Process Education Conference
University of the District of Columbia
July 11 -13, 2007
List of Contents
1. Notes on Measurement
2. The Key Barriers to Student Success
3. QLE – LTLC Activity
4. Definition and Description of Process Education
5. Bob McCade Session
6. Funding Transformational Change
7. Wrap up Session
8. Assessment of the Conference
9. Decisions for the Academy
10. Design of the 5th Edition of the FGB
11. Sample action plan design
Notes on Measurement
1. Desire to find the language that becomes more accessible – The term performance measure is threatening. Quality is more acceptable.
2. The whole field of measurement in education will be educational in marketing – many forces are at work in producing a social movement.
3. Characteristics of the measurements –
a. Performer: must provide for self-measurement, assist in producing growth (engaging and rewarding), and its documents growth and provides evidence for rewards
b. Mentor: Measures must be adaptable, contextualized, easy to implement, to produce value for learner/performers as well as meet the needs of the external forces.
c. Institution: generalizable across disciplines and programs, satisfies external forces/stakeholders, provides evidence for institutional quality, efficient
d. Stakeholders: reliable, on target, and scale covers the expectations range
4. Develop a brochure package on the measurements –
Plenary Session 1: “Identifying and Tackling the Top Ten Issues in Higher Education that Interfere with Student Success” Dr. Henry Lindborg
Audience question: What are barriers that interfere with student success? Dan’s List of barriers
1. Belief in one-self
2. Ability to assess self-assessment
3. Culture of evaluation
4. Lack of culture of success (can do attitude)
5. Lack of faculty believing in their ability to facilitate success
Audience list
1. Low self-expectations
2. Preformed ideas and solutions to problems
3. Leadership not walking the walk
4. Over commitment
5. Lack of connectors – foundation
6. Personal issues
7. Fear of success / standing out from others / Willingness to accept responsibility
8. Exposure to higher education and developmental issues
9. Assumptions of what practices are best
10. Readiness – identity as a successful college student
11. Disconnect between students and faculty set of expectations
12. Values of society impacting perceived value of education
13. Weeding out culture – educational institution providing the infrastructure to support student success
14. Financial issues
15. Evaluation system alignment to student success (misalignment)
16. Learning environment of competition
17. Images
18. People moving in different directions with different values and vision of success
19. A to Z in a straight line
Dr. Lindborg’s List
1. Emptiness – door is closed (students who have not gotten their HS degree) Betty’s team (Inputs, Culture)
2. Definition and measures of success – not where success is really measured (US World report) Steve’s Team
3. Success and Quality aren’t Learning – new measure of institutional success around Barb’s Team
4. Definitions of success are different from student and faculty perspectives – Tom’s team
5. Generational Divide – Aveta’s team
6. Failure to integrate values, skills and engagement - Joan’s Team
7. Weak mentoring and Support -Victor’s Team
8. Curriculum/program design purposes are unclear (poor design) - Jackie’s team
9. Teaching isn’t rewarded - Vickie’s Team
10. Learning to Learn is “remedial” or confined to schools of education - Dave’s Team
Assignment
1. Three practices (with evidence) that have been used to address that barrier – describe for the others what happened and how student success increased
Team 4
A. Common expectation(s) –need to have a common expectation of what success looks like.
B. Written contract—partnership that outlines the process and reward system Ex. Empire state has a contract with students that give the characteristics of success, of what they can expect to achieve. Also done at individual classroom level. Builds expectations of students that all classes will clearly define success and establish shared expectations. Students are participants in establishing the contract for success.
C. Periodic peer review and assessment that offers opportunity for improvement for all. Ex.. Periodic assessment of class processes
Team 1 Closed door
A. Linkages with community agencies for adult development.
Evidence: JoAnn’s BCCC Sat. jazz program provides and entry-way for non-traditional students to connect to the college community.
B. Acknowledging lifelong learning of adults outside of college. Try to build on existing skills. Evidence: Empire SC well developed credit by evaluation program. Gives entering students a start with credit for what they know.
