"Developing Curriculum for a Multi-Course Interdepartmental Learning Community to Promote Retention and Learning for Underprepared Engineering Students"
About the AuthorsRachel A. Milloy is a Ph.D. student in the Rhetoric and Professional Communication program at New Mexico State University where she teaches first-year writing and technical communication courses. She serves as a writing program assistant and as a co-writer for the English department’s first-year composition textbook, Paideia 14. Her research interests include online pedagogy, composition pedagogy, writing technologies, writing program administration, and student success. When not teaching, she enjoys reading, running, and spending time outdoors. Matthew Moberly is a doctoral student in Rhetoric and Professional Communication at New Mexico State University where he has taught first-year composition and technical communication. His current research interests include writing center administration, incorporating information literacy into first-year writing curriculum, and assessment in higher education. Outside of teaching and research, he enjoys cooking, watching reality television, and figuring out ways to design productive classroom activities based on the reality television he watches. Rebecca Powell is a Ph.D. student in Rhetoric and Professional Communication at New Mexico State University. She revised this article with a baby in her lap. When the baby is not in her lap, she teaches, writes, gardens, runs, and bikes. Her publications include chapters and articles on the intersections of literacy and place, expressivism pedagogy, discourses surrounding motherhood, online instructor identity, and teacher inquiry. Her research interests include writing-across-the-curriculum, literacy, place studies, and composition pedagogy. ContentsThe ILC: Interdisciplinary Collaboration The ILC: Interdisciplinary Collaboration (cont.) Collaborative Curriculum Design for Learner Independence Dependent Learners Become Active Participants Active Learners Gain Confidence Confident Learners Collaboratively Investigate Real World Issues Self-Directed Learners Take on Complex Tasks Formative and Summative Assessment: Gathering Stories and Numbers In Their Own Words: Assessment Outcomes |
In Their Own Words: Assessment OutcomesThroughout the semester, we used the formative assessment measures to encourage active learning, collaboration, and thinking through disciplinary perspectives, the goals of the ILC. At the end of semester, we were able to gauge students’ progress through the summative assessments. We looked for evidence of the following: active learning, collaboration, and thinking through disciplinary perspectives. Evidence of Active Learning: When students received positive feedback and/or succeeded at complex tasks, they began to view themselves as active learners. One student wrote a vow to live up to his potential after experiencing success in the ILC: Student One: In high school, I absolutely hated to write. And I only did what I had to do in order to get by. This year, I did something that I’ve never done before. I actually put forth an effort on my assignments. And as a result, I got A’s on the first two assignments. It was my first time receiving A’s on writing assignments like these. It makes me regret not putting forth more effort in high school. Instead of working to my potential, I was satisfied with a C, but not anymore. Student Two: The significant experience that most influenced me was my aptitude in each class and how good I was at doing the work, I’ve never felt this way about something, everything I learn and use it in real life problems it just clicks in my mind like if it was common sense. This type of comment was seen in many students’ reflections; their experience in the ILC had helped them raise their expectations of themselves. For other students, the experience of taking initiative on an assignment led to a realization of their own capabilities: Student Three: Having to set up my own interview with someone in the field and interview them was a very good exercise and I believe that this single experience helped to wake me up to being on my own in college and having to set things up on my own. Students also commented on specific assignments, pointing to the importance of carefully considering the work habits curriculum design encourages: Student Four: A specific activity this semester that showed me how my values and habits should change was the documented argument in my English class. This ten page assignment made me realize that some of my habits need to change in order to complete an above average paper. Some of these habits are my time management and study habits. Unlike high school, there is no way assignments in college can be started and completed near a due date. Although the student seems to have learned the lesson through a hard experience, she takes responsibility for the lesson and articulates specific areas for improvement. Finally, students found their interactions with instructors key to helping them forge new attitudes and habits. Student Five: Comments on work turned in helps in changing some bad habits. For example, my English instructor comments on my paper which helps improve future assignments. Students claimed responsibility for their learning through experiencing success on assignments, being challenged to take on initiative, and reflecting on their performance. As seen in the above student comments, the curriculum design and built-in formative assessments gave students space to become active learners. Evidence of Collaboration: In response to the typical work environment of engineers, some assignments asked students to work in groups. This group work and the shared classes were meant to foster a learning space where collaboration is valued as an important part of problem-solving. Some students felt stifled by the clusters of the ILC, while others found the clusters supportive and typical of real life situations: Student Six: The most important thing I have learned in the ILC cluster this fall is to rely on our peer support. I really like the fact that we get to know the people we are with and form a tight bond which helps us when we study because we all study together and all put together our brain power. This has created a healthy habit of studying. Student Seven: The ILC is like a family because we’re stuck together whether we like it or not. But that's what makes it great because it teaches you that people you don't like will be there, and you have to work it out and make the best of it. Besides, the ILC group tends to stick their necks out for each other, like a large team that protects each other. I also liked it because it was that we got to know each other more deeply, rather than just a face of someone in a class. Students felt at home in the ILC, which may have encouraged academic risk-taking in the best sense. Because they felt protected and supported, they could focus on academic concerns. Evidence of Thinking through Disciplinary Perspectives: Typically, engineering students do not value writing. But, by the end of the semester, students universally expressed, if not an enthusiastic embrace of writing, at least a begrudging acknowledgement of the importance of writing in engineering: Student Seven: I finally figure that English is something I need to be good at because I know that when I get a job I will have to write lots of reports and papers. So I decided that I will work hard in this class to learn how to write better. Because the curriculum asked students to investigate the features of engineering writing, they were able to make connections across disciplines and value writing. In summative and formative assessments, the students wrote of key values that are central to engineering culture and success in school. These include the value of teamwork, personal responsibility and accountability for performance, and the importance of collaboration. Moreover, institutional tracking has allowed us to demonstrate the numerical success of the program. Institutional data speaks to the success of the ILC. To date, the cumulative retention within the ILC is on target for 45%--better than double the historic rate of 20-30% for engineering students beginning their studies at the algebra level. Overall, GPA for those retained in engineering is 2.64. |