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First year students benefit from mini grant project

Jan King, ACA 115 instructor, speaks to students during a celebration of a learning community created by the College's Developmental Studies program.

Students in Hilda Caldwell's English 080 class and Jan King's ACA 115 class have been spending the semester working in a Learning Community project funded by the A-B Tech Foundation's mini grant program.

The two groups meet for a celebration to focus on two of the goals of the project - build academic and social community for the students and promote active learning and teamwork skills. The other three specific goals of the projects are increase student learning and achievement, improve retention, and promote shared planning and development of activities between instructors.

"The more I work in planning and coordinating activities the more I see the benefits of a learning community. One of those benefits is the opportunity to discuss concerns with another instructor and then work together to find a solution," Caldwell said. "At the college level, it is easy to exist in one's own area; the learning community allows me to work and think 'outside the box'."

According to the grant proposal, submitted by Sue Olesiuk, Developmental Studies instructor/ACA coordinator, Melissa Quinley, Developmental Studies/First Year Seminar chair, Caldwell and King, more than half of the students entering A-B Tech come academically under-prepared for college level work.

Currently, A-B Tech offers developmental classes to address student academic deficiencies, and ACA 115, which addresses the affective skills and knowledge necessary to be a successful student. Students who are successful in these courses are more likely to continue coursework at the College and reach their stated goals, even more so when they are engaged as a member of the college community.

The project is designed as a pilot for determining the efficacy of establishing learning communities linking developmental studies courses and non-developmental courses offered at the College. lf successful, it can serve as a model for future learning communities pairing other developmental courses with ACA 115.

Success for the project will be measured by a narrative summary evaluation by the project instructors, student survey responses at the end of the semester, Research and Planning and follow-up of students participating in the learning community.

"Our students really enjoyed the first Learning Community Celebration and participated enthusiastically in the activities. Some of our students have started a small study group outside of class in order to prepare for ENG 080. I think that shows real initiative and connection to one another, " King said. "In our ACA 115 class, the students have established a sense of ease with each other and work in groups well."

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