1. “We Go Together”: Discipline-Based Linked Course Learning Community Leads to Positive Developments for Students
Dawn McKinney and Karen Peterson
University of South Alabama
Leo Denton
University of Mobile
Mobile, Alabama
USA
July 11, 2007
20th International Conference on the First-Year Experience
Kona, Hawaii
KAREN

2. University of South Alabama
KAREN
The University of South Alabama (USA) is a major institution of undergraduate, graduate, medical, and professional education located on the upper Gulf Coast of Alabama, in the United States of America. USA enrolls 13,300 students and has awarded more than 57,000 degrees, including 1,800 medical degrees. Degrees are available in Allied Health Professions, Arts and Sciences, the Mitchell College of Business, Education, Engineering, Nursing, Computer and Information Sciences, Continuing Education and Special Programs, and the Graduate School. USA also has a College of Medicine and clinical facilities.
State University with 13,300 Students
8 Colleges and a Medical School
Undergraduate and Graduate Degrees
Upper Coast of the Gulf of Mexico in Alabama
20th International Conference on the First-Year Experience Kona, Hawaii University of South Alabama

3. Freshman Seminar at University of South Alabama
Started 1992 for Resident Students
Required Fall 2007 for All Freshmen
Common University Objectives
Each College Dictates Specific Criteria
Learning Communities are New
KAREN
20th International Conference on the First-Year Experience Kona, Hawaii University of South Alabama

4. This session will be about…
Why Learning Communities?
Our Methodologies
Sample Course Activities
Assessment Tools and Results
Future Plans
An Activity for You
Discussion
KAREN
20th International Conference on the First-Year Experience Kona, Hawaii University of South Alabama

5. Why Learning Communities?
Positive Effect on Retention Rates
Enhances Belonging
Promotes Social and Academic Integration
Increases Quantity and Quality of Friendships
Enhances Teaching and Learning
Provides a Support System
Promotes Relevance through Connections
Strengthens Goal and Institutional Commitments
DAWN
20th International Conference on the First-Year Experience Kona, Hawaii University of South Alabama

6. Tinto’s Model of Student Retention
DAWN

7. Our 30 Freshmen Learning Community Group Non-Learning Community Group
14 students enrolled in both
English 101 Composition class
CIS 101 (Computer and Information Sciences) Freshman Seminar class
Non-Learning Community Group
16 students not enrolled in the English 101 due to
scheduling conflicts
non-interest, or
not required to take English 101
DAWN
20th International Conference on the First-Year Experience Kona, Hawaii University of South Alabama

8. Methodologies to Promote the Sense of Belonging and Development of Writing Skills
Wrote Relevant Compositions
Attended Guest Speaker Lectures
Explored Computing Research and Careers
Discussed Computing Specializations
Presented Group Presentations
Participated in Computing, University, and Community Events
DAWN
20th International Conference on the First-Year Experience Kona, Hawaii University of South Alabama

9. The Sense of Belonging
Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary defines "to belong” as “to have a proper, appropriate, or suitable place, to be naturally associated with something, to fit into a group naturally.
DAWN
20th International Conference on the First-Year Experience Kona, Hawaii University of South Alabama

10. Belonging in Discipline/Field
Computing Research and Careers
Computing Specializations
Group Presentations
DAWN
20th International Conference on the First-Year Experience Kona, Hawaii University of South Alabama

11. Belonging Promoted through Event Participation
Field/Major Specific
University-wide
Community
Leisure
DAWN
20th International Conference on the First-Year Experience Kona, Hawaii University of South Alabama

12. Writing Skills The need for writing skills for career advancement
Increased performance due to relevance (Keller’s ARCS model).
KAREN
20th International Conference on the First-Year Experience Kona, Hawaii University of South Alabama

13. Writing Relevance Compositions
Speaker to Emphasize Importance of Writing in their Field
KAREN
20th International Conference on the First-Year Experience Kona, Hawaii University of South Alabama

14. Pretest and Posttest Assessment Tools
Student Belonging
Pascarella’s and Terenzini’s Institutional Integration Scale
Survey measuring the quantity and quality of student relationships
Development of Writing Skills.
Multiple professional assessments
Common rubric
4 student papers.
KAREN
20th International Conference on the First-Year Experience Kona, Hawaii University of South Alabama

