
averages
 Higher levels of
academic integration
and institutional
commitment
 More informal
interaction with faculty
outside of class
 Higher levels of
interaction with peers
 Higher levels of
integration of course
information
 Greater gains in
communication skills
 High student
satisfaction, esp. out-ofstate students and
students of color
Mission of UW-Madison FIGs
 Assist students as they make the transition from
high school to the university classroom; create
social-academic connections among peers,
between students and faculty
 Support general education goals
 Support efforts to promote diversity education
 Provide integrative learning experiences
Structure of UW-Madison FIGs:
 Each FIG enrolls 20 students in 3 linked courses
(9-12 credits).
 Each FIG is designed and led by a faculty member
who teaches the “synthesizing course.”
 The instructor of the “synthesizing course”
integrates material from the collateral courses.
 Faculty collaboration is encouraged but not
required.
 Collaborative arrangements may occur in a variety
of ways.
Nature and Culture:
How Humans Interact with the Natural Environment
20 students
20 students
~240
total
students
Environmental Studies 113:
The Humanistic Perspective
English 169:
Intro to Modern American
Literature
Nature and
Culture
FIG
20 students
~120
total
students
Botany 260:
Introductory Ecology
Essential Learning Outcomes and First-Year
Interest Groups
 Knowledge of Human Cultures and the Physical and
Natural World
 Intellectual and Practical Skills
 Personal and Social Responsibility
 Integrative and Applied Learning
Fall 2012 Freshman Cohort
ACT
Non-FIGs
Cohort
FIGs
Cohort
Top 10% of
high school
class
% of
Males/
Females
% of
Targeted
Minority
Students
% of First
Generation
Students
28.3
56%
M=48%
F=52%
8.9%
16.5%
27
52%
M=35%
F=65%
21%
20.5%
Fall GPA Comparisons:
FIGs and Non FIGs
Fall 2012 Grade Distribution:
Minority Students, FIGs and Non-FIGs
What Students Value about
Integrative
Learning
Environment
Faculty Mentor
Peer Cohort
Time after time, over
years of surveys
and focus groups, the
things students say they
value most about
FIGs fit into three main
categories…
Survey of Minority Students Enrolled in FIGs:
How did your FIG experience help your
transition to UW-Madison?
 “The FIG experience was a highly valuable experience in regards to
helping me form a community at UW-Madison, because of the fact that
our FIG was a community in itself. The twenty students in my FIG
were all committed to the same goals as I, and throughout the semester
we organized multiple review sessions that helped our overall success
throughout the semester.”
 “My FIG experience helped me create a community at UW-Madison by
introducing me to new people, and helping me look at things from other
perspectives. The people I worked with in the FIG gave me a greater
sense of not being alone when it came to confusion on some of the
course work. I was able to form study groups and work with some of
these students outside of class, as well as work together on some class
projects. Overall, the FIG helped me to expand my presence on the UW
campus, and left me with a few new friends.”
Valuing Diversity in FIGs
 “In my FIG, 50% are students of color, 50 % are white. But in my [nonFIG] math class, I’m the only non-white kid. And the other 20 are white
kids who came from suburban schools… I’m the person on the side
because I don’t know anyone else. It’s kind of awkward in that class. My
FIG offers a kind of comfortable area, where in all the other classes, I
don’t really feel a sense of belonging or a sense of comfort. I tend to
participate more in my FIG classes than other classes, and that is
what I like about FIGs.”
 “The students in my FIG are a blend of ethnicities and cultures,
enhancing my education.”
further
Did the integration of class material contribute to
your overall learning?
 “It was great to have a string of classes that all related to one
another. It was really easy to gather ideas learned in one class and
see how they applied and were related to another class. I saw that
my participation stayed at a high level, as I was able to
contribute to discussions easily in a class of no more than twenty.
The small class size also made forming study groups easy.”
 “The integration of class material allowed me to become
more in-depth in my learning and analytical. I was able to
apply what I learned in one class to another class….so I assimilated
the information of what I learned into the other classes. The
integration of class material helped me to understand and
comprehend my materials better.”
 “Seeing how material can cross subjects made me realize that it
could apply not only in the classroom, but in life and other areas as
well. This really helped me academically because it made me
WANT to learn the material because I knew there was a
purpose for it.”
What was the most important thing you
learned about yourself because of your
FIG?
 “I learned that I learn better when class sizes are small.
 About myself, I learned that college courses don’t have to be so
impersonal. You can always establish a close bond with a classmate,
professor, or TA. ”
 “The most important thing that I learned about myself was my ability
to overcome obstacles and the people that I have in my life. My
friends who were in the FIG with me were there for me to help me
through whatever situations I was going through, as well as I was there
for them. This strengthened me as a person, a friend, and a scholar. My
perseverance through my classes made me more confident in my
abilities, which carried over to other classes and other aspects of my life.”
Questions/Discussion