1. Bringing Active Learning to Scale at Bronx Community College (BCC) of the City University of New York (CUNY) Dr. Nancy Ritze August 3, 2016

2. BCC Student Profile
Ethnically Diverse (61% Hispanic; 33% Black –Africans, African Americans, Caribbean; more than one-third (39%) immigrants from more than 100 countries)
Academically Underprepared (18% enter with GED; 90% require remediation; one-quarter require remediation in all 3 skill areas: reading, writing and math)
Student Demographics (41% with median household income<$15,000; 31% supporting children; 51% employed; 47% non-native English speakers; 53% are first generation college students)

3. Major Institutional Challenges
Retention
2. Academic Progress
Successful completion of remediation requirements
Successful course completion and credit accumulation
3. Graduation

4. 3. Insufficient Academic Supports
Institutional Self Study Identified Factors Contributing to Lack of Student Success
Student Disposition
2. Ineffective Pedagogy
3. Insufficient Academic Supports

5. Institutional Response
First Year Seminar (FYS) for Students
New Faculty Seminar (NFS)
Assessment/Evaluation Efforts to Facilitate Improvements in teaching and learning

6. First Year Seminar (FYS) High Impact Practices
Theme based seminar integrating academic content and skill development
Emphasis on student-centered pedagogy (Active Learning)
Embedded academic advisors and peer mentors
Rigorous tracking and reporting of student progress for intervention/action
Team approach to student success

7. FYS Pedagogy
FYS designed to positively impact student success in the first year and as an incubator for high impact practice across campus
Site for experimentation and exploration of good pedagogical practices
The “Incubator Effect” -- what works for the first-semester student will work for all BCC students
Creating strong, student-centered learning environments

8. FYS Assessment
Program engages in ongoing internal assessment of student outcomes, attitudes and faculty perspectives
BCC recently collaborated with CCRC (Community College Research Center, Teachers College, Columbia University) on evaluation of FYS
Faculty assess student learning outcomes (reasoning and analysis) across sections

9. Outcomes for FYS and Matched Sample
FYS
Matched Sample
Difference
Average 1st semester all-course grade average (including developmental education courses)
2.36
1.94
0.42***
Average 1st semester credit-course GPA (college-level courses only)
2.31
1.84
0.47***
Average 1st semester credit accumulation
6.34
5.68
0.66***
1st semester retention rate
81.7%
72.1%
9.6***
1-year retention rate
64.4%
54.1%
10.3***
GPA, end of fall 2014 semester (college-level courses only)
2.15
1.83
0.32***
Credits earned, end of fall 2014 semester
21.97
17.54
4.43***
* p < .10; **p < .05; ***p < .001
Karp et al., 2016

10. CCRC Fidelity of Implementation FYS Evaluation

11. Ongoing FYS Assessment
Demonstrated:
Overall positive impact for students
Considerable variation in fidelity of program design implementation
Stronger impact for students with greater fidelity of implementation (particularly with active learning strategies)

12. Challenges Engaging Faculty in Active Learning Strategies
Theoretically, FYS designed as incubator for active teaching strategies-but not enough faculty participating
Among those participating, not all were implementing effective active learning strategies
Faculty who struggle with active learning – “drop out” of program

13. Challenges with Self Selection In Professional Development
What are reasons for faculty not opting to participate in active learning initiatives and efforts?
What strategies might be developed to more systematically engage faculty in active learning practice?
How might we further incentivize faculty participation?
How to support faculty who try but struggle with active learning strategies?

14. BCC Efforts to Systematically Support Active Learning
Parallel efforts to systematically engage faculty in active learning efforts developed
New Faculty Seminar (required for all new faculty)
Provost expectation for all academic departments to participate in FYS
Performance Task Workshops provided for all new FYS faculty (20+ for Falll 2016)

15. New Faculty Seminar New Faculty Seminar redesigned to include:
Year-long seminar required for all new full-time faculty members (with reassigned time)
3 major topics: pedagogy, assessment of student learning outcomes and professional development (tenure and promotion)
Faculty mentors model effective pedagogies
Participating faculty create teaching portfolios
Participating faculty encouraged to participate in subsequent professional development activities supporting active learning (including FYS, flipped classrooms, etc).

16. Performance Task Workshops
College invested in Performance Task Workshops provided by Council for Aid to Education (CAE) for all new FYS faculty (from almost all academic departments)
Each upcoming FYS section will include a major performance task for reasoning and analysis.
FYS faculty will participate in assessment of student work using common rubric

17. Challenges for Discussion
Most, but not all, academic departments are participating in active learning professional development activities
Faculty from some disciplines more open to and more effective at active learning
How to incentivize participation from all academic departments/disciplines?

18. Challenges for Discussion
Success in math sequence - the single biggest barrier to student academic success and progress at the College.
Full disclosure – Math faculty the most resistant group on campus to engage with active learning strategies.
What strategies to specifically engage math faculty in active learning?

19. Challenges for Discussion
Promotion and tenure at BCC requires faculty scholarship
Faculty in some disciplines engage in scholarship of teaching and learning
Strategies to systematically support scholarship of teaching across the curriculum?

20. Questions? Discussion