Universal Course Design and Teaching Visual Learners SFIG

What is this all about?

This SFIG Core Team is led by professionals from three related fields:

• Learning Accommodations (Susan Martin, NECC),
• Universal Course Design (Kirsten Behling, Consultant),
• Graphic Design (Lance Hidy, NECC).

We invite staff and faculty to help us pursue two goals:

• Design courses to be universally engaging to a full spectrum of learning styles and abilities, using multiple methods of presentation and assessment
• Increase the use of visual content by both faculty and students.

What is the process?

During a series of four meetings per semester, we will see how the learning accommodations of Universal Course Design (UCD) improve success for all students, and not just for those with disabilities.

We’ll look at case studies of innovative course design, including some using computer tools that have only recently become viable options. We will also focus on visual strategies to enhance communication and ultimately learning. We will introduce easy-to-use processes for working with type and images to improve student comprehension and engagement—and also for students to use in their own writing and PowerPoints.

Fall 2009 Commitment:

One meeting per month to learn about Universal Course Design strategies for instruction, assessment, and environment. Meetings are friendly informal discussion and workshop format.

Spring 2010 Commitment:

One meeting per month with the NECC UCD Core TEAM. Help 2–3 interested faculty include a few UCD Strategies into their courses.

For more information and to hear how YOU might fit in, please contact Susan Martin at smartin@necc.mass.edu.

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Engagement Across the Curriculum - A Collaborative Approach SFIG

“Developing students’ ability to integrate and apply learning is an important piece of what makes college education relevant for today’s world.” (AACU)

“Northern Essex Community College (NECC) students will emerge from our caring academic community prepared and motivated to become self-aware, engaged members of the communities in which they live and work. To do so, it is essential that all NECC students learn to think critically and gain problem solving skills. By helping them to look at their assumptions, ask penetrating questions, formulate hypotheses and draw conclusions based on sound evidence, we prepare them for the complex challenges they will face as citizens, in their careers, and in their personal lives.”

The college articulated the following five core academic skills:Communication, Global Awareness, Information Literacy, Quantitative Reasoning, and Science and Technology. (Vision Statement)

Now, we begin the work of thinking about how we can all help our students acquire these skills. How can we help them become engaged learners all across the college?

This SFIG will explore how we can design and assess assignments and activities that will allow our students to integrate and apply learning. This group will articulate a question for research, study the literature, design and implement assignments and activities and, finally, assess our results.

Our work together will include participation in a workshop on Collaborative Learning facilitated by Barbara Millis on June 1-2, 2010.

For more information, contact Barbara Stachniewicz at bstachniewicz@necc.mass.edu. Visit the Resources page to view work by Barbara J. Millis in the Association of American Colleges & Universities (AAC&U).

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Reading for Understanding SFIG

What do you notice about student reading?

Do NECC students read and analyze what they read at the level that is necessary for them to succeed in college?

Perhaps Margaret Mead said it best, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”

This group of dedicated citizens will be developing questions centered around student reading. We’ll meet 1–2 hours per month.

Inquiry starts with noticing, and at Northern Essex Community College, what many of us have noticed is our students are challenged and overwhelmed by reading at the level that they need to in order to succeed.

Many students practice “surface reading” very similar to the type of reading they do online, but they don’t use self-checking metacognitive skills to adjust their reading strategies in order to read and understand difficult texts,
unwrap word problems or essay questions, or even answer multiple choice questions on exams.

This cross-curricular group will investigate how we can help students become more proficient and independent readers.

For more information, contact Patricia Schade at pschade@necc.mass.edu. Visit the Resources page for information on the Strategic Literacy Initiative/Reading Apprenticeship.

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