Dr. Ann Brandt-Williams, Psychology
Glendale Community College
My selection as a Maricopa Institute for Learning Fellow has given me the time to research and share ideas with other colleagues about the scholarship of teaching and learning. I specifically chose to research course/classroom assessment. After twenty-three years teaching in higher education, I have finally come to appreciate the concept of assessment. Perhaps this theory is difficult for some faculty to understand because the word "assessment" has a variety of meanings depending upon the context. Astin et al. define "assessment is not an end in itself but a vehicle for educational improvement."* As educators we made the assumption that if students "passed the test" they learned the material and, therefore, we were successful "teachers." A researcher would respond "how do you know, what proof do you have that your students learned the concepts covered during your course or made educational improvement?"
This year I had the opportunity to read a multitude of books and articles on the topic of course assessment, many within the framework of the scholarship of teaching and learning. By having the time to conduct my own research with students and colleagues, I have discovered at least a partial answer to the question, "How do you know students are learning?" That is a difficult question to answer; however, I find when teachers are encouraged and willing to experiment with a specific methodology, they discover where some of the problems in student learning exist.
My involvement with course assessment was initiated by a site visit from the Higher Learning Commission. Comments in their final report referred to the lack of "documentation" of the results of student learning. Since the spring of 2005, I have been involved in regular meetings with the Vice President of Academic Affairs, Department Chairs, and Discipline Assessment Coordinators to develop a template so that documentation of student learning outcomes in every course would occur. I assisted several colleagues who discovered that this process is not as cumbersome as it seems. In fact, disciplines that require certification examinations prior to graduation, or getting hired, are committed to documentation of student learning outcomes.
Overall, I am grateful to have had the opportunity to spend time researching current theories on teaching and learning. I find myself asking for more feedback from my students. I value their opinions in how they best learn the concepts and terms required of them. From my readings, I am learning how to evaluate the concepts that are most important, to recognize that I can't teach the entire book, and it is not about cramming the textbook into their heads.
Future projects include adding to the current Glendale Community College assessment web page and presenting at two conferences in April and June.
* Astin, A.W., Banta, T.W., Cross, K.P., El-Khawas, E., Ewell, P.T., Hutchings, P., Marchese, T.J., McClenney, K.M., Mentkowski, M., Miller, M.A., Moran, E.T., & Wright, B.D. (2005). 9 principles of good practice for assessing student learning. [On-line]. American Association for Higher Education. Available: http://www.aahe.org/assessment/principl.htm
Dr. Brian Dille, Political Science
Mesa Community College
In my MIL project, I am looking at the impact of community-based research (CBR) on student learning. The existing literature focuses solely on the utility of CBR to the faculty member as a source of data for publications, and to the community as source for solutions to community problems. My contribution to the literature is to examine the impact of CBR on students, to determine its pedagogical value. The MIL program has been very useful in this effort. I would have used CBR without the MIL program, but the fellowship has given me the time to research CBR and ground my practice in the literature. The CBR curriculum I now use is different in important ways to the CBR curriculum I used when I was making things up as I went. I also will be able to add to the literature with the student-centered data I am gathering.
Aside from the content of my MIL project, the MIL experience has been rewarding and useful in itself. The way the MIL program is structured, I gained access to books and colleagues I would not have otherwise had. I think of MIL as an opportunity to gain another subfield in my discipline, the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL). I have treated the MIL meetings as a graduate seminar on pedagogy, and I have been rewarded by that approach. My curriculum has been enriched and altered in more areas than the narrow CBR focus of my own project. One of the most significant shifts in my thinking has been on how to introduce change into the classroom. I am an innovative instructor, seeking to continually improve the content and character of my courses. Prior to MIL, I was unaware of the difference between scholarly teaching and SoTL. It is no longer sufficient for me to experiment with new pedagogies. I now introduce things in a way that I can assess their impact, and I look to ways to publish my findings for colleagues.
