A Learning Centered Journey A Personal and College-Wide Path

1. A Learning Centered JourneyA Personal and College-Wide Path Cynthia L. Siegrist Faculty and Staff Development Delgado Community College New Orleans, La.

2. Delgado Community College • 5 campuses/sites • Spring 2005 – 17,500 students • Spring 2008 -- 13,179 • Acclaimed Nursing, Allied Health, Jazz, Horticulture, Culinary Arts Programs

3. Fall 2007 Demographics • 69% female • 52% minority • Average age: 27 • 29.4% have children • 41.4% major wage earners • 50% indicate parents’ highest level of ed. is a high school diploma

4. I’m a Believer!

5. At this point in time, what does “learning-centered” mean to you?

6. Four Resonate Readings • “From Teaching to Learning – A New Paradigm for Undergraduate Education” (Barr and Tagg) • A Learning College for the 21st Century (O’Banion) • “The Learning College: Both Learner and Learning-Centered” (O’Banion) • Leadership in the New Century(Myram, ,Zeiss, Howdyshell)

7. “From Teaching to Learning” “To say that the purpose of colleges is to provide instruction is like saying that General Motor’s business is to operate assembly lines or that the purpose of medical care is to fill hospital beds. We now see that our mission is not instruction but rather that of producing learningwith every student by whatever means works best.” Barr and Tagg

8. “A Learning College for the 21st Century” “The learning college places learning first and provides educational experience for learners anyway, anyplace, anytime.” O’Banion

9. Six Principles of the Learning College • Creates substantive change in learners • Engages learners as partners • Creates and offers many options for learning • Assists learners to form and participate in collaborative activities • Defines roles of learning facilitators by learners’ needs • Declares success only when learning can be documented O’Banion

10. Importance of Assessment/Data Piece • How does this action improve and expand learning? • How do we know this action improves and expands learning?

11. Importance of Assessment/Data Piece • “The transition from Instruction paradigm to Learning Paradigm will not be instantaneous. The key structure for changing the rest of the system is and institution wide assessment and information system- an essential structure in the Learning Paradigm” Barr and Tagg

12. Useful Data • Transfer, graduation and other completion rates • Flow of students through learning stages (eg. developmental programs) • Attainment of learning outcomes of program completers • Measurement of student knowledge and skills at multiple stages using pre and post tests, etc. • Information provided by classroom assessment techniques (CAT’s) Barr and Tagg

13. “DATA, DATA, DATA!”

14. “The Learning College: Both Learner and Learning-Centered” “ If after spending a glorious two weeks at a health spa, a satisfied client steps onto a scale and hasn’t lost a pound, he has not achieved his learning-centered goal of losing five extra pounds, while paying dearly for a learner-centered experience.” O’Banion

15. “Learning to Improve Learning,” “Everyone involved with the college, including the president, will learn continuously how to improve learning.” Myram, Zeiss, Howdyshell

17. What part of the presentation up to this point challenges, interests, or speaks to you? Do you have a metaphor or image in mind about being learning-centered or an aspect of it?

18. What did Delgado do to become more learning-centered?

19. Delgado Community College …provides a learning-centered environment in which to prepare students from diverse backgrounds to attain their education, career, and personal goals, to think critically, to demonstrate leadership, and to be productive citizens.

23. Roundtable Discussions What are some of the learning centered/active learning practices which we already have in place? What are some of the steps we can take to make our areas more learning centered? How can we document student success? College-wide Counterpart Meetings by Unit and Academic Division

24. Examination of Curriculum and Syllabus Design at All Levels • Start at the end • Set Student Learning Outcomes (What do you want students to be able to do?) • Align assessments and activities to the outcomes • Include active and collaborative activities

25. Special Challenges for Faculty

26. Special Challenges for Faculty

27. Learning Opportunities at All Levels • Learning for Leaders Series • Professional Development Academy (Staff) • Title III Designs for Learning • Service Learning • Learning Communities • QEP “Going the Distance”/TVC, SLOAN, QM • Speaker’s and Mini-Grants • Mentoring Program • Valencia’s ScenariosOnline • Technical Training

28. Assessment and Collection of Data • Student Learning Outcomes at the program and unit levels • TracDat • ATM’s • CCSSE survey and follow-up • Title III: Student Learning Outcomes/Learning Assessment using “Learner-Centered Assessment on College Campuses” by Huba and Freed

29. The Importance of Being Learning-Centered In the eye of the storm

30. Delgado Distance Learning Pre-K • 10 semi-trained online instructors/400 • 20 Blackboard courses/1,500 • No formal e-learning program • Low demand

31. Delgado Entrance

32. Student Services

33. Student Parking

34. Overpass

35. Plantation Coffee House

36. Admissions

37. Bursar’s Office

38. Classroom

39. Faculty Office

40. Library

41. Distance Learning Post-K • Over 100 online instructors • 215 online courses, 515 sections • 30% students online • 800 students 100% online • DLIT Program • QEP/Substantive Change • DCC is a distance learning provider

42. Your Conclusions Where or how do you see any of the previous presentation resonating in your own circumstances?

43. The End

44. What does this mean for my area?