Creating an Environment of Success for First-Year Engineering Students Using Learning Communities

1. Creating an Environment of Success for First-Year Engineering Students Using Learning Communities Steve Mickelson Tom Brumm Anthony Ellertson

2. Definition “A learning community can be defined as a small group of students, mostly freshmen, who work closely together as a community of learners within the larger community of the university. By sharing classes and/or living space, students form close friendships as part of an innovative program in cooperative learning.” – Mary Huba, ISU

3. ISU Learning Communities “Within the past three years, student participation in learning communities has grown from 1,114 [students] in 1998 to 1,779 in 1999 to 2, 468 in 2005.” (Huba)

4. Two ABE LC Components • Learning community (Fall 1998) • students co-enroll for specially selected linked courses • Living community (Fall 1999) • reserved floor in Maple Hall

5. ABE LC Opportunities • Linked courses • Living community option • Peer mentors and tutors • Faculty/staff interaction • Service learning • 1st and 2nd year

6. ABE LC General Objectives • Build community • Increase retention • Enhance student diversity • Enhance learning and team skills • Improve written communication skills through linked courses

7. ABE LC Specific Objectives • Build excitement for engineering and technology • Increase student involvement • Improve student/faculty interaction • Improve “intra-student” interaction • Learn about the curriculum

8. ABE LC Specific Objectives • Develop team skills • Give students an overview of agricultural engineering and technology problems • Experience hands-on laboratories • Increase professional involvement

9. ABE LC Specific Objectives • Develop technical writing skills in the 1st year • Help make 1st year composition courses meaningful • Begin career development/job preparation • Provide academic guidance

10. College of EngineeringLearning Objectives: • In order to transition from a teaching-based to a learning-based educational system, at least 75 percent of engineering faculty members will use collaborative, learning-based educational methodology in their undergraduate courses. • Total bachelor’s degrees awarded will be 900 per year with approximately 35 percent to women and 8 percent to under-represented minorities.

11. AE Freshmen LC Fall Learning Community Core • Engr 101 (R cr.) Engineering Orientation for AE Students • Engr 170 (3 cr.) Engineering Graphics and Design (AE section) • Engl 104 (3 cr.) First-Year Composition I (AE/AST section) Spring Learning Community Core • A E 110 (1 cr.) Experiencing Agricultural & Bioystems Engineering • Engr 160 (3 cr.) Engineering Problem Solving with Visual Basic Programming (AE section) • Engl 105 (3 cr.) First-Year Composition II (AE/AST section)

12. Goals of Living Community • Enhance our learning communities • Enhance the students’ academic and social environment • Create greater unity and collaboration between the students in the two ABE majors (AE and AST) • Increase student-faculty interaction though social events held at the students’ residence

13. ABE Living Community

14. Assessment • Quantitative • Surveys • Students’ record analysis • Qualitative • Focus groups • Student interviews • Faculty interviews • Open-ended survey questions • Document collection and analysis

15. A model assessment program • Approved by IRB • On-going from ABE LC onset • Multi-disciplinary coordination • Multi-modal approach • Innovations in Learning Community Award (2001, 2002, 2004, & 2005)

16. Student writing is an important aspect of assessment • The students’ experiences in their linked engineering and English classes has been closely monitored. Engineering 170 English 104

17. How do we know the LC is working? • The students tell us that it is!

18. ABE LC Results

19. ABE LC Results

20. ABE LC Results “It’s kind of a good plan…the whole learning community. We’re all grouped up in classes together and we all kind of have the same…general ideas about what we want from school… what classes we want to take, what classes we are gonna take together.” (“Tony”, September 2000)

21. ABE LC Results

22. ABE Living Community Benefits “The living community helped me with the academic aspect [of college] because it gave me the opportunity to work with other students . . . Sometimes it can feel like you are the only one struggling . . . You realize you are all struggling as a group instead of individually.”

23. Students Tutor Students “I have found that having classmates on the same floor encourages group study sessions. These study sessions are a great benefit to students by providing a chance for students to tutor students.”

24. ABE LC Goals for the Future • Build on our success • Enhance collaboration between the instructors teaching linked courses • Expand recruiting efforts • Increase faculty involvement • SoTL

25. Future Direction • Expanded recruiting efforts • Increase student diversity • Maintain or increase student numbers • Increase the number of “quality” students • Building on success • Better teaming experiences • More teaming equipment