Successes and Challenges of Implementing a Student-

Centered Earth Science Curriculum at the

Nation’s Largest Singly-Accredited Statewide

Community College System

Erica BarrowIvy Tech Community College

Indianapolis, INebarrow@ivytech.edu

Lofty Educational Goal: Student-Centered Learning

• What = Educational focus on each student’s needs, abilities, interests, and learning preferences

• Why = Parallels Ivy Tech’s stated mission of Accelerating Greatness & is research supported

• How = Requires students to be active, responsible participants in their own learning

Lofty Educational Goal in a Challenging Environment• Ivy Tech Community College:

– Indiana’s largest public institution

– The nation’s largest statewide community college system (200,000+ students per year)• Indianapolis campus = 26,000+ students

– Statewide system mandates standardized objectives, syllabi, and tests for all classes

• Earth Science (SCIN 100)– 4-Credit lecture/laboratory elective science course

– No additional courses in geoscience

– 1 Full-time faculty member oversees numerous adjuncts at various campuses

– 24:1 student / teacher ratio

– Noted student challenges = personal motivation, scientific literacy, critical thinking skills, student life factors

Lofty Educational Goal in a Challenging Environment

Proposed Strategies to Achieve Student-Centered Learning:

1. Develop smaller, more frequent student-determined projects & assessments in lecture & lab

2. Increase variety of learning preferences utilized in lecture

3. Add formal and informal opportunities for student self-reflection in lecture & lab

4. Increase amount of hands-on activities during lecture

5. Encourage out-of-classroom experiences

6. Incorporate additional current geoscience research into lecture & lab

Preliminary Results after 1 semester:

• Pre- and Post-Semester Surveys:–10 question multiple-choice quiz given on first

& last day of class–3 classes of SCIN 100, Summer 2013

– Average score on First Day = 5.7 / 10– Average score on Last Day = 7.6 / 10

Preliminary Results after 1 semester:

Samples of Student Reflections:

• I liked this class because our professor’s teaching style captured my attention and helped me understand the material better by providing nice examples (8/3/2013)

• Erica made the topics really easy to understand by using everyday examples. She really made us think and asked us to explain things to her to make sure we understood what we were doing and why we got the answers that we did. (7/26/2013)

• I learned things that can be applied to everyday life. (7/31/2013)

• It was more than I bargained for and a bit much too remember but I learned a lot and believe that your teaching methods contributed to that. (7/23/2013)

Preliminary Results after 1 semester:

• Overall Student Achievement Rates:– Same instructor & same course objectives– 3 classes each summer

Tr a d i t i o n a l M e t h o d o l o g y

SUMMER 2012A = 16%B = 44%C = 32%D = 3%F = 6%

U p d a t e d M e t h o d o l o g y

SUMMER 2013A = 35%B = 37%C = 23%D = 2%F = 2%

Future Goals:1. Increase use of Relevancy,

Relationship, and Rigor Philosophy into course

2. Increase formal and informal opportunities for Teacher Reflection

3. Incorporate community and/or career-related activities into course

Questions?