Transformative Learning Among College Freshmen: Where is their Voice? Citizenship, Democracy, and Difference.

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Transformative Learning Among College Freshmen
Where is their Voice? Citizenship, Democracy,
and Difference.

• Tracy Calley, Ph. D.
• Chelsie Hawkinson, M.A.
• Felicia Dziadek, M.A.

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Defining Learning Communities

• Learning Communities are classes or approaches
  that are linked or clustered during an academic
  semester (most likely the first semester in
  college), often around an interdisciplinary theme
  that enrolls a common cohort of students. This
  represents an intellectual restructuring of
  students time, credit and learning experiences
  to foster more explicit intellectual connections
  between students, among students and faculty, and
  between disciplines (MacGregor, 2000 Ramirez,
  2002 ).

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Transformative Learning

• How students learn to think for themselves
  rather than act upon the assimilated beliefs,
  values, feelings and judgments of others
  (Mezirow, 2003).
• Student experiences are an intricate aspect of
  their learning process.
• Students are challenged to learn think on
  higher levels with complex assignments.

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Learning Community Team Organization

• 
  (Witherspoon, 2006)

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Our Learning Community

• Theme Citizenship, Democracy Difference Your
  Power to Make Change Happen

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Composition Rhetoric/Seminar

• Myths The Unmasking of America

• Citizenship, Democracy Difference Your Power
  to Make Change Happen

• Portfolio One
• The Myth of the Model Family Argument of Fact
• Portfolio Two
• The Myth of the Melting Pot Persuasive Argument
• Portfolio Three
• The Myth of Freedom Argument of Evaluation

• Portfolio One
• Democracy The Service of Knowledge
• Portfolio Two
• Difference The Service of Voice
• Portfolio Three
• Citizenship The Service of Commitment

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Film Your Issue

• Goals
• Make integrated connections between Triad courses
  
• Visual Rhetoric (Composition)
• Teach students about a new type of technology
  writing (Composition)
• Writing Process in a new Genre (Composition)
• Personal Values, Goals Strengths (Seminar)
• Civic Engagement (Seminar)
• Connect to a Political Topic (Political Science)

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Our Students Amazing Work

• On Homelessness
• On Space Exploration
• On ROTC

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First Year Research Conference

• 32 students presented from our Learning Community

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Student Feedback

• This semester has been so enjoyable because of
  my Triads ability to communicate with each
  other. Anonymous Female Student
• I think it is very appropriate that the
  assignments are all focused on America today. In
  Composition, we learn about the societal myths
  that exist in today's society in Political
  Science we learn about the government itself and
  why things are the way they are and in Seminar
  we learn about what we can do to make a
  difference in society. It all connects perfectly,
  and makes you think about the connections you can
  make between the 3 courses. Anonymous Male
  Student

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Dilemmas with Film Your Issue

• Students had difficulties uploading videos to
  YouTube.
• Student Group Dynamics
• 50 of grade came from group members (Webb).
• Encouraging diversity of students issue choices.

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References

• MacGregor, J., (2000). Restructuring Large
  Classes to Create Communities of Learners. New
  Directions of Teaching and Learning, 81,47-61.
• Mezirow, J., (2001). Epistemology Transformative
  Learning. Retrieved from transformative
  learning.org.
• Ramirez, G. (2002). Learning Communities In
  Action A Case Study of the Programmatic
  Experiences of Faculty and Students in the First
  Year Program at Texas A University- Corpus
  Christi. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Texas
  AM University, 2002).
• Webb, A. (2008). Personal Communication.