This approach to SoTL has impacted my colleagues as well. In discussions with colleagues, I now share information and insights I have gained from the MIL experience. This is affecting my discipline on my campus as other faculty who have avoided innovation are becoming interested in SoTL. My larger discipline is also benefiting. Political science has long been at the backseat of SoTL, shown by the fact that the Journal of Political Science and Education just published its first volume in 2005. I have an article that has gone through the peer review process and will be published in Volume 1 number 2 in early summer 2005. This new journal will be an important avenue to advance SoTL within my discipline.
My college is also benefiting from the enhanced focus on SoTL that the MIL fellow alumni are beginning to bring. The fellows meet together to discuss programs and initiatives, such as the Results Outcome Committee's (ROC) call for papers using the results of our campus-wide annual assessment in curriculum change, the introduction of scholarship as a requirement in the RFP, and our Vice President of Academic Affairs' effort to making recognition of scholarship a priority at Mesa Community College.
The ultimate benefactor of my MIL experience will be students. MIL has already improved my teaching and my understanding of pedagogical methods. As my current and future students use CBR and enjoy the other changes to my curriculum, the effects of my MIL fellowship will be felt for years.
Dr. Craig Jacobsen, English
Mesa Community College
In mythology, the chimera is a beast with a lion's foreparts and head, a goat's hindquarters and head, and a snake for a tail. A chimera class simultaneously enrolls traditional face-to-face students, online students, and students taking the class through a combination of traditional and online modes of instruction. Unlike most hybrid models, however, the chimera format doesn't try to blend the three modes into a unified whole. Instead it allows all three (traditional, online, and hybrid) to coexist within one class. This format's purpose is to expand student access by eliminating the barriers of time and place traditional (and most hybrid) classes create, while providing students the opportunity for face-to-face contact.
A chimera course has a scheduled classroom time, as a traditional class would. It also has all course materials available on a website, as an online class would. Student attendance forms a continuum. Some students will attend all classroom sessions. At the other extreme are students who will do all of the course work online, never physically attending the classroom sessions. Many students will be in between, attending when possible, when they want additional assistance, or when they desire contact with their classmates or instructor. Students must attend to the class, but they are not required to attend classroom sessions. So long as they complete the required assignments and activities, and can demonstrate their ability to meet the course's outcomes, their classroom attendance is their decision. Online discussion boards and group work maintain class cohesion.
Students can benefit most from the chimera format. In a traditional class, changes in circumstances (work schedule, family, or personal crisis) can make it impossible for a student to successfully complete a course. A chimera class allows that student simply to move to online delivery. Conversely, online students sometimes discover that they want or need classroom instruction. In a chimera class students have that option available. A chimera format eliminates some of the pressures that cause students to withdraw from courses.
Students may also benefit from a side-effect of the format. Because chimera courses eliminate time and place barriers, they draw enrollment from pools of students which otherwise might not overlap. For example, offering a course on campus in the morning excludes many evening and online students. Offering that course in the evenings excludes many morning and online students. A chimera course allows more of those students to enroll, increasing course offerings by allowing departments to schedule chimera versions of courses for which low enrollment might otherwise cause cancellation.
There are drawbacks to the chimera format. For the instructor, a chimera course can be very demanding, as it requires the creation and maintenance of a full online course and the preparation and classroom time of a traditional course. And unlike most hybrid configurations, the chimera format won't free up any classroom space. Because of these issues, the decision to offer a chimera course should be carefully thought out.
Study of the chimera format's implications, pedagogically and institutionally, is just beginning. Currently the research is focused upon determining the format's effectiveness in retaining students, which would seem to be its primary advantage over traditional, online, and hybrid modes. Assessment is also being done to help formulate guidelines and principles for the construction of effective approaches to this mode of instructional delivery.