15. Institutional Integration Scale
Developed by Pascarella and Terenzini
Measures the overall sense of belonging
Delivered as a pretest and a posttest
Example items below:
1. I am satisfied with the opportunities to meet and interact informally with faculty members.
 Strongly disagree  Disagree  Don’t know  Agree  Strongly agree
5. Most students at this university have values and attitudes different from my own.
DAWN
The institutional integration scale was used as a pretest and posttest to measure the sense of belonging, since studies show that a major reason for students leaving college in their freshman year is due to the lack of the sense of belonging.
One of the goals of the course was to increase the students’ sense of belonging. This validated instrument is based on Tinto’s model of retention and was developed by Pascarella and Terenzini. The instrument had 12 items which measure belonging with students and belonging with faculty. Here is an example of one each.
1. I am satisfied with the opportunities to meet and interact informally with faculty members.
5. Most students at this university have values and attitudes different from my own.
20th International Conference on the First-Year Experience Kona, Hawaii University of South Alabama

16. Institutional Integration Scores
DAWN
20th International Conference on the First-Year Experience Kona, Hawaii University of South Alabama

17. Sense of Belonging Improvement
Scale: 0-48
Pretest mean: 26.89
Pretest std dev: 4.086
Posttest mean: 29.04
Posttest std dev: 4.963
t(27) = 2.514, p = 0.018
standardized effect size index (d): 0.48
DAWN
28 students took the IIS at the beginning and at the end of the semester. The mean score at the beginning was on a 0 to 48 scale. The standard deviation for these scores was
The mean score at the end of the semester was The standard deviation for these scores was
A paired-samples t -test was conducted which indicated that this increase in the sense of belonging over the course of the semester was significant. A box plot depicting the results is shown here.
20th International Conference on the First-Year Experience Kona, Hawaii University of South Alabama

18. Friendship Scale
Name as many people in this class as you can (first names OK). Next to each name place a number which describes the level of your relationship with this person based on the following scale:
1 = I know the person’s first name
2 = We communicate while at the university
3 = We communicate outside of the university
4 = We are good associates
5 = We are good friends
DAWN
20th International Conference on the First-Year Experience Kona, Hawaii University of South Alabama

19. Increased Friendship Scores
DAWN
20th International Conference on the First-Year Experience Kona, Hawaii University of South Alabama

20. Writing Skills Assessment Criteria Graded by Independent Professional Readers
1: Focus
2: Development and Support
3: Organization
4: Style
5: Mechanics
KAREN
20th International Conference on the First-Year Experience Kona, Hawaii University of South Alabama

21. Overall Quality: Scored from 1 - 6
High (5 or 6) The essay is likely to be viewed as particularly reasonable, clear, and informative.
Middle (3 or 4) The essay does not distinguish itself as being effective or ineffective. Readers will likely understand the essay as a whole, yet it lacks the details or information needed to be truly informative and clear.
Low (1 or 2) The essay is particularly unlikely to achieve its goal. Readers are likely to be confused or uninformed.
KAREN
20th International Conference on the First-Year Experience Kona, Hawaii University of South Alabama

22. Learning Community Increases Writing Skills Despite Lower ACTs
KAREN
20th International Conference on the First-Year Experience Kona, Hawaii University of South Alabama

23. Learning Community Students Earn Higher Grades
KAREN
20th International Conference on the First-Year Experience Kona, Hawaii University of South Alabama

24. The learning community as compared to the non-learning community:
Beginning of the semester had
(a) fewer student relationships
(b) lower levels of belonging
(c) lower scores on the writing skills pretest
(d) lower ACT scores
By the end of the semester had developed
(a) more and higher quality student relationships
(b) higher levels of belonging
(c) higher overall scores
(d) better grades
KAREN
20th International Conference on the First-Year Experience Kona, Hawaii University of South Alabama

25. Future Plans 2 Learning Communities In Fall Of 2007
All Students Enrolled In Both Classes
Service Learning Introduced
Continued Assessment
What We’ll Do Differently
Include More Social Gatherings
Vary Topics For Writing Assignments
KAREN
20th International Conference on the First-Year Experience Kona, Hawaii University of South Alabama

26. We are a Learning Community
Form a Learning Community Here Now
Form a Group with the Number on Card
Introduce Yourselves
Select a Recorder
Get all addresses
Record all discussion
Select a Reporter
Will report from your group
Discuss Your Experiences with Learning Community Activities/Assessment
You Have Ten Minutes
We will the Results Today
DAWN
20th International Conference on the First-Year Experience Kona, Hawaii University of South Alabama

27. Discussion
Hand written on blank transparencies to be typed later and ed to all participants
KAREN (DAWN WRITES WHILE KAREN DIRECTS DISCUSSION)
20th International Conference on the First-Year Experience Kona, Hawaii University of South Alabama

28. University of South Alabama
We Go Together…
Dawn McKinney Karen Peterson
University of South Alabama
Mobile, Alabama
Leo Denton
University of Mobile
Mobile, Alabama
20th International Conference on the First-Year Experience Kona, Hawaii University of South Alabama