WHERE HAVE ALL THE STUDENTS GONE?

Jill Barshay’s reflections on what the declining birthrate means for colleges and the students who hope to get a college degree a decade from now may be a wakeup call for us in higher education. She cites research provided by Nathan Grawe, an economist at Carleton College in Minnesota, who predicts that the college-going population will drop by 15 percent between 2025 and 2029 and continue to decline by another percentage point or two thereafter. Grawe’s forecasts for the number of students at two-year community colleges and four-year institutions are published in his book, Demographics and the Demand for Higher Education, with updates on his website. He breaks the numbers down not only by type of school, and how selective it is, but also by geographic region and race/ethnicity. “Students are going to be a hot commodity, a scarce resource,” said Grawe. “It’s going to be harder during this period for institutions to aggressively increase tuition. It may be a time period when it’s a little easier on parents and students who are negotiating over the financial aid package.”

CELEBRATING THE PRESENT AND ASSESSING THE PAST

As we look forward to Commencement on Friday, May 24, it is also time to begin to assess our progress as an educational institution. That all starts and ends in each of your classes, whether you met face-to-face or virtually. Looking at the amount of students who did not pass your class with an acceptable grade is a good place to begin. A large number of failures indicate serious problems. As the educational process is a partnership, we must take part of the blame. If you taught in an online delivery mode this semester, you can certainly use analytics available to you through Blackboard. Those can be extremely helpful as you notice trends of when students stopped participating or what resources they utilized on their semester journey. If you taught in the classroom, it is more difficult to analyze the situation but you should still attempt to do so. I have encouraged you to keep a journal of each of your classes as you make your way through the semester. It is a great way to help you redesign your class for greater effectiveness. Many of you took advantage of the classroom observation resource that I offer. I urge those of you who did to revisit the analysis as you begin to look at what worked and what did not. I am pleased to tell you that we now have the capability to offer you a video rendition of your class. You simply need to contact me to set this up. Seeing yourself as your students do can be a very helpful exercise. I have also updated the Active Learning Manual. If you would like to have the latest version to help you plan new learning experiences, send me a request via email (pourciaut@mybrcc.edu). Friday is about celebrating accomplishment. You have had a significant part to play in all of our graduates’ lives. Let's come together as a community and recognize the best of who we are in our graduates on Friday.

TEACHING LESS ALLOWS BETTER LEARNING

Many faculty complain that their deans and chairs insist that they "cover" a certain amount of material (usually defined by chapters in a textbook) in their classes during the semester. I have shared with you that research shows that teaching less allows our students to learn better. We must focus on learning outcomes. It is vital to have students who can think critically and integrate new material and then apply it to new situations. Active learning is proven to produce just this kind of learning. If a student is able to think critically, they can survive in any situations, whether they are receiving a certificate and going to work or whether they are transferring to a four-year institution. Faust and Paulson have developed a terrific research paper that compiles the best of active learning data. They note that the “coverage problem”—that is that an instructor cannot “cover” as much material in a course incorporating active-learning techniques as in a course using exclusively lecture—is built on faulty logic. A growing body of evidence suggests that students learn and retain more information when they are asked to engage it actively. However, weighing content coverage against active learning creates a devil’s bargain: Either teach more material and have students learn less, or teach less material and have students learn more of it. Little purpose is served by the first choice. Students always will be better educated if we expose them to slightly less content but require them to engage the material. We all have had the experience of students coming into our classes appearing to have little knowledge of what was covered in their previous courses. The material was “covered,” but the students did not learn it. Thus, even in courses in which there are mandates on the amount of material to be covered, students are likely to be better prepared for successive courses if they are actively engaged in learning the material.

COLLEGE DOES MAKE A DIFFERENCE

Students show substantial gains in learning during college, as measured by a standardized test of critical thinking, according to two studies conducted by the creator of the test. While perhaps not a direct rebuke to Academically Adrift: Limited Learning on College Campuses, the blockbuster 2011 book that documented what its authors argued was meager learning on campuses, the studies, by the Council for Aid to Education, do offer a sunnier counter narrative. In "Does College Matter?," the council found that, at a typical college, students' scores on the Collegiate Learning Assessment, or CLA, rose 108 points, on a scale that ranges from about 400 to 1600, between freshman and senior years. The council also found distinctions in the performance of students at different types of institutions. Students at baccalaureate colleges demonstrated the highest average growth on the CLA, followed by those at master's-level colleges and universities. Students at doctoral and research universities showed the lowest average growth.

PINERO RECOGNIZED
Congratulations to Amy Pinero, Interim Department Chair of Social Sciences, for being selected as the BRCC Outstanding Faculty Member of the year. Pinero, who teaches criminal justice courses, received her recognition at the LCTCS luncheon today. She is a very active member of the BRCC faculty and currently serves on the eLearning Faculty Learning Community among other things. Well-deserved recognition for a terrific teacher!

READY TO FLIP YOUR CLASS
There are still a few slots open for the Flipping the Classroom seminar to be held on Thursday, March 21 at 3:00 PM in the Teaching+Learning Center (311 Magnolia). Dr. Bill Wischusen, associate chair of the Department of Biological Sciences at LSU, will deliver this seminar. Although the concept of flipping has been around for some time now, new ideas continue to emerge that allow us to improve the innovative teaching approach. In essence, flipping means that students gain first exposure to new material outside of class, usually via reading or lecture videos, and then use class time to do the harder work of assimilating that knowledge, perhaps through problem-solving, discussion, or debates. You might want to take a look at the Flipped Learning Network website for some additional information. To reserve your seat, send an email to Todd Pourciau at pourciaut@mybrcc.edu.

COOPERATIVE LEARNING REVISITED
Returning to the topic covered by Dr. Barbara Millis, the most recent distinguished speaker in the Teaching+Learning Center's ongoing series, cooperative learning is the instructional use of small groups so that students work together to maximize their own and each other’s learning. Considerable research demonstrates that cooperative learning produces higher achievement, more positive relationships among students, and healthier psychological adjustment than do competitive or individualistic experiences. The research notes that this can lead to reduced attrition rates and hirer completion for students. Dean McManus who implemented cooperative learning into his classes notes, "For the students, change began on the first day. They learned that they would be expected to discuss the assigned reading and to teach it to other students. Furthermore, they would be writing one-page and two-page summaries of readings often, and five-page reports every couple of weeks. The emphasis would be on their ability to express themselves in terms of the science they were studying." Here are a few other resources for you to supplementthe material that Dr. Millis shared with us during her visit.

BEARS ENTER THE TIGER'S DEN
The Tiger Bridge Program is an innovative new academic opportunity that combines the on-campus living experience unique to LSU, with the smaller class setting of Baton Rouge Community College. This academic collaboration between LSU and BRCC is an invitation-only, year-long program that allows students the chance to make a seamless transition into college life at LSU. After the successful completion of this one-year program, students will transfer fully to LSU for their sophomore year coursework and beyond. Space is limited in the Tiger Bridge Program, and students will enter on a first-come, first-served basis. “I think it will be a great collaborative effort between BRCC and LSU," says Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs Monique Cross. “This gives them additional options,” she said. “This is an alternate path students can take to get to LSU and they will also be able to earn an associate degree from BRCC.”