League for Innovation Conference Baltimore, Maryland - March 30, 2010 Common Book 101: Innovative Learning and Teaching Through Interdisciplinary Engagement Dean Liz Nichols and Professor James Behan League for Innovation Conference Baltimore, Maryland - March 30, 2010 Mountain View College

Connecting Wisdom and Dreams I Pray that I ever be weaving An intellectual tune, But weaving it out of thread From the distaff of the moon. Wisdom and dreams are one, For dreams are the flowers ablow, And Wisdom the fruit of the garden: God planted him long ago. Mountain View College Garden of Learning W. B. Yeats The Poems 533

Mountain View College COMMON BOOK PROJECT Four Years of Student Engagement

Mission Statement Through the use of a common book Mountain View College will engage its students, faculty and community in a diverse program designed to enrich, stimulate and foster interdisciplinary learning. Mountain View College 2007: The Kite Runner 2008: Autobiography of a Face 2009: The Things They Carried 2010: Like Water for Chocolate

Historical Perspective In the spring of 2007, faculty of the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences saw three needs that the common book could positively impact: Student Learning Faculty Collaboration Community Engagement Bringing Community Together Mountain View College 2007: Khaled Hosseini 2008: Lucy Grealy 2009: Tim O’Brien 2010: Laura Esquivel

Student Learning With the common book, students are offered the opportunity to look at a text from several perspectives, from science to history to literature and more, encouraging the student, in finding connections between the book and the courses, to find the connections between the courses themselves. History 1301 English 2332 Physics 1411 Drawing 1316 Mountain View College 2007: Afghanistan 2008: Ireland 2009: Vietnam 2010: Mexico

Faculty Collaboration Mountain View College faculty, in developing course activities and participating in related community events, engage in dialogue and mutual support that fosters a sense of collaborative leading and learning. “Kite Runner Read In” on the MVC West Pavilion Mountain View College 2007: Epic Novel 2008: Memoir 2009: Historical Fiction 2010: Magical Realism

Community Engagement From the administration to the support staff to the community at large, all members benefit from the common book events, ranging from art exhibitions, theatrical presentations, guest lectures and panel discussions. Author’s Lecture Tim O’Brien Art Student response piece for “The Things They Carried” Mountain View College 2007: Physics Kite Festival 2008: Filmfest: Crazy, Sexy, Cancer 2009: Panel: Psychology of War 2010: Author’s Lecture: Laura Esquivel

Developing the Common Book Timeline Summer 2010: Sub committee meets to consider books for common book 2011 Fall 2010: Common Book 2010 begins; Sub committee begins directed community conversations on possible books for 2011 Winter 2011: Common Book 2010 concludes; Full committee selects common book 2011 and develops activities to support the book Spring 2011: Faculty members sign up and meet to discuss / develop course strategies for the common book 2011 Summer 2011: Sub committee meets to consider books for common book 2012 Mountain View College 2007: Khaled Hosseini 2008: Lucy Grealy 2009: Tim O’Brien 2010: Laura Esquivel

Supporting the Common Book Administrators P/T Support $3,500.00 $3,200.00 Chair $300.00 Research Coordinator   Guest Lecturer $1,500.00 $1,000.00 for author (partial) $500.00 for misc honorariums (Up to 5 @ $100.00 per)   Printing-Other $1,500.00 Research Guide book mark Mountain View College 2007: Afghanistan 2008: Ireland 2009: Vietnam 2010: Mexico

Other Sources of Support Office of Student Life Graphics Public Information Office District Office Business Services Arts, Humanities, & Social Sciences Department Mountain View College 2007: Khaled Hosseini 2008: Lucy Grealy 2009: Tim O’Brien 2010: Laura Esquivel

Growing the Common Book: Course Engagement Category 1 Total Number of Sections Participating in the Common Book

Common Book Committee Membership Faculty Chair or Co-Chairs Full-time Faculty representation from each division Advising Representative Student Leaders (SGA, PTK) Student Life Office Representative Support Staff Representative On Campus Library Representative Public Library Representative Administration Liaison Mountain View College 2007: Epic Novel 2008: Memoir 2009: Historical Fiction 2010: Magical Realism

Sample Course Curriculum Integration “I have normally required students to attend 2-4 events associated with the Common Book.  Students are required to submit a paper summarizing what they learned at the event and to connect it to an issue related [to the course]… I expect the students to read the book, but I have not tested them on it or required a review, etc.   “If appropriate, I adopt the book topic as a theme for the semester.  So, this year, [with The Things they Carried] I showed several war films and we examined all sorts of questions about war…I then had the students write essays, selecting from a number of questions raised by the text, or the various reactions that the characters had to their participation in the war.” “[With The Things they Carried] I incorporated the following themes throughout the semester in the class that used the common book:  The Effect of War on [course content] and the Effect of [course content] on War.  Students wrote responses to two of the five assignments related to the common book.  Some students conduct[ed] personal interviews.” Mountain View College 2007: Khaled Hosseini 2008: Lucy Grealy 2009: Tim O’Brien 2010: Laura Esquivel

Common Book Activities 2007-2009 Mountain View College Common Book Activities 2007-2009

Common Book Student Learning Outcomes Students who participate in the Common Book Project should be able to: Appraise the text from specific disciplinary perspectives; Explain how the text relates to specific disciplinary course work; and Produce a formal response to the text from specific disciplinary approaches. Mountain View College 2007: The Kite Runner 2008: Autobiography of a Face 2009: The Things They Carried 2010: Like Water for Chocolate

Assessing the Common Book Mountain View College Activity Evaluations

Assessing the Common Book Mountain View College Activity Evaluations

Assessing the Common Book Mountain View College Activity Evaluations

Assessing the Common Book Mountain View College Activity Evaluations

Looking forward Embedding questions to gauge student engagement CCSSE Noel-Levitz Mountain View College 2007: The Kite Runner 2008: Autobiography of a Face 2009: The Things They Carried 2010: Like Water for Chocolate

Common Book 101: Innovative Learning and Teaching Through Interdisciplinary Engagement PRESENTERS Professor James Behan Professor of Art jbehan@dcccd.edu Liz Nichols Dean of Academic Enrichment lnichols@dcccd.edu Special thanks to Nathan Cole, Dr. Matilda Saenz and the entire MVC Common Book Committee for their assistance and support. Mountain View College 4849 Illinois Avenue Dallas, TX 75211