Creating A Community of Learners in IT……Are You Serious?! Wanda Burwick Elaine McLeod

1. Rethinking Tradition • Creating A Community of Learners in IT……Are You Serious?! • Wanda Burwick • Elaine McLeod

2. Midlands Technical College Columbia, SC • Open admissions policy • Non-residential college • Multiple campuses • Diverse student population • Nontraditional students • First-generation students

3. Environmental Challengesof Nontraditional Students • Jobs and joblessness – economic stressors • Family responsibilities – emotional and psychological stressors • Childcare – lack of access to affordable, safe daycare facilities; overreliance on family and friends • Health care – lack of insurance, overreliance on walk-in clinics • Housing – homelessness, substandard housing, frequent moves • Transportation – no access to reliable public transportation, unreliable private transportation

4. Intrinsic Challenges of Nontraditional Students • Academic underpreparedness – at least 50% of new students in one or more developmental courses • Cultural underpreparedness – unsure how to negotiate college processes, such as application, placement, advisement, registration, scheduling, financial aid services; unaware of college expectations • Technological underpreparedness – inability to use current technology for academic applications • Motivation – lack of self-confidence in academic environments, inability to learn independently, no sense of belonging in higher education • Poor time, financial, and planning skills

5. Working with Nontraditional Students: Institutional Challenges • Teaching entry-level students how to navigate college processes • Helping them connect to college resources that provide academic and other assistance • Ensuring that they are engaged with their instructors and their peers • Teaching them to become self-reliant learners through the development of metacognitive skills

6. Learning Communities to Help Students Succeed • Creating cohorts for academic and cultural support • Connecting students to resources and promoting engagement with the college community • Promoting cooperative learning, active learning, inquiry and exploration • Facilitating independent and mutually-supportive learning • Providing opportunities for in-class and out-of-class interaction

7. Traditional Learning Communities and Two-Year Colleges • No dorms for residential cohorts • Inadequate facilities for cohorts to meet outside of class • Nontraditional students’ schedules and time management • Multiple campuses • Reluctance of entry-level students to take FYE courses because they do not transfer and are not required by many externally-accredited programs

8. “The more actively engaged students are, . . . the more likely they are to learn, to stick with their studies, and to attain their academic goals.” • “Engagement doesn’t happen by accident; it happens by design.” • Community College Survey of Student Engagement • (CCSSE 2007) Higher Education Research: Engagement

9. “For students who commute to college, especially those who have multiple obligations outside the college, the classroom may be the only place where students and faculty meet, where education in the formal sense is experienced. For those students, in particular, the classroom is the crossroads where the social and the academic meet.” • Vincent Tinto (1997) Higher Education Research: Where Learning Happens

10. “Students in basic skills courses . . . often come with a short supply of what might be called 'studenting skills.' . . . They may not know how to set goals and monitor their own progress.” • “An awareness of one's own metacognitive routines, an ability to be intentional and self-directed, are . . . characteristics of the most accomplished learners and a necessity for the kind of life-long learning needed in today's complex, ever-shifting world.” • “The success of underprepared students must be attended to in every classroom and every interaction with students.” • The Carnegie Foundation's • Basic Skills for Complex Lives (2008) Higher Education Research: Classroom Learning Communities

11. Nontraditional Learning Communities • Self-contained classroom learning communities in which instructors focus on course content as well as on • Connecting students to college resources • Developing information and technology literacy • Teaching students to become co-constructors of their own learning through the development of metacognitive skills

12. Nontraditional Learning Communities • Learning and practicing appropriate classroom skills and behaviors • Adding student success skills to existing student learning outcomes in each course • Designing course activities that promote metacognition and independent learning and connect students to college resources • Modeling learning and self-evaluation

13. Rethinking the Course: The First Week • Shifting the focus from content to community building • Developing an identity as a learning cohort with shared responsibilities: • Establishing mutual expectations • Accessing and using resources effectively • Constructing learning • Achieving course outcomes • Creating opportunities for student interaction, communication, and interdependence • Building a stronger connection between students and faculty

14. Rethinking the Course: Activities to Build Metacognitive Skills • Creating motivation – scaffolding success, competence, and self-esteem • Promoting independent and interdependent learning • Building academic success skills and becoming a better learner • Connecting to college resources • Promoting participation in the academic community – mutual expectations and responsibilities

15. Activities • Exploring expectations • Building community and metacognition • Connecting students to college resources • Reinforcing students skills and providing opportunities for independent learning

16. Examples of Activities • Types of Faculty Learning Communities • Faculty Teaching Developmental and Entry Level Courses • Freshman Seminar (COL 105) • New Faculty Learning Communities • Shared Curriculum – Focus of Learning Communities • Who are our students? • What are their strengths and weaknesses? • How can success competencies be incorporated into the curriculum? • How can students be engaged? • How can students be connected to the college?

