Implementing Integrative Learning and Problem-Based Inquiry

Johnnella E. Butler

1

Framing Conversations for Gen Ed Revision

• Gen Ed working groups: statement of purpose, mission statement, gen ed curriculum working group, divisional working groups

• Sites of conversations, discussions, breakouts, presentations: Faculty Institutes at beginning of each semester; Teaching Research and Resource Center; department and cross-disciplinary groups with lead faculty facilitators

• Began with re-centering women’s college and HBCU identity

• Ended with enhanced Mission Statement; enhance and increased interdisciplinarity

RESULTED IN: Spelman College Mission Statement enhancement:FROM: An outstanding historically Black college for women, Spelman

promotes academic excellence in the liberal arts, and develops the intellectual, ethical, and leadership potential of its students. Spelman

seeks to empower the total person who appreciates the many cultures of the world and commits to positive social change.

TO: Spelman College, a historically Black college and a global leader of women of African descent, is dedicated to academic excellence in the liberal arts and sciences and the intellectual, creative, ethical, and leadership development of its students. Spelman empowers the whole person to engage the many cultures of the world and inspiresa commitment to positive social change.

Excerpt from Gen Ed statement:

…It is the intention of the core to introduce and affirm core literacies in the areas of the fine arts, humanities, natural sciences, mathematics, and social sciences and education. The core experience seeks to develop women who are grounded in ethical principles, knowledgeable about physical and mental well-being and able to engage in independent lifelong learning.

The Arts

Humanities

Social Sciences and Education

Natural Sciences

Mathematics

A Closer Look atThe General Education Core

Core Literacies

ADW and CWS

Other Interdisciplinary

Seminars

Strengthening the Core: Spelman Strategic Plan 2015 (extended to 2017)*Revision of Gen Ed Curriculum

*Develop Signature Programs

*Enhance interdisciplinary teaching and learning

*Establish an authentic culture of UGR

Why UGR?

• Engage the teaching-research nexus

• Progressive development and culmination of SLOs for critical thinking, problem-solving, quantitative reasoning, written and oral communication, life-long learning, teamwork, etc.

• Cohesion to gen ed from FYE to capstone, senior thesis.

RESULTED IN:

*Planning Grant: Rethinking and Refocusing General Education• who our students are• Revision of Gen Ed Student Learning Outcomes• Curriculum Mapping of Gen Ed SLOs• Curriculum Mapping of Department SLOs• pedagogical strategies to continue to promote and facilitate a

student-centered learning environment and robust intellectual climate;

• the clear identification of faculty-informed strategies to begin the process of realigning the general core curriculum to reflect agreed-upon goals and objectives that are consistent with the Spelman College mission and the skills students will need to compete and emerge as leaders in 21st century society.

10

The Spelman MILE(My Integrated Learning Experience)

FTW Seminars

Interdisciplinary Courses and Modules

SYE

FYE

Majors & Minors

CapstoneExperience

GRADUATION !

G

O

L

A

S

Global engagement

Opportunities for research and/or internships

Alumnae connections

Leadership development

Service learning

ADW

J. BUTLER01/15/14

NSO

11

RESULTED IN:

*Implementation Grant: Transforming Learning: Interdisciplinarity and Connected Learning at Spelman College

*Increased coherency in general education curriculum

*Inquiry-based FYE and SYE piloted

*Interdisciplinary courses/free thinking women seminars

*Teaching Research and Resource Center

Inquiry-Based Learning/Inquiry Guided LearningIBL “promotes the acquisition of new knowledge, abilities, and attitudes through students’ increasingly independent investigation of questions, problems, and issues, for which there often is no single answer (Lee).” It is a subset of “so-called active learning strategies that also belongs to a group of strategies known as inductive teaching and learning methods( Prince and Felder, 2006).”

Virginia Lee, “What is Inquiry-Guided Learning?” in New Directions for Teaching and Learning, no 129, Spring 2012, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

(wileyonlinelibrary.com)

Paradigm Shift in UGR, IBL, and GE

Teaching-research nexus: shift to learning framework from scholarly

content delivery

Need for conceptual clarity, guidance, and flexibility

*Planning Grant: UGR Planning Grant: Clarity*Build on and expand UGR in arts, humanities, social sciences*Increase breadth and depth of research opportunities*develop a pilot for institutionalization of UGR throughout the College*Lead faculty in departments*Institutionalization of Division Chair leadership*Faculty Institutes each semester: faculty presentations, consultants*IBL and workshops on interdisciplinarity; educational technology*Scaffolding (not institutionalized; some departments)

*Implementation Grant: UGR Implementation Grant, Guidance and Flexibility

*Director of UGR

*College-wide rubric

*Department rubrics

*Formal Capstones in 50% of departments

*Enhancement of UGR in other departments, including STEM

*Increased IBL and technology in the classroom

*Led to faculty initiation of development of active

learning spaces

Culminating grant:

Student Success Grant

*Enhance advising

* Bring together various support centers under umbrella of

Advisory Committee

*Direct Supplemental Instruction across peer tutoring

Change in administration: now Academic Planning and Student Success Center—emphasis on pedagogy, curriculum mapping, etc.

Sustainability, Consistency, Coherence

Teaching Resource and Research Center

• Summer disciplinary, interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary workshops

• Educational Technology workshops

• Scholarship of Teaching and Learning forums

• Gen Ed and connected learning workshops

• Interdisciplinary seminar and free-thinking women seminar workshops (latter, rooted in identity of College)

Sustainability, Consistency, and Coherence

• Meeting the challenge of representing the diversity of inquiry processes across disciplines

• Accommodating interdisciplinarity and team teaching structurally and conceptually

• UGR College-wide Rubric: Guidance and Flexibility• Explanation of Issues—existing knowledge, research, and/or views

• Evidence—critical evaluation of information and sources

• Conclusion and related outcomes

• Methodology

• Analysis

Inquiry Based Learning and Gen Ed at Spelman• Interdisciplinary courses• Internationalization of courses• FYE—problematic, moved away from pilot, now returning to goals of

pilot—shared reading, IBL , blogging, etc.• SYE—leadership, community service• Social Justice Learning Community; service learning • Capstone issues: faculty uncertainty of transitioning from content focused

to content, inquiry, and analysis focused• Faculty support for scaffolded, developmental process in need of assistance

and direction in determining major sequence (more “show us how”• Curriculum mapping and rubric assessment still not fully embraced.

Probably why Student Success Center focusses on Academic Planning

Where does inquiry-based learning occur on your campus? Undergraduate Research (UGR)?

• How does resistance to, or grappling with the paradigm shift from framework of delivery of scholarly content to framework for learning exist on your campus? Where does it affect Gen Ed? How might you intervene?

• How can you, or are you addressing the teaching-research nexus on your campus?

• Where does IBL exist on your campus? Relationship to Gen Ed?

• How and where can you begin to • enhance an existing program? UGR? Service Learning?• strengthen an existing program?• Initiate a college-wide program that connects IBL learning through an agreed upon

college rubric and/or departmental rubrics