C. Importance of mentor to help people through the process.
Team 7 Mentoring and support
A. Advising system built around trust relationship, so students come to advisor for special needs.
B. Orientation to help students understand expectations of college.
Team 10 Treating Learning to learn as remedial
A. Phrase in context of how people in a discipline learn and integrating that way of thinking into course.
B. Build in additional support for learning to learn into a course that is needed anyway.
C. Move L to L into an interdisciplinary context with linked courses, helping students identify skills for success.
Team 3 Defintiion of success
A. Instead of grades use competency rubrics of expert performance. Ex. Alverno
B. Measure of success requires co-op experience that requires integrating behavior.
C. Develop a quality learning environment that defines quality as continuous improvement through feedback.
Team 6 Failure to integrate values, skills
A. Replacing old values with new ones by mentoring the process of change and honoring previous growth.
B. Identify skill set of entering students and incorporate new skills into that set.
C. Build a new vision of what is possible with some exposure.
Team 9 Rewarding good teaching
A. Accrediting organizations reward good teaching
B. Tenure promotion systems reward good teaching
C. Two-track faculty system—teaching and research.
Team 8 Curriculum design
A. Use of some type of outcome design with technology. Ruth Stihl process. Learning Outcomes Assessment database used at MATC as a measurement.
B. Benchmark other organizations to establish belief that change will make a difference. Shows stakeholders what is possible.
C. Clearly articulate mission and vision and how to get there. Needs a champion with the organization. Concept map activity for state of WS.
Team 5
A. Incorporating student teachers into actual teaching experience.
B. Use technology that students are already familiar with to bridge gen. gap.
C. Incorporate process education
Team 2 Existing standards for success
A. Use NCSE in a positive way
B. Measuring student success in progressive courses.
Workshop Session: Learning Camps as Models of Quality Learning Environments
Facilitators:
Peter Smith, St. Mary’s University
Carol Nancarrow, Sinclair Community College
In this session participants will gain a basic understanding of Learning to Learn Camp with a focus on how it creates a quality learning environment for both students and faculty to improve their performance using active and cooperative learning, multiple types of assessment, peer coaching, and mentoring. As a result of this environment, participants experience significant growth in learning skills and confidence in their ability to perform at a high level of competence in challenging situations.
Intended Outcomes:
1. Understanding of the key components of a Quality Learning Environment
2. Awareness of the basics of Learning to Learn Camp as a quality learning environment.
3. Exploration of applying the principles of a quality learning environment in other contexts.
Activity Plan:
Learning to Learn Camp as a Model for a Quality Learning Environment
Why:
Because of its intense concentration of time and high faculty-student ratio, Learning to Learn Camp provides an ideal opportunity for creating a quality learning environment, but a quality learning environment is necessary for maximum learning outcome in any situation. So, in this session we will identify ways to apply the lessons of Learning to Learn Camp’s learning environment to typical classroom situations
Learning Objectives:
1. Understand the key components of a Quality Learning Environment
2. Gain awareness of the basics of a Learning to Learn Camp as a quality learning environment.
3. Explore applying the principles of a quality learning environment to other contexts.
Performance Criteria:
1. Quality of the answers to the critical thinking questions
Factors: completeness and thoughtfulness
2. Use of resources
Factor: identification of key commonalities in QLE and LTLC.
Resources:
Faculty Guidebook modules:
“Overview of Creating a Quality Learning Environment”
“Methodology for Creating a Quality Learning Environment”
“Learning to Learn Camps”
Plan:
1. Overview of Learning to Learn Camp—Carol
2. Overview of Quality Learning Environment—Peter
3. Divide into small groups to answer Questions for Critical Thinking
4. Group collection and discussion of answers from groups
5. Q & A.
Questions for Critical Thinking
1. What are the components of a quality learning environment associated with a learning to learn camp?
2. Why is a quality learning environment important in every learning situation?
3. What are three approaches that an instructor can use during the initial session to promote a quality learning environment in each of the following settings:
a. A small class in a face-to-face environment?
1. written contracts—all three subareas.
2. have discussion about what the class member’s expectations are.
3. building trust and shared expectations.
