Restructuring Faculty/Instructor Training and Support for FY Seminar Courses Lisa Kamody UC 1900 Course Coordinator Kris Kumfer UC 1000 Course Coordinator ¡
Ohio University: • Four-year, public research university founded in 1804; oldest in the Northwest Territory • Athens campus located in Southeastern Ohio • Nine undergraduate colleges offering more than 250 majors • 17,375 undergraduate students on the Athens campus (2013-14) • 4,244 first-year students (2013-14)
Session Agenda • Ohio University • Learning Community Programs • FY Seminar Courses • Instructor Training & Support ¡
In the beginning (Fall 1999), there were two pilot learning communities … ¡ ¡ ¡ with 40 students and a temporary seminar course. ¡
At Ohio University, a Learning Community is: A group of students who take a common set of courses together or share a common experience around their academics . PSY 1010 MATH 1200 FAR 1500
History of Involvement in OHIO Learning Communities • Fall, 1999 – PILOT 2 communities, 40 students • 2000-01 – 6 communities, 93 students • 2001-02 – 9 communities, 147 students • 2002-03 – 10 communities, 140 students • 2003-04 – 14 communities, 239 students • Fall 2004 – 16 communities, 279 students • Fall 2005 – 38 communities, 638 participants • Fall 2006 – 57 communities, 1026 participants • Fall 2007 – 115 communities, 1925 participants • Fall 2008 – 142 communities, 2177 participants • Fall 2009 – 148 communities, 2417 participants • Fall 2010 – 162 communities, 2704 participants • Fall 2011 – 174 communities, 2637 participants • Fall 2012 – 172 communities, 2869 participants • Fall 2013 – 194 communities, 3293 participants • Fall 2014 – 217 communities, over 3500 participants
Learning Community Programs Wendy Merb-Brown Director Sandy Smith Administrative Coordinator Lisa Kamody Kris Kumfer Wendy Rogers UC 1000 Course Coordinator UC 1900 Course Coordinator LC Leader Coordinator Graduate Assistants UC 1000 Learning UC 1900 (4) Instructors Community Leaders Instructors (58) (200) (150)
¡ ¡ Seminar Courses • UC 1000: Mastering the University Experience (Undecided and undeclared students in University College) • UC 1900: Learning Community Seminar (Students within Arts & Sciences, Business, Communication, Education, Engineering and Technology, Fine Arts, Health Sciences and Professions, or International Studies)
UC 1000: Mastering the University Experience ¡ ¡ • 2-credit hours • 20 student class size • Class meets once per week for 110 minutes (15-week semester) • 53 sections offered fall 2014 • 839 participants • Required for University College students
UC 1000: Mastering the University Experience Instructors: (58) • UNC Academic Advisors (job expectation), • College Student Personnel graduate students (practicum credit or GA expectation) • Faculty (overload contract) • University administrators from all over campus (overload contract). Instructors also serve as the primary academic advisor for students throughout the first year or until they declare a major. History of the course previously offered as a separate first-year experience elective course (UC 115).
UC 1900: Learning Community Seminar • 1-credit hour • 25 student class size • Class meets once per week for 80 minutes (15-week semester) • 143 sections offered fall 2014 • 2,171 participants
¡ UC 1900: Learning Community Seminar Instructors: (150) • Faculty appointed by academic colleges (overload contract) • University administrators from all over campus (overload contract) LC staff meet with each academic department to gain feedback about their LC the prior fall as well as to begin to plan for the upcoming year. This commitment of time has produced an increased level of support for LCs within the academic units . ¡
Challenges • Experienced faculty express challenge in teaching the FY seminar course • Separate cultures for instructor training • Separate operational structures • Varying student experience • No common learning outcomes • Transitioning from quarters to semesters
Observations • Faculty looking to LC staff for guidance with FY student transition concerns. • Common FY students needs across seminar courses • Need to create learning outcomes for seminar courses • Intrigued by the potential to collaborate and design a combined instructor training. • Connect lesson plans with new learning outcomes
Developing Our Learning Outcomes • Resources: -Office of Institutional Research -“ A Faculty and Staff Guide to Creating Learning Outcomes”. Gahagan, Dingfelder & Pei, 2010 • Combined efforts to create measurable learning outcomes for all areas of our LC program. • Created pre-tests & post-tests. • Updated lesson plans to better connect with new learning outcomes.
Learning Outcomes 1. Identify and recall student success services offered through a minimum of three Ohio University campus resources. 2. Evaluate your academic success skills (time management, study strategies and stress management). 3. Understand and articulate your personal interests, values and strengths relating to available Ohio University majors and minors/ certificates. 4. Construct a comprehensive academic plan for use throughout your first year at Ohio University 5. Identify at least two benefits of connecting with faculty beyond the classroom (and beyond the LC seminar instructor).
UC 1000/1900 Instructor Training • Day-long combined training in May • Provided oatmeal breakfast bar & lunch • Provided LC materials at instructor check-in • Compensation • Combined sessions • Specific course content at the end of the day
Combined Resources • “Customized Version of Thriving in College and Beyond. Research Based Strategies for Academic Success & Personal Development. Designed Specifically for Ohio University”. Cuseo, Thompson, Campagna & Fecas, 2013. • Binders with supporting material from Kendall Hunt • E-Codes for Peer Mentors • Semester calendar • Service opportunities
Shared Programming • Alcohol education • Study skills workshops • Career Leadership Development Center • Library resources • Lunch “brown-bag” workshops • Textbook workshop with author
Blackboard Sites 1. Instructor-to-Copy -Written to the student 2. Instructor Resources -Training materials -Campus resources & updates -Programmatic announcements -Statistics tracking
Inaugural LC Banquet
Inaugural LC Banquet
¡ Inaugural LC Banquet
Instructor Evaluations 80.5% of instructors felt that the training prepared them for their FY seminar course. 86.4% of instructors utilized the Instructor Resources BlackBoard site. 91.7% of instructors would rate their experience with the LC Program as good, great or exceptional. 92.8% of instructors believe their seminar course covered topics that helped to further the success of FY students. ¡
Future Plans • Update learning outcomes for each lesson plan • Re-invest in combined instructor training • “Difficult Dialogue” in-class activities to compliment the textbook. • Spring semester learning communities (international students, transfer, delay start & retakes). • Possibly growth with additional graduate assistant
¡ ¡ Questions • What are some of the challenges with FY seminar course instructors at your institution?
¡ Ohio University Presentations at FYE ¡ Monday, February 9th: 3:00pm- Controversial Conversations: A Collective Exploration into Facilitating Difficult Dialogues (Dallas G) 4:15pm- Applying Appreciative Advising to the Supervision of Peer Leaders (Greenville Ave) Tuesday, February 10th: 8:00am- Holistic Assessment: Exploring Comprehensive Measurements of Learning Communities (Trinity 7) 10:30am- Proactively Meeting the Needs of First-Year First Generation Students (Fair Park 1)
THANK YOU!
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