Nancy Johnson, Medical Radiography
Gateway Community College
Last fall, a class I taught was having difficulty in learning the content at the application and evaluation level. As a result I was inspired to write a research proposal designed to develop activities and assess their effectiveness in a medical imaging class and lab. I wanted to try to improve the students' ability to think critically and transfer these abilities to improve the students' clinical experience. I had attended many different seminars on the different pedagogies that might help the students accomplish this task; however, the time to develop products was always limited. Three different lab experiences were developed specifically to assist the students in using the content that was being taught in the classroom. Participating in the different activities required the student to apply the content, evaluate the situation and image, and develop a plan to make modifications as needed. Preliminary results indicate the class that participated in these activities was successful in completing the course. I am still collecting data to determine the success of this project.
This experience has provided time to reflect on my own style of teaching and to network with others. The MIL experience has been positive and helped to make me aware of the whole process - plan lessons, learn content, expose the students to the content using many different experiences, assess the learning, and evaluate the process of learning for students. Networking with the other fellows provides an opportunity to share and study different aspects of the learning process. During the discussions we have shared experiences and ideas on methods which may influence student learning in different situations. The discussions have enhanced my perspective and understanding of the learning process. Having increased my awareness of student learning has resulted in my restructuring other classes also to a more active learning environment.
SoTL is important for those faculty who wish to truly increase their level of scholarship and is more than just being a good scholar. I believe it incorporates evaluation of learning which is more than a test but true assessment of what has been learned. The assessment process is as important as the teaching process. Another component of SoTL includes sharing your learning and experience with others. Having participated in this formal experience has provided a positive experience, and I will share what I have learned with others. I plan to share my research with fellow part-time faculty in the medical imaging program who will be instructing similar imaging labs as well as with others in the health care educational environment. I believe this is why the SoTL movement is important; we need to take the time to share with others what we are doing and why it works. This movement has the potential to expand how we teach when shared.
Dr. Nora Reyes, Education
Mesa Community College
My MIL project has focused on how social structures and interactions within college classrooms and service learning sites impact students' ability to apply content knowledge within authentic contexts. By analyzing data collected from focus group interviews, participant journals, and participant observation, I hope to:
- identify situated learning strategies used within education courses and programs that enable students to make connections between theory and practice,
- develop/refine organizational socialization structures within courses and programs to promote content application through optimal situated learning opportunities, and
- promote the use of situated learning strategies that enable students to apply content knowledge within authentic contexts.
This experience has provided me with numerous professional growth opportunities that have enabled me to more positively contribute to my work within my college and discipline and with my colleagues and students.
I found one of the most valuable aspects of my involvement with MIL to be the opportunities for collegial collaboration and dialogue. Our MIL retreats and meetings provided a forum through which we could discuss our ongoing work. Much of my professional growth stemmed from these collaborative dialogues with colleagues across the Maricopa Community Colleges with whom I would otherwise not have had the opportunity to interact at this level. As we shared challenges encountered, brainstormed ideas for further exploration, and celebrated our successes, we established a network of support that will undoubtedly continue beyond our year as MIL fellows.
One component of my research involved my participation in Crossroads Online Institute (COI). COI provided a forum through which I could engage in online discussions and activities with another group of community college and university instructors across the country who were also engaging in the scholarship of teaching and learning. Through an online discussion board and poster tool, we dialogued about our interpretations of various scholarly articles related to teaching and learning and provided feedback on our independent research projects. This component of my research project provided me with yet another source of support for deepening my reflections on my research and gave me many ideas to share with my MIL fellows regarding how we might incorporate some of the COI program features into our MIL program to further enrich the experience for future MIL fellows.
On a more micro and personal level, my participation in MIL has enriched my daily professional life as I interact with students and colleagues at my own college. I am constantly referring to and applying new information and understandings I have gained through my MIL work. My research project is helping to validate much of the work our Education Team at Mesa Community College is doing, while also identifying areas that can be refined through further development. This opportunity to dedicate precious time to engaging in the scholarship of teaching and learning within a structured program has provided a strong foundation for this life-long SoTL process that has already and will continue to help me better serve my students, my college, my discipline, and my world.