4. performance criteria—early-on have students in a criteria-based experience so they see the course as performance-based. –also for online
5. assessment system using rubrics so that students can do an assessment of the first day to get early familiarity with the assessment system and assessment atmosphere of the course.
6. document performance—all threee
b. A large class lecture hall environment?
1. panel of previous students discussing what they got out of the class and what they did to get that outcome.
c. An online or hybrid class environment?
1. written contracts—
2. a discussion board for introductions and saying why they are taking the course, and responses to classmates.
3. Written testimonials from previous students about the quality of the class. Element of QLE shared committment
4. What are the three greatest barriers to producing a quality learning environment?
1. knowing how to create a QLE. –to overcome—use modules in FGB and PL workshops, trial and error, do a LTLC,
2. baggage that students bring from other course experience-passive experience. Camp offers a clean slate, with a new start from everyone, with no option to be passive and with no expectations since this is not a traditional class.
3. Professors’ experiences—have to overcome embedded ways of doing things. To overcome—assess and reflect,
4. Camp creates opportunities to try things you might not do ordinarily. Peer coaching and colleagues as support system.
5. Barrier—lack of support. Overcome in Camp by a strong support system. The outreach of the participants to one another and the faculty to other faculty are helpful in overcoming the barrier of getting support from administration.
6. barrier—lack of understanding of difference between assessment and eval. Camp has students doing assessment and using results to improve practice, so they overcome fear of being assessed. Separation of assessment and evaluation.
5. For each barrier, how can the tools used in Learning to Learn Camp help to overcome or reduce the barrier?
Added to notes on previous question.
Addendum: Text of description of Learning to Learn Camp
Learning to Learn Camp is a one-week intensive experience in learning for students and faculty. The students follow a curriculum including orientation to college skills, learning skills, group processes, and short and long-term goal setting. The students function in groups and in larger learning communities which are closely mentored by their coaches and assistant coaches. The key to learning to learn camp is that every student is expected to perform at a high level all of the time, no matter what barriers they may have to overcome to do that.
They complete a variety of classes including math review, syllabus reading, writing a personal mission statement, etc. The faculty of the camp are engaged in their own learning experience as they conduct the classes and are peer coached and peer coach others.
Learning to Learn Camp faculty are trained in process learning activity design and facilitation. The hardest thing for faculty is to learn to let learners fail and learn from failure, and to curb enabling behavior but instead to get students to solve their own problems whenever possible.
The camp atmosphere of long hours together creates a feeling of trust and interdependence that is hard to duplicate in the regular class schedule. There really is a feeling that we are all in this enterprise together.
Each day ends with assessment of the day from a student council and by the faculty, with the appropriate changes made for the next day. Games and competition are used to include some playful time for group bonding. Students complete a portfolio of work that is assessed throughout the week by their coaches and assistant coaches and evaluated on Friday by neutral evaluators according to set criteria.
On the last day, students compete in speech-making, talent, problem-solving and math and awards are given for performance all week and for the competitions. The students are continually challenged to perform better and they are engaged in extensive self-assessment, peer assessment, and activity assessment all along the way.
Along the way the camp created a kind of magic that is hard to describe. Students do more and learn more than they ever thought they could. They are changed in the very way they perceive themselves, and they approach college as a challenge that can be managed by using their tools as learners. Here’s one brief example: The first day of camp Tiffany sat in the back row, slumped down in her seat, wearing a baseball cap and a dirty rumpled tee shirt. She soon revealed that her grandmother had made her come to Camp, but she didn’t want to be there. The second day a lovely blonde showed up in a nice pantsuit. At first we literally did not know who she was, but her coach recognized Tiffany. She made sure a huge turn-around that she was one of the top graduates and her speech about what the Camp had meant to her could have come from one of those movies about miracle-worker teachers.
Learning to learn camp is exhausting work for everyone. So, is it worth it? At Sinclair Community College, even though LTLC students were mostly recruited from at-risk student populations, their retention rate from fall to fall was better than the retention rate of the college from fall to winter quarter. The second year of camp, we had no trouble recruiting students from the first year to work the camp, and they told their friends to attend. The faculty had a 100% return rate, even though they were working without pay. Learning to Learn Camp is powerful.