17. CPT 104 Activities • D2L Assessment • Syllabus Assessment • Course Contract • Email to student not passing test • Team Building assignments • QEP Pre-test and Post-test

18. Sample Course Contract COURSE CONTRACT Please read your syllabus very carefully and totally before completing and submitting your course contract.  STUDENT INFORMATION: Your Course Number & Section (Example: CPT 290A02) _____________________________ Name:_____________________________     Student ID#______________________________ Preferred Email Address:___________________________ Preferred Telephone Number:_________________ COURSE CONTRACT: 1)  My instructor’s name is ______________________________. 2)  My instructor’s email address is _______________________ and the contact phone number is _______________________. 3)  _________ absences are permitted in this course. 4)  ______ tardies represent an absence. 5)  A tardy is defined as being up to ______ minutes late for class.  A student entering the classroom after roll is called is considered absent. Leaving class early counts as an absence unless discussed with instructor. 6)  True or False:  Cell phones are permitted, as long as they are on vibrate and are not misused. 7)  What is the lowest passing number score?  (Like 25 or 97.  Not a letter grade) 8)  True or False:  There are D's in this course. 9)  True or False: MTC Alerts! is a free service to all MTC students. 10) True or False:  A student may exempt the final if their overall average is an A. This form indicates that I understand how to access the syllabus, course of study, and other information on the IST website.  It is my responsibility to understand the requirements of the course, the grading scale and attendance policy. Signature___________________________    Date__________________________

19. Sample Email Hello, student name : I am concerned with your recent test grade. I would like to help you identify positive actions you are already taking, as well as come up with a few other ideas that may help you be more successful in this course. Below is a student behavior survey I would like you to complete and email back to me. Place a (x) next to each statement that applies to you. Outside Class _____ I study at least 2 hours outside class for each hour spent in class.                  I do the homework, as follows:                         _____ I start working on the homework as soon as it is assigned, so that I can get help if needed before the homework is due.                         _____ I first review my notes and read the text section.                         _____ Then, I try each assignment.                         _____ If given the attempt, I redo any questions that have the incorrect answers.               If I get stuck on a question/issue, I use the following resources to better understand the problem:                      _____ Read the textbook                       _____ Visit the textbook website for support/additional study resources                       _____ Email instructor                       _____ Fellow classmates

20. Sample Email _____ In addition to homework, I study for tests by reviewing my notes and doing practice reviews at the end of the chapter. _____ I have read the course information to know what is expected. _____ I have the name and phone number of at least one other class member so that I can call if I miss class, or perhaps to help each other when               we get stuck. _____ I know my professor’s office hours and location of the office. I don’t hesitate to stop and ask questions during office hours if needed. In Class _____ I attend each class, and arrive on time. I do not make appointments or plans that would cause me to miss class. _____ I participate in class activities and take notes when appropriate. _____ If I am easily distracted, I sit toward the front of the class. _____ I pay attention so that I don’t miss something important. I don’t disrupt class by talking with friends or texting. Briefly describe which items above (that you are not already doing) you could begin integrating into your study habits/behaviors to help you perform better on the next test. Please know that I am here to assist you in any way possible. These are just some thoughts and possibilities that might help you to do better in the class. I care, and I want you to do well, so please don’t ever hesitate to reach out to me if you need to. Thanks in advance for taking a few minutes to do this. I am hoping it will help us both in the class.

21. Student Feedback Student 1: Hello, What I need to do is study, and it is easily fixable. The only issue is that I work almost 40 hour weeks. It is just a bit difficult to tackle everything. This class isn't the issue. Thanks, **** ***** Student 2: Hello, Mrs. McLeod: I Really do appreciate your concern about my grade on the last test. You are the first professor I've actually had that has reached and tried to help. I am not the type of person that likes to make a lot of excuses or anything so with that being said i take 100% of the blame for my test grade. I do have a four year old and a pregnant wife that is ready to have the baby at any given time so the last few weeks have been a struggle for me to manage all of my time the way i normally do.

22. Results of Email Student Scores Test 1 Test 2 Test 3 Test 4 Student 1 68 58 77 83 Student 2 56 94 74 82 Student 3 72 88 89 88 * Did not get opportunity to communicate back and forth with student 1 prior to Test 2

23. Team Building • Which mobile device is best? • Firing employee for expressing views on social media sites, yes or no? • How do you choose the best operating system? • Ethics in Action_does privacy exist in modern workplace?

24. Soft Skills Learned • Public speaking skills • Communication skills • Team work skills • Leadership skills

25. Questions? • Contact information: • Wanda Burwick • IST Instructor, CPT Program Coordinator, IST Department • 803.738.7761 • burwickw@midlandstech.edu • Elaine J. McLeod • IST Instructor, IST Development • 803.822.3423 • mcleodej@midlandstech.edu • Thank you!