Dr. Roselyn Turner, Communication
Estrella Mountain Community College
The initial inspiration for my MIL project came from reading Destructive Emotions: How Can we Overcome Them? A Scientific Dialogue with the Dalai Lama, narrated by Daniel Goleman. This extraordinary collaboration between Buddhist scholars and Western psychologists, neuroscientists, and philosophers in part explored how a life of service positively and productively impacts the brain and emotional health. It stirred in me a curiosity to study more about neuroscience and emotional intelligence as it relates to Service Learning, and educational practices, in general.
The MIL fellowship first provided me myriad resources, including over a dozen books on brain theory and Emotional Intelligence, and then the gift of time to read, analyze, and synthesize the knowledge. I was then better able to discern the more scientific literature from which to design my classroom study, that would eventually impact my pedagogical practices. This is one of the strengths of this particular research fellowship - the inherent practical application of findings for the purpose of improving instruction to enhance student learning.
Another strength of the MIL fellowship is its commitment to the tenets of the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL), one of which is the responsibility of each of the fellows to share/publish our findings in a public arena. I have already had the privilege of discussing the positive impact of Service Learning on Emotional Intelligence with the MIL fellows, my campus colleagues, and educators across the nation when I attended and presented (and will continue to do so) at workshops and conferences. As the conclusion of my project nears, I look forward to producing a practical document on teacher behaviors that promote Emotional Intelligence in the classroom, as well as a scholarly article that documents the research project.
As with any educational opportunity, the more one invests, the more rewards will be realized. It has been a privilege to uphold the ethics of, and take full advantage of the intent of this fellowship; I experienced tremendous academic, professional, and personal growth that will dynamically fuel my love of pragmatic teaching and learning way beyond this fellowship year.
 MIL 2004 Fellows
Beyond MIL Fellowships: "MIL2"
Since many former MIL fellows expressed a desire to extend their MIL experience because they loved the sense of community and the discussions about the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL), "MIL2" was born. With some administrative support, about fourteen former fellows have been meeting once a month to not only discuss articles on the SoTL, but also collaborate on two research projects.
The research project developed by one of the learning communities is to assess the impact of SoTL and the effectiveness of the MIL program. This group is interviewing all former MIL Fellows about what they learned from their SoTL research projects, how their projects have impacted their views on teaching and learning, and how they are getting others to be involved in SoTL at the local, district, and/or national levels. Once the interviews are completed, the group will do a qualitative analysis and write a report about the themes that emerged from the interviews. The preliminary results suggest that the effects of MIL are tremendous. Previous members have been inspired to become deeply involved in institutional projects to improve teaching and learning, and have become enthusiastic proponents of facilitating teaching and learning in a wide variety of venues.
The other research project developed by a second learning community is to find out, by using empirical methodologies, exactly who the students of Maricopa are. After reading a large number of articles describing the attitudes and behaviors of the current cohort of students, this group decided to find out from students exactly who they think they are. The goal of this study is to find out how students believe themselves to be, as opposed to how instructors describe them to be. This community will then explore whether students self-descriptions can predict students' effective learning styles and their classroom performance. Again, in the spirit of SoTL, the goal is to obtain valid empirical measures of student attitudes and the relation of these attitudes to student learning outcomes.
These projects are just the beginning of what can be accomplished by the MIL2 (MIL3, MIL4...) learning community. As the process of sharing and learning continue, the MIL2 group is expected to expand, grow, and change. Its primary focus, however, will be the same: to study teaching and learning through cycles of constant improvement in order to improve what we know about teaching and learning. The ultimate goal is to keep the fire of enthusiasm alive and well for all faculty who have discovered the value of the SoTL process.
William Farrar, Ph.D., Estrella Mountain Community College
and Dean Stover, GateWay